Clare Rayner - The Retail Champion: 10 Steps to Retail Success

This ebook published in 2011 by

Kogan Page Limited

120 Pentonville Road

London N1 9JN

UK

www.koganpage.com

Clare Rayner, 2012

E-ISBN 978 0 7494 6589 6

CONTENTS

I n advance of the body of this book I wanted to take some time to thank those who have been instrumental in it coming to fruition, and to share a little as to how they have contributed.

Andrew Rayner : My husband, business partner, supporter, sounding board and critic! His support for my personal goals and his contribution to our business goals have enabled me to achieve what I set out to do.

My family : If theyd not been entrepreneurs, business owners and retailers I wouldnt be in the position I am in today, knowing what I know, doing what I love.

Mike Clare : For being an amazing role model for any small retailer. For giving up his time to write the foreword for this book; for letting me interview him and for believing in me.

Sarah Decent : Sarah sowed the seed for this book! If she hadnt tweeted for help with her retail business, or asked where to find a book on how to become a successful retailer, it may have been a good deal longer before I actually got around to writing it!

Sue Blake : I discovered Sue thanks to my friend Emma Wimhurst who also sang her praises in HER book! Initially Sue helped me to clarify and articulate the core purpose for The Retail Champion . Latterly she has been a fantastic support, mentor and friend.

Wanda Whitely : I was introduced to Wanda by Sue. Wanda is an ex-publishing director who now advises authors on everything from creating a proposal to negotiating a contract. Wanda helped me to write the outline proposal for this book. Wanda and Sue together gave me the belief that this book not only should be written, but also deserved a mainstream publisher to bring it to market!

Martina OSullivan : With Sue and Wanda encouraging me, I connected with Martina on LinkedIn. Her role as commissioning editor for Kogan Page, a publisher Sue had identified as ideal for my book, meant she was obviously a connection I needed to make. Within 20 minutes of accepting my invitation to connect, Martina had browsed my profile and noticed I had stated that I was writing my first business book. After a brief exchange of e-mails I sent her the proposal that Wanda had helped me to craft. Two hours later wed booked a lunch meeting. Martina was the perfect connection and so in tune with what I wanted for this book. After that lunch meeting we both agreed that we should work together; and so my relationship with Kogan Page began. Martina has been there every step of the way; I may know a lot about retail but I knew nothing about the process of writing a book. She has been a guide and a supporter Ive loved working with her. Shes also proven that it doesnt have to be painful to get published!

Jacqueline Gold, Hussein Lalani, Nigel Rothband, Natalie Peters, Sadia Sisay : Thanks to all of you for allowing me to include your stories as case studies in this book.

I first met Clare Rayner in 2007 when we were both invited to speak to a group of enthusiastic 14- to 21-year-olds. The event was a government-led initiative to engage and inspire the next generation of employees and entrepreneurs. Our purpose was to prove just how rewarding and diverse a career in retail could be.

Clare spoke about her passion and enthusiasm in building a business. The title was From flippin burgers to flippin busy aimed perfectly at the audience of sceptical teenagers! She explained her career from working part-time in McDonalds, her progression, the different facets of retailing and so on. The teenage audience started to take notice. Clare made retailing sound exciting, fun and rewarding.

I was impressed by her passion, enthusiasm and knowledge of the retail industry. Since starting Dreams in 1985, Id not met many people who had covered so many of the core elements essential to the running of a retail business from store operations to supply-chain management, commercial planning to business systems implementation.

In 2007, Clare had been running her own business for four years, having started out at a similar age to me when I set up Dreams. Her entrepreneurial spirit has been proven over the years as she has developed new brands and business ventures. In 2008 I spoke at her annual event, The Retail Conference, in London, which was a well-orchestrated event, relevant to the audience of retail delegates.

Now, once again, I have had the pleasure of contributing to one of her projects. The Retail Champion is a comprehensive guide to successful retailing. The 10-steps methodology provides a structure and process that are so easy to use by both established retailers and start-up retailers.