Transforming Brand Consistency with Retail Foundations

A prominent retail chain with over 300 stores was facing their annual challenge of executing a massive deep clean operation to try and maintain standards and brand consistency.

By rethinking the tasks and deploying them through Store Tasking within the Excellence platform, an onerous annual task was transformed into stress-free regular maintainance, bringing year-round benefits.

The Challenge

Each year, our client undertook a daunting task – rallying all stores for an extensive deep clean to rejuvenate storefronts, shop floors, fixtures, back-of-house areas, and staff spaces.

Despite their best intentions, transforming brand consistency across the estate was widely considered to be an operational headache.

Solution

Our client wanted us to help, so we decided to reimagine store standards and brand consistency, developing the concept of Retail Foundations, which we delivered through our Excellence platform. This initiative took the challenges of annual deep cleaning and turned them into a proactive, ongoing approach that not only maintained standards but enhanced them.

Structured Maintenance Cycle

Retail Foundations removed the annual burden and introduced a regular rotation of tasks. Store fronts, shop floors, and back-of-house areas were systematically addressed multiple times throughout the year, ensuring that every aspect of the store received regular attention, and standards were maintained at a much higher level than before.

Confirming and Tracking Progress

Tasks within the Retail Foundations framework were actioned and confirmed by each store, providing positive confirmation of completion, alongside uploaded images for central review. This provided not only accountability but also a real-time view of progress across their extensive network.

Regional Manager & Stakeholder Visibility

The results of each task were made accessible to regional managers, and other departments such as Property, Health & Safety, Security, Internal Audit, Accessibility, and Compliance providing them with a holistic overview of the brand’s upkeep and enabling targeted follow-ups. This transparency led to more productive store visits and empowered head office teams to provide timely support when needed.

Results

Through the implementation of Retail Foundations utilising our Excellence platform the client saw immediate benefits and visibility across their whole estate. Excellence provided the assurance, peace of mind and confidence knowing the customer experience would be carried out to the clients exacting standards.

Consistent Brand Standards: Retail Foundations removed the inconsistencies of brand upkeep, resulting in uniformity across all aspects of the stores
Eliminating Annual Overload: Our rotational strategy eradicated the need for an exhaustive annual deep clean, freeing up resources and time
Operational Efficiency: Elevated standards resulted in increased store productivity and efficiency
Brand Enhancement: Consistent upkeep of store fronts, fixtures, and facilities reinforced the brand’s image and customer experience

Conclusion: A New Era of Brand Excellence

Retail Foundations has ushered in a new level of Excellence for our client. What was once an onerous annual undertaking became a series of focused and strategic tasks that transformed store standards maintenance into a painless, ongoing, and seamless process.

The brand has benefited, with all stores now showing a level of consistency in standards that was previously missing.