Latest / The Resilient Retail Game Plan - retail insights, retail trends and best practices / 5 retail lessons from 5 years of this podcast

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5 retail lessons from 5 years of this podcast · The Resilient Retail Game Plan - retail insights, retail trends and best practices

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Some of you have been listening from the beginning, I know, and maybe if you're
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somebody who's joined us more recently, I want to reflect back on some of the
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key themes that have come up over the last five years.
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So because it's five years, I've picked five themes and I'm going to be
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going through the key themes that I feel have been the ones that have come
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up time and time again in the podcast. And then at the end I'm also
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going to share a little bit about what's coming next.
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Welcome to the Resilient Retail Game Plan. I'm Catherine Edley and in the
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next few minutes you're about to get powerful real world retail retail strategies
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from insights shared both from my guests and myself, backed up
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by my 25 years in the retail industry. Keep listening to learn
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how to grow a thriving, profitable product business. Let's jump
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in with this latest episode.
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When I realized that it was nearly five years that I've been running the podcast,
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I actually had to go back and check my calendar because it just doesn't feel
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like it's been that long. But I have been releasing weekly
1:01
episodes now since the 30th of June
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2020. So the podcast is now officially 5 years old.
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So the very first episode and I wanted to start with a bit
1:17
of an introduction, tell you more about who I am and
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why I'm here talking to you about resilient retail and what that
1:24
term even means. And what
1:28
I wanted to do in this episode is take a little bit of
1:31
a look back because when I first started this podcast I
1:35
had absolutely no idea that we'd end up at this point where been going for
1:38
five years. I've hit over 155,000 downloads
1:42
and spoken to nearly a hundred amazing guests on all kinds
1:46
of different aspects of retail. And so I thought it would be a good time
1:49
to reflect back on what we've learned together.
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So let's get started. So theme number one is,
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as I like to say, turnover is vanity and profit is
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sanity. And that is the theme that I keep returning to again and
2:05
again in the podcast, is that it's all about
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not just what your sales are, not just focusing on those top line sales
2:13
figures, but actually really driving and understanding the
2:16
underlying profitability in your business. And I think
2:20
the reason that this is so important is because so much of the information that
2:24
is out there for small business owners is really aimed
2:27
at service businesses and it's very
2:31
difficult for product business owners to get good advice
2:35
about the profit in their business from people who are experts as in
2:38
service businesses, because quite frankly your
2:42
profit, your cost structure is completely different to
2:46
other businesses. And understanding that and managing it
2:50
and keeping on top of it and pushing your profit is
2:53
something that is entirely achievable for people who have a product
2:57
business. But it's something you have to watch really closely. Fun fact.
3:01
My most listened to episode of all is episode number three
3:04
of the podcast. Bearing in mind we're now on number
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258, so going back a while
3:12
and episode number three is called Healthy Profit
3:16
Margins. So let's start off
3:20
by talking about why they're so important. Well, if you think about
3:23
it as a product based business, there is only
3:27
one place in your business that money is coming in
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and that is the difference between what you buy something for
3:35
and what you sell it for. And we also have episode number six,
3:39
which is also highly downloaded, which is called pricing the value triangle.
3:43
So talking all about profitability and pricing. So so
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when you listen as well to some of the people that we've had on so
3:50
we've had lots of experts and we've also had people who have built their own
3:54
businesses, have grown and scaled it, you'll also hear them talking
3:57
about the importance of profitability because ultimately
4:01
if you grow your top line sales without taking care of your
4:05
profit, then you just end up spinning your wheels or becoming busy
4:08
fools. It's a thread that woven all the way through all of the
4:12
episodes. And I know that it's something that people really respond to
4:16
and people often mention this to me when they talk to me about listening to
4:19
the podcast about how it's really got them to think differently
4:23
about their profit and their pricing and
4:26
what they're pushing in their business rather than just pushing those top line
4:30
sales. If you have got a business that is
4:33
profitable that can pay you, it is just so much more of a
4:37
comfortable place to be than if you have got a business
4:41
that is just bumping along all the
4:45
time at the bottom of your overdraft or if you're
4:48
having to take out loans repeatedly. And it can be something that feels
4:52
very uncomfortable for a lot of people. So focusing on profit as opposed to top
4:56
line sales is absolutely crucial.
5:03
So theme number two, we are sticking with the numbers
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theme and this is all about stuff stock.
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So stock is one of my favorite favorite topics
5:14
to talk about. I absolutely love talking about stock management
5:17
because for me it is literally make
5:21
or break for businesses. And often when you see the
5:25
headlines behind big retailers going bust, we haven't had
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a really High profile one for a little while. But you know the stories when
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people like Woolworths go bust or Toys R Us or things like that.
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Actually, often when we dig in and we look behind the stories of these big
5:39
retailers, what they're actually usually talking about is either profitability,
5:42
profit margins, or they're talking about
5:45
stock. And both of these issues are
5:49
absolutely make or break for retailers. The reason I talk about stock
5:53
as much as I talk about profit is because again, there just
5:56
isn't that much information out there. And I think for me,
6:00
the thing that I hear over and over again from the people I talk to
6:04
about their stock is that they think it's simple
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or they thought it was simple to start off with. And most people around them
6:11
probably think it's simple. They say things like, oh, you just buy
6:15
things and sell them, right? It's all pretty straightforward. They don't
6:19
realize that they need to have a structure and a system. And often when people
6:23
come to me and they're feeling really stressed out or they're feeling just
6:26
that the business is growing, but the profit's not growing the way they want it
6:30
to, they just don't seem to have enough money to rebuy their best sellers, for
6:34
example. We always uncover at the end that stock is the
6:38
culprit. So for me, that's why I talk about it in
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the podcast so much, because it's a subject that I'm really, really passionate
6:45
about. I feel that so many businesses
6:49
can benefit from having a better understanding of their stock
6:53
and it can really lift the weight of the world.
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That can feel like it's sitting on your shoulders when your business isn't making as
7:00
much profit as you want. So stock is something that we have
7:04
talked about over and over again on the podcast. Most recently
7:07
episode 254 was all about your stock system, what that needs to be.
7:11
But we've talked about it again in conversations with people who've
7:15
grown their businesses. And it's a theme that I like to come back to. I've
7:19
done a series on the golden rules of stock. We've talked about seasonal
7:23
stock planning, how much to buy for Christmas, and so on and so forth.
7:27
And I believe that it's just really such an important
7:31
topic. And again, the feedback I get from people who
7:35
are fans of the podcast who listen to the podcast regularly, often
7:38
saying that they just need to find that information from somewhere. And there is a
7:41
real drought of information around stock management in product businesses.
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So the third big theme, when I was looking back through all the Archives thinking
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about all of the 257 episodes that I've done up
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until this time. One thing that pops up again and again,
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and each year, it's usually one of the top episodes for the year,
8:04
and that is industry trends. So what's ahead for the retail
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industry? This is really tied into my work as a Forbes
8:11
contributor. So I produce an article
8:15
every year around December time, which is looking at the year
8:18
ahead and the key trends that are shaping the business. And then usually the
8:22
podcast episode is brilliant because I'm able to take all of that research
8:26
that I've done and all the conversations I've had with retail experts,
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and I'm able to share that with you as a trend episode for the podcast.
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And as I said, that is usually one of our top performing episodes of the
8:37
year. And from that, what I've taken
8:41
is that the retail industry is forever changing and
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we're all just trying to keep up. If you think about it, when
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I started this podcast in 2020, this was during
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lockdown. So it was a lockdown podcast started and then
8:55
we moved into retail reopening. So we saw
8:59
a huge e commerce boom in 2020 and
9:03
2021 to a certain extent. Then we saw
9:06
more shifting back to more towards bricks and mortar in
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2022, 2023. We've had cost of living
9:13
crisis, we've had energy crisis, we've had all of these
9:17
different things that have been impacting the way that the customer buys.
9:21
On top of that, over the last 18 months, two years, we've had the impact
9:25
of generative AI. In fact, I just completed a piece for Forbes
9:29
about AI in general and all of the different things that
9:32
it can do and the opportunities that there are for small
9:36
businesses with AI. So there have been
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so many shifts. And I think when I look back, as I said over
9:44
the years of the podcast, what we've learned together is that the retail
9:47
industry is changing. There is
9:51
so much that happens each year, and on
9:55
the one hand, it's a really fascinating one because lots and lots of things shift.
9:58
So consumers will become more cautious with their money,
10:02
or sometimes they're feeling a little bit less cautious. There will be product
10:06
areas like, you know, health and wellness has been something that we've seen
10:10
for a number of years now sort of top the product
10:13
trends charts. We've also seen
10:17
things like people really leaning into
10:20
hybrid retail, where they're researching online and then coming to buy in store,
10:24
or they're looking in store but then want to be able to purchase it online.
10:27
So We've seen lots and lots of shifts. We've seen things like
10:31
the rise of TikTok shop and people buying through their social media
10:35
apps. That's still one of the fastest growth areas of E commerce, for
10:38
example, where people are actually
10:42
wanting to check out, do their product research,
10:46
see product demonstrations, watch reviews from customers, and
10:50
then actually purchase through the app. And of course, the apps absolutely want
10:53
that, because it's all for them about the eyeballs. The amount of time that people
10:57
are spending on those apps, of course they're going to encourage that. So we've seen
11:00
this huge shift. So many different new
11:04
technologies coming up, so many different shifts. Interestingly,
11:08
one of the things that I talked about in my Forbes article on AI
11:11
recently is Shopify's latest horizon theme.
11:15
And that is all about something they're calling declarative commerce.
11:19
And declarative commerce is basically you say what you want to
11:23
happen and you watch the technology create it. So instead of
11:26
you sitting there and diligently creating a new
11:30
template or creating a new collection, that you would be able to
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say something like, put all of my scarves into a
11:37
collection with a 20% off code, and then watch the technology
11:41
do it. Or create me a clean
11:45
website which is suitable for an upscale skincare brand. And then
11:49
again, watch the technology do it. So again, that's another shift.
11:52
That's another way that small businesses, I think, are going to be able
11:56
to leverage their opportunities because you no longer have to have deep technical
12:00
knowledge when the technology is able to actually produce things for you.
12:03
Now, arguably, there's lots that you then need to do to have a point of
12:07
view and a point of difference and stand out in a world of sameness if
12:10
everyone's got the same capabilities. But I think it's a really
12:14
interesting development. So what we can take away from that is
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that there's lots of shifts in technology, lots of shift in tactics.
12:21
Customer sentiment fluctuates constantly. Ultimately, I
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think what the one thing that I've do find interesting is that even though
12:28
things are different, even though things shift, there are many, many
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fundamentals which are absolutely the same. And they're the same
12:36
as they were in the 1950s or even the 1900s.
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And that is people want great service.
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They want great customer service. They want great communication from the
12:47
people that they shop from, and they want great products. They want
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to be tempted, they want to be
12:55
lured or seduced into spending their money with you. They want
12:58
something that really appeals to them, and they want
13:02
to know where things are from. They want to know the stories behind
13:06
items and they want to feel that connection with
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where they're buying from and, and what they're buying. So I
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think that we have seen that remain steady. It's just
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there's so many things that kind of swirl around it that a lot of
13:21
the time it's about you as a business owner, understanding
13:25
what that means for your business, what can you take advantage of and frankly,
13:28
what can you put aside and shut out some of the noise.
13:32
Over the years as well, I've done lots of sort of pet talk type
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episodes where UK is going to recession or
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what's happening in Covid. I mean Covid is one of those examples where
13:44
to begin with. Absolutely everybody was completely
13:48
gobsmacked and lots of people felt like, right, well maybe this is it for the
13:52
business. And there are many people which now look back on Covid and see it
13:56
as almost the peak of their selling for the last few years.
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So I think another thing that we've learned from the podcast is that
14:05
lots of things can be going on in the outside world and often what we
14:08
have to do is focus in on the things that we can control. And over
14:12
the years I've talked a lot about your circle of concerns, everything
14:16
that bothers you or you're concerned about and then your circle of
14:19
influence, the things that you have some influence over but
14:23
then really operating from your circle of control. So
14:27
instead of getting pulled and distracted by all of the different things happening in
14:30
the world and all the different trends that you can really focus in on the
14:34
things that you can actually make a difference to, like creating amazing
14:38
products that your customers will love and giving great service to your
14:41
customers as well. So I think that is a really big theme. As I said,
14:44
number three is the industry's forever changing and we're all just trying to
14:48
keep up. But I should also add to that that the most
14:52
important thing is that in all of that change, you're
14:55
focusing on what you as this is not my concept. This is from Stephen
14:59
Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. But really you
15:02
focusing on living in your circle of control.
15:09
So theme number four, sales and marketing. This
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is a topic that is always really well received. People really
15:16
enjoy these types of episodes. And over the years I've
15:20
spoken to so many different people about
15:23
so many different platforms. We've talked about TikTok, we've talked
15:27
about Instagram, we've talked about Instagram in many different forms.
15:31
We've talked about Pinterest, we've talked about
15:35
email marketing on numerous occasions. We've talked about
15:39
optimizing your website, so there has been a huge amount of
15:42
focus on various different tactics for sales and marketing. And social
15:46
media in particular is something that people are always interested in. And
15:50
these are very popular episodes as well. So what can we take
15:54
away from that? What have we learned in the last five years?
15:59
I think probably somewhat similar to the trends, the social media trends
16:03
change all the time. Things shift, algorithms
16:06
change, and the types of content that
16:10
gets noticed has changed. Probably five years ago there was still
16:14
some leverage in static images on Instagram and then it went to everything
16:18
is video and now we're back to carousels, getting really
16:21
great engagement. And I think we've also seen a
16:25
shift as well towards the fact that the
16:29
people who do really, really well on the video based platforms,
16:33
they may well be people who have a real affinity for creating content.
16:37
And I think that my opinion about social media has changed over
16:41
the last few years as well. And I think what I've learned from
16:45
talking to all of these experts is that the biggest issue
16:48
sometimes is spreading yourself too thin. Because we've talked to people,
16:52
as I said, about every single different tactic or type of marketing that you
16:56
can think about. The truth is, is that if you lean really heavily into
16:59
almost anything, whether it's SEO or email marketing or
17:03
social media marketing, then you will see results.
17:08
But the danger comes more from trying to lean into the
17:12
wrong place where your customers just aren't. And I also think that's important to
17:15
recognize where there's a mismatch between you as a
17:19
founder, what you love to do, and what you choose to lean
17:23
into. So, for example, if you are painfully
17:26
introverted and absolutely do not wish to have your face
17:30
on camera, then making a decision that you're really going
17:34
to push yourself to show up on Instagram can be really, really draining. And
17:38
I have certainly seen people burn out and just generally feel really miserable because
17:42
it's something they've been determined to pursue and it just wasn't them. Whereas if
17:45
they'd focus, say more on Pinterest, which is a visual search engine as
17:49
opposed to a social media platform, then they
17:53
would have been much happier because it suited their personality more
17:57
equally. So if you love to write, why not lean into writing?
18:01
I would say with the exception of email marketing, I feel like everyone needs to
18:04
do email marketing. That's something else I've learned over five years. Email
18:07
marketing is absolutely, absolutely crucial to most product businesses.
18:11
I would say that it's important to choose what
18:15
works for you and to really Lean into that and also not to get swayed
18:19
by shiny object syndrome. And that is
18:23
something that we all need to take into account when we're listening to business advice,
18:26
including this podcast. You may hear someone talking about a new
18:30
platform or a new tactic that you think sounds really fascinating, but
18:34
you have to bring it back to do you have the money to pay someone
18:37
else to do it? And if you don't have the money and you don't have
18:40
the time and you're not 100% sure that it's really going to make a difference,
18:43
is it really something that you want to be focused on? So, as
18:47
I said, we have covered every platform, every tactic when it comes to sales and
18:50
marketing. And I would say that my big takeaway then
18:54
from the last five years is that lean into what you
18:58
love to do, be consistent, and make sure you're giving
19:02
something a really good go. Trying it before you decide. Right. This isn't for
19:05
me. But equally so understanding that you are going to have to test and
19:09
learn a lot of different things to really understand what's resonating with your
19:13
customer.
19:21
And then point number five is mindset is
19:25
everything. And this is again, something that
19:29
I also feel like I've learned along with you over the last five years.
19:32
I personally find this one somewhat frustrating because I think
19:36
that wouldn't it be great if our mindset didn't actually impact our businesses as
19:40
much as it does? Or maybe I should be positive, have a positive mindset and
19:44
say, isn't it great that we have that within our control to really manage our
19:47
business? And I think that not only have we had some amazing mindset
19:51
experts and coaches on the podcast who've really talked about this
19:55
in great, understandable ways, we've had people with sales
19:59
mindset coaches and consultants talking
20:02
about how important it is for you to really believe in what you're doing and
20:05
to really push yourself and your sales and how you have to have
20:09
that self belief to do that. So all of those things I
20:13
think really, really help. And I think the other thing that really
20:17
stands out is when I think back to some of the amazing conversations I've had
20:20
with people who've built amazing businesses. So we've spoken
20:24
across the years. We've spoken to people like Connie Nam, who started Astrid and mew,
20:27
we talked to Claire Burrows who founded Air and Grace, Lucy
20:31
Greenwood who founded Lucy and Yak, all of these different people who have founded
20:35
these incredible, amazing businesses when you hear them talk about
20:38
their businesses, and also, I should say, many, many other people who
20:42
Built amazing businesses of various different sizes as well. What you
20:46
really hear in the people who are successful in growing their
20:49
business is the passion. Definitely 100%.
20:53
You hear passion and you also hear
20:57
determination. And I remember I interviewed Eleanor
21:00
Bowmer, who runs Eleanor Boma, which is an amazing
21:04
story of, of Eleanor starting on a marketplace. And she's
21:08
now stopped. Her ranges are stopped in everywhere from Sainsbury's to Next.
21:12
And she's done some incredible collaborations, like Children in Need
21:15
and so much more. She's really somebody who has
21:19
elevated her business and grown her brand and
21:23
is an inspiration, I know, to a lot of people. And I think
21:26
what really struck me was this story about how she'd ordered, I think it
21:30
was something like 500 leopard print tea towels. And she was just like, I was
21:34
just determined I was going to sell them. I was absolutely determined I had to
21:37
sell them. And she found a way. She went out there and she made
21:41
it happen. And I think that again, something that when I
21:45
think of all the conversations that I've had with people who've grown their
21:48
businesses, all of the experts around mindset, self
21:52
belief, around sales, what it all comes down to is
21:56
you've got to be resilient, emotionally
22:00
resilient, I guess. You know, obviously the podcast is all about resilience in
22:03
retail, right? And the numbers piece helps you be resilient. So having enough
22:07
profit and controlling your stock and that's all really helpful when it comes to
22:11
navigating the ups and downs of the retail industry. Understanding what the
22:15
trends are, that really helps you be resilient as well. It helps you be
22:18
resilient when you understand that social media and marketing, it's about
22:22
finding what works for you as opposed to try and force yourself into doing something
22:26
that just doesn't work. And then, you know, emotional
22:30
resilience is absolutely key as well. You have to have passion for what you do.
22:33
Do you have to
22:37
have a real love of a challenge? To be honest, I think that's a big
22:41
piece of it as well. You have to have this ability to pick yourself up.
22:44
It's not about building a business where you never get knocked down, that just
22:48
doesn't happen. It's about being able to pick yourself
22:52
back up when you do get knocked down and that self belief is key and
22:56
having a purpose. So ultimately, what I've
23:00
really reflected on is that retail as
23:04
an industry is endlessly fascinating. I think the
23:07
fact that I've been able to fill five years worth of weekly
23:10
podcasts and I feel like I barely scratched the surface of what there is
23:14
to talk about when it comes to retail and growing a profitable product business.
23:18
It also really makes me feel like the industry is way more complex
23:22
than many people realize. And there is also, again,
23:26
something else that really struck me when I was going back over the podcast over
23:29
the last five years is, but there still isn't a huge amount of information out
23:32
there on these key topics, things like your stock management, things like
23:36
your sales strategy, your profitability and your
23:40
cash flow. Another topic that I'm very, very passionate about
23:44
talking about is how do you control your cash flow? It can feel
23:47
like money's flying in and out all of the time, and it can feel
23:51
really overwhelming. And I think for me, when I reflect back
23:55
on my journey, this is my 25th year in the retail industry and I spent
23:58
nearly two decades working in big retailers. And frankly, they were very
24:02
toxic. A lot of them. I had a lot of toxic work environments
24:06
and a lot of businesses that just operated in a very toxic way.
24:10
And when I think about what I'm trying to do with the
24:13
podcast, really what I want to do is help you. I want to
24:17
help you grow a profitable business that flourishes,
24:21
that rewards you financially, that doesn't keep you up at night because you're
24:24
not really sure how you're going to cover the next bill because you've got this
24:28
other bill for your, your stock going out and, and you
24:31
just don't feel like you're in control of it. So I want to
24:35
help the people who do have that passion and purpose, which I
24:39
must admit is most people that I speak to when I talk to them about
24:42
why they started their business. Everyone always talks about wanting to do things
24:45
better, wanting to make better products, wanting to really help people
24:49
and planet, for example. And for me, if I
24:53
can, with the podcast, help you understand better how to create
24:57
a business that is profitable and thriving, then that for me
25:00
is a big part of my mission. I feel like the retail industry is
25:04
exciting and vibrant and it deserves to be full of these incredible
25:08
independent, small startup, independent retailers and brands
25:12
who have got exciting new ideas, who are dedicated to doing things
25:15
better and have got the creativity and need that
25:19
inspiration and advice to help them understand how those
25:22
creative ideas actually make money.
25:28
So thank you, A huge thank you. I have to say, a giant thank you
25:32
to you for listening. If you've listened since the beginning, then
25:36
thank you so much for being with us on this journey. And if you're new
25:39
to the podcast, then thank you for joining and coming along for the ride.
25:43
So what comes next. Well, as I said, the mission
25:47
of the podcast is clear. It's about getting you that information.
25:51
It's about giving you tips and ideas and inspiration. And we will
25:54
continue to be hearing from from the best experts when it comes
25:58
to the sales and marketing tactics that really make the difference,
26:02
the mindset that you need to be successful and sharing stories with you
26:06
that will inspire you and motivate you and show you the way forward, but always
26:10
with that very practical element to it. And I will continue to
26:14
share my solo episodes, sharing my thoughts on what's going on in the industry,
26:17
those all important trends, what's happening, what you need to be aware of,
26:22
as well as the advice that you need to make sure that you are taking
26:24
care of your bottom line. You may have noticed as well, we've had a
26:28
new intro to celebrate five years. And just definitely with the
26:32
podcast, my goal is to make it even more engaging, more
26:35
exciting. I would love to hear from you. I would love to hear your questions
26:39
that I can answer on the podcast. I would love to hear the kind of
26:42
guests that you would like to see on the podcast. I would like
26:46
to know what topics you'd like me to cover. So do come over to Instagram.
26:50
Instagram at Resilient Retail Club. Say hello. Let me know
26:53
what the podcast has meant for you, which episodes you've
26:57
enjoyed, and what you'd like to see from me next. I have to say
27:00
the number one thing for me about the podcast, which I never really expected,
27:04
was when I meet people who tell me that they listen to the podcast. I
27:08
can't tell you how much that means to me because I record most of the
27:12
episodes in my office where I can reach out my hands and
27:16
touch both walls. And it's such an amazing thought to
27:19
know that this podcast that I put all of this time and effort into gets
27:23
out there and people are listening to it and it's making a difference. So
27:26
thank you again for listening. Do come over to Instagram and let me
27:30
know what you'd like to hear next.