This year's five Retail Excellence Award winners—La Curacao, CompUSA/TigerDirect, Primetime A/V, H&H Lifestyles and Sherman's—are different in many ways, but they all share a common attribute: the ability to change, no matter what state the economy is in.
Those changes can include the physical, like the complete makeovers Sherman's and H&H Lifestyles underwent as a way to freshen up their stores, present fresh products and please a new and existing customer base.
There are the operational and philosophical changes that Systemax's Gilbert Fiorentino has deployed throughout CompUSA stores as part of his Retail 2.0 concept. Even subtle shifts, such as Primetime A/V's efforts to constantly change how it merchandises product and engage in different buying group and vendor programs, which yield big benefits. In the case of La Curacao, the company constantly comes up with new ways to engage its customers, even going as far as helping them find new jobs and offering daycare.
"If I was doing the same things I was doing a year ago, we wouldn't be doing as well as we are doing today," said Paul Sherman, general manager of Sherman's, based in Peoria, Ill. "We had to change up our product mix, how we promote, and what we're promoting."
And none of this year's winners expect to stop changing during the next 12 months, or beyond. Trey Brunson of H&H Lifestyles, for example, is busy developing a service contract that is designed to bring in recurring revenue, while Fiorentino recently added product configurators and scanning devices to the CompUSA shelves. "The companies that are going to be successful are the ones that'll get creative," Brunson said.
We know there are many other CE retailers that deserve recognition for the changes they've made to improve their businesses and the industry. Please contact us at joheir@napco.com or 631-427-0604 to fill us in. We'll make sure to highlight your company in the pages of Dealerscope or at www.dealerscope.com. Meanwhile, please give a round of applause to this year's winners. They deserve it.
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