Michael Ray is a change management, result-focused, operations leader who introduced innovative approaches to a perplexing retail challenge which resulted in extremely high profits and improvements that stood the test of time. Here is his story:
The company’s resort stores in Florida, Arizona, and California were underperforming in the areas of average stores sales, comparative sales increases, and OPINC. Several of these stores were losing money and were in danger of closing. A strategy was needed that would improve sales and profitability.
Michael Ray, Operations & Business Development Executive
There were only 30 resort stores which accounted for about 10 percent of the company’s store base. A significant and effective change would require an entirely different approach in merchandise mix, delivery timing, and marketing. Accomplishing this would require an additional workload for the buying, marketing, and supply chain teams. However, if the plan was to be a successful investment, the company needed to be shown the potential results of these efforts. Achieving this goal required the buy-in from upper management as well as the three departments most impacted.
Michael worked to develop the strategy by meeting with the management departments of these resort stores. He was then able to gain insight into what changes needed to be made to improve sales and profit. Michael proceeded to organize a focus group of select customers from these markets. From the information gathered in these meetings, he developed the resort strategy and presented it to upper management. Those in charge then endorsed the concept and gave the go-ahead to present to the buying, marketing, and supply chain departments.
The first year that his strategy was introduced resulted in a $30 million increase in highly profitable sales. Furthermore, the stores he upgraded led the company in year–over-year comparable sales increases for the next 10 years. These stores went from the least to the most profitable stores in the chain.
Watch full video interview below.
Contact Michael Ray via LinkedIn or his Career WebFolio.
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