Project Description
Assessment and identification of store level improvement opportunities to drive growth and consistency in comparable store sales performance.
The Client
A privately owned $1.5B multi-channel retailer of outdoor inspired apparel and sports equipment.
The Challenge
The client has a long-standing legacy as a catalog retailer with one flagship location. The company had recently expanded into eCommerce and additional brick-and-mortar locations. Retail store performance had been characterized by inconsistent margin performance and declining customer traffic. In addition, the client was hampered by its supply chain systems and processes that were tailored to catalog-based retail, but not ideal for other channels.
The Parker Avery Solution
The Parker Avery Group performed an audit of the client’s current retail operations in order to identify merchandising, inventory management, and store operations improvements that would drive growth and consistency in comparable store sales performance. Parker Avery then synthesized these findings and assisted the client in creating a prioritized plan of action.
Specific activities included:
- Analyzed the client’s current merchandising, inventory management, and store operations processes and compared them against leading industry practices
- Conducted store visits to review product assortment, presentation, operations and inventory flow
- Summarized the findings and tailored the scope to undertake the challenges of transitioning from catalog to multichannel
- Proposed 14 detailed initiatives to address the challenges and promote omnichannel capabilities
- Prioritized the proposed initiatives based on the projected impact to retail store comparable sales and the effort required for their execution
The Result
Parker Avery’s audit and deliverables helped the client create an action plan to address shortcomings in business performance and secure the resources required to address the highest priority initiatives. The client expects the proposed initiatives will improve sales, margin, and product turn across the company.