Store Operators Make Impressive Strides
By Debbie Hauss, Editor-in-Chief
I have to say that I was particularly taken by the enthusiasm presented along with the nominations we received for the recently published Retail TouchPoints Store Operations Superstar Awards. The retail brands, and their solution provider nominees, were equally thrilled to receive this honor. Maybe store operators are the unsung heroes of retail?
Our winners included an impressive list of retailers covering different verticals and different audiences. Possibly receiving the most general news coverage, the Macy’s implementation of RFID received a Gold award in the category of Inventory Management/Merchandising. Although RFID has been the topic of discussion among industry insiders for years, around pallet-level tagging, Macy’s has committed to an item-level program that is being rolled out to all Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores.
I was personally moved by Bob’s Stores internally delivered program designed to reduce shrink. With a program called, “If you see something out of the ordinary, simply say something,” the 35-store apparel retailer has reduced shrink to less than 1%. Now the program has expanded beyond basic loss prevention to store safety concerns, shortage issues and operational problems.
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Lowe’s recently introduced three customer iPhone apps — two for employees and one for customers. The 1,700-store home improvement retailer also has initiated a mobile-based local rebate program, which makes thousands of SKU-level, locally available product offers searchable and accessible to both store associates and customers.
To learn about these and the other winners, click here to view the article and pdf report. Retail store operations executives also may be interested in joining the Retail TouchPoints Store Operations group on Linkedin —7,000+ members strong —called Store Ops Specialists.
Congratulations to the Store Operations Superstar award winners and all other store operations superstars!
