Retailers FAQs

How am I doing compared with my competitors?

FSP has used its knowledge and wealth of intelligence on retailers to identify those potentially At Risk.  By linking this information on retailers to the locations of their stores, FSP has produced the first geographical assessment of the impact of At Risk retailers on towns and shopping centres.

Retailer Risk Analysis was launched by retail business consultants FSP in 2009, and provides unique insight into the financial health of retailers.  How do you compare? 

How many customers does a shop need and where do they come from?

Enduringly successful retailers understand their customers: who they are; why they shop where they do, and where they come from.  This insight is key to successful target marketing and to the identification of suitable locations for expansion, but can only be derived from talking to customers in a structured way and on a regular basis. 

FSP has long experience of developing insights into shopper attitudes and behaviours.  Over the years, FSP has developed a number of proprietary analysis tools to refine this process.

See Market and Retail Brand Positioning and Retail Brand Auditing for further details of how FSP can help you. 

 How can I know if a new site will be successful?

When the cost of failure was lower, relying on a retail hunch was a less risky site selection strategy – but today it is the road to ruin.  The task is to select, from the available choices, the most appropriate technique to define the retail potential for your proposition in any site.  FSP is independent of any particular technique and has 30 years of expertise.

See Location Planning for more details of how FSP can help you.

 

 

 Is the marketing budget being spent effectively?

In the nineteenth century John Wanamaker claimed, 'I know half my advertising money is wasted, but I don't know which half“. Might the claim still be true in the twenty-first century?

FSP has identified common problems in marketing budget allocation, including:

  • budgets based on history, not on the scale of market opportunities
  • money allocated across media and forms of promotion based on personal preference – not designed to improve scores on agreed KPIs
  • KPIs that bear little relationship to real marketing issues 

Gathering information to measure the market opportunity and set relevant KPIs is a small investment for a big return.

See Marketing Effectiveness Programme for more details of how FSP can help you. 

 How do I launch my brand in the UK?

This is a multi-faceted process, which entails creating a relevant retail proposition within the UK environment; setting up an appropriate level of infrastructure; and finding suitable retail property at affordable cost.  

FSP has been involved with the launch of some of the biggest retail brands over the last 30 years; its specialist team has the skills and contacts to ensure project viability and ongoing success.

For further details of the relevant services that FSP can offer, see Retail Brand Auditing and Location Planning.

 How do I improve space utilisation?

Rent and costs are incurred on the full area of the store but turnover is generated only from the selling area.  Releasing ancillary space to other more productive uses can have a huge impact on store profitability.  FSP works to find mutual benefits for occupier and landlord, allowing both parties to enjoy successful and sustainable outcomes.

See Space Utilisation for further details of FSP services in this area. 

 

 

 How do I reduce staff turnover?

External consultants are often better placed to understand the root causes of staff turnover than management itself, simply because they are able to take an objective stance. 

As retailers themselves, FSP consultants understand the pressures and imperatives of retailing; as consultants, they have a range of techniques to help develop insight into staff motivation and behaviour.  FSP works to results oriented objectives and has proven experience in reducing staff turnover within major retail organisations.

See Staff Satisfaction for more details of FSP services in this area.

Contact us on +44 01494 474740

Retail Consultancy