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IMG_2348Following initial advisory visits made to independent retailers in April and June of 2013, The Shop Doctor will be revisiting Haddington, Dunbar and North Berwick in the week commencing 20th January 2014 to follow up with the businesses engaged in the Let’s Talk Shop programme funded by East Lothian Council and see what progress has been made.

Each of the participating retailers originally received a comprehensive Recommendations Report following the initial visit which identified opportunities for improvement in the way the businesses engage with their customers.

Recommendations included routes to enhance shop front presentation and impact, opportunities for maximising effectiveness of internal layout and improvements to merchandising.  The Shop Doctor also sought to identify other key opportunities to help sustain and develop each of the businesses.

As with all his recommendations, The Shop Doctor initially seeks to identify practical and deliverable solutions that can make a good business even better without extensive investment. “It is important to maximise the investment already made before spending even more” commented The Shop Doctor “often subtle change can deliver considerable benefits without major cost.”

 

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IMG_6825The ‘Let’s Talk Shop’ Support Programme moves to Langholm, Dumfries & Galloway, from Monday 11th November.

Independent retailers in the town will be attending an evening retail workshop at the Town Hall on Monday from 5.30pm when The Shop Doctor will share his thoughts about how shops can ensure that first impressions deliver, rather than deter, customers and once they are across the threshold how retailers can maximise the selling opportunity through effective layout, merchandising and good service.

As part of the evening The Shop Doctor will also review his first impressions of Langholm and identify with the delegates attending  opportunities to help improve retail vitality in the town.

Independent retailers interested in attending should contact grant.coltart@dumgal.gov.uk

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June has seen yet more independent shops in Scotland receiving Shop Doctor support in ongoing support programmes funded  by East Lothian Council and Dumfries & Galloway Council.

A total of 21 ‘on-to-one’ shop visits  took place across North Berwick, Haddington, Dunbar, Gretna and Lockerbie in June with a further 6 shops in Lockerbie scheduled for a visit in early July. Every visit is supported by a comprehensive Shop Doctor report detailing practical opportunities considered available to improve business vitality within each of the businesses concerned.

Commenting on the visits our Shop Doctor advised that “There continues to be  a tremendous variety of retail choice available on our High Streets with independent retailers providing a critical role in maintaining the unique identity of the fabric of a town” and added  “retailers, local councils, landlords and the general public each have an important role to play in sustaining business vitality in our towns and all need to work towards a common goal”.

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20130521_094908In order to assist Net-tex  launch its re-branded range of Equine Health and Management products, the Shop Doctor recently gave merchandising presentations to delegates attending Net-tex Roadshows in Gloucester and Newark.

Held on the 14th and 21st of May, the events heralded exciting changes in the presentation of the complete range of Net-tex equine health products.  The Shop Doctor was on hand to guide retailers as to how best to maximise the opportunities available from the product range now available by implementing good retail and merchandising practice.

Delegates attending the Gloucester event were also given the opportunity to visit the Stable Yard of Carl Hester MBE, Olympic Gold Medallist where Carl delivered a highly informed demonstration of dressage training.

Delegates attending the event at excellent facilities of The Oakridge Arena in Newark benefited from demonstrations from Show Horse producer and trainer Lynn Russell  on the dos and don’ts for turning out good show horses as well as a riding demonstration by Lynn on two of her horses that had travelled with her from Surrey.

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Successful tenders recently submitted by Lets Talk Shop Ltd to East Lothian Council, Dumfries & Galloway Council and Argyll & Bute Council will shortly see independent retailers in Dunbar, Haddington, North Berwick, Lockerbie, Gretna and Rothesay participating in Shop Doctor Support Programmes.

This will increase the number of  Scottish towns benefiting from the bespoke advice provided to independent retailers within them to nine with over 100 individual businesses receiving one-to-one advice and in excess of that number of delegates participating in the associated retail/merchandising workshops.

The visit to Rothesay, Isle of Bute is on behalf of the Rothesay Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI), a £2.6 million project currently coming toward the end of year two of a five year delivery phase. The THI project is funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland, Leader and Argyll & Bute Council.

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pigsLooking forward to meeting with delegates at the AHDA* 28th Annual Conference 2013 being held at the Hinckley Island Hotel, Leicestershire on 22nd and 23rd January.

Delivering a  45 minute presentation on Tuesday afternoon focused on identifying opportunities to maximise the retail display area available within their varied businesses.

Making retail space work harder in any environment enjoying customer footfall is an essential ingredient toward the development of existing (or creation of new) revenue streams to help support and sustain a profitable and buoyant business.

*AHDA – Animal Health Distributors Association 

photo acquired from  AHDA website.

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The Shop Doctor will be spending  4 days in Stranraer between the 25th and 28th September in the latest Let’s Talk Shop  support programme funded by Dumfries & Galloway Council.

The visit follows recent work undertaken in Annan and Dumfries and includes anevening Masterclass Workshop on the Tuesday 25th helping retailers understand the importance of providing a strong first impression to customers and how application of some straightforward common sense can make a real differences to shop performance.

During the programme the Shop Doctor will also be visiting individual retailers assessing their businesses potential and presenting recommendations for change that need cost no more than a little time.

The Shop Doctor commented “in the present economic climate it is not always possible for retailers to invest in new shop fittings, lighting or even redecoration. My challenge is to identify cost effective routes to improve retail performance, working with what the retailer has already got by making it work even harder” he added “where investment is an option I can help ensure that the investment is one that can really help build performance and onward profitability”

For further details of the retail masterclass or to discuss the possibility of arranging a ‘one to one’ visit contact:

Wendi Cuffe, Economic Development Officer, Dumfries & Galloway Council
Phone: 0303 333 3000
Email: wendi.cuffe@dumgal.gov.uk