Achieve your Business Ambition

Retail sector spotlight

Retailers supported by GrowthAccelerator are forecasting an average growth of more than 50% for 2014.

By way of comparison, the Centre for Retail Research has forecast an overall sector growth of 3.4% in 2014.

This high level of growth is not coming only from start ups, in fact over half (58%) of the 383 ambitious retailers currently working with GrowthAccelerator have been operating for over five years.

Over a third (38%) of GrowthAccelerator’s retail clients intend to achieve this growth through investment in sales and marketing, whilst 23% say expansion is key to future success. With regards to barriers to growth over half (53%) believe strategy and management presents the biggest barrier, followed by getting the right skills and staff (35%) and accessing finance (31%).

Charlie Bears was founded by keen teddy bear enthusiasts William and Charlie Morris in 2005. Since the launch of its first product range in February 2006 Charlie Bears experienced substantial growth, going from a £250k turnover to £3million within the first four years. Growth was rapid and the level of demand for their bears was so high that there were back orders of up to 62 weeks, meaning that the business was unable to take on new customers or enter into new markets.

• 42% increase in turnover in 2012/13

• Reduced order backlog from 62-30 weeks

• Developed team through leadership and management training to allow leaders to focus on growth

• Launch of new direct shop established with ecommerce function

• New range of organic bears showcased on QVC Case Study

William and Charlie were aware that they needed to expand their manufacturing capability, but neither of them had any experience in doing so, nor the time to learn. After approaching GrowthAccelerator for support they started to work with Paul Duffy, a Growth Coach with relevant experience for their requirements, who was able to hit the ground running.

Paul supported the business in identifying a new production site in Sri Lanka and worked with them to ensure that production standards and ethics were up to scratch. The impact of this was immediate, reducing the backlog to 30 weeks and allowing the business to take on new customers, set up an online shop and launch a new range of organic bears. Paul also worked with Charlie Bears’ wider team, advising on staff development so that Charlie and William could delegate some of the responsibilities, allowing them to focus on leading the business. As the economic recovery continues to gather pace, there are some great opportunities out there for small and medium retail businesses to thrive and grow. Here’s my advice for ambitious retail businesses on what they should be focussing on to succeed.

William says:

“Before working with GrowthAccelerator we were juggling too many balls – every so often something would drop and hit us on the head. Paul helped us to refocus and gave us confidence in our own ideas, which allowed us to see how focusing on a few vital things could help move the business forward. Without question, if we hadn’t gone through GrowthAccelerator we would have been in an extremely vulnerable position when it came to competition. As it is we’ve seen off potential competitors, we’re hitting all of our targets and we’re on track to reach our long term goal of achieving £25 million turnover by 2022.”

Coach Comment

Keith Angus, GrowthAccelerator coach, says as my advice for ambitious retail businesses on what they should be focussing on to succeed.

Focus on the product

Spend time developing the best product possible for your customers. Don t get into the price war, as you’re never going to win it with all the big retailers continuing to slash prices to compete. Focus on getting the product right and ensure it s of the highest quality. That s what your customers will choose you for.

Know your customer

Know as much as possible about your customer, as this will allow you to tailor your products and service to become number one on their shopping list. Research has shown that one of the things customers value most about independent retailers is the bespoke service they offer. Make sure this is at the forefront of your mind when thinking about your customer proposition and further building your brand.

Know your market

Keep an eye on your market and what others are doing, as this will allow you to always stay one step ahead. Being aware of your competition is not only necessary for the survival of your business, it is also a great way to push you and your business to constantly innovate, evolve and grow.

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