Tony has a passion for the fast moving retail industry and has detailed knowledge of the key functions - Plan, Buy, Make, Move and Sell,  and he understands the interdependencies of information, products and services. Since joining K3 he has taken a pro-active role in helping the company deliver its multi channel vision to the retail sector. Tony’s deep understanding of the commercial issues facing retailers and developing IT solutions and business processes to improve product availability, drive profitable sales and reduce costs has been invaluable in establishing K3 as a leading provider of multi channel solutions.

Outside work Tony plays drums in a local band and tries hard to maintain a very old Caterham 7 (car). He has four daughters who also require a lot of maintenance and a permanent taxi service.

We asked Tony to put his future goggles on and give us his latest insights into the world of retail and multichannel.

What issues do you think retailers should be looking at now?

At the moment retailers should be trying to understand the retail opportunities surrounding the 2012 games. ‘2012, Opportunities for Retailers’, run by Retail Knowledge, will be good for those who make it. It’s a chance to look at the ‘Games Roadmap’ and come to grips with all the issues surrounding the games. The event will be covering a lot of areas, such as smoothing the supply chain, exploiting new technologies, queue management and promotional activity as well as looking at what technology you will need and how to take full advantage of that technology. I’m looking forward to presenting there as well, asking ‘Will 2012 Be the First Multichannel Games?”

The opportunities London 2012 present to UK Retail are huge. It’s important to realise that it’s not just at the games, it’s before during and after that need to be considered as well, and it is not all about London either, it will benefit retailers all over the UK.

Aside from London 2012, what else should retailers have on the horizon?

Well, the last four years have really been about transactional retail, so retailers need to capitalise on the investments they’ve made and build from there. I see two key areas that they’ll need to look at:  the technology side and the customer side.

In terms of technology I see things growing in areas such as RFID, mobile…and multichannel, including the technology that supports that. A lot of retailers may consider their operations as multichannel but in reality it is multiple channel. They offer products across a range of channels but there is not the real unity a truly joined-up operation offers. You really have to ask ‘How good are we at accessing data across all our channels?’ The strength of a joined-up multichannel operation cannot be understated. It gives you speed, cohesion, transparency and control – from web to store to mobile.

Mobile, as I mentioned, is an area retailers need to keep an eye on. What is the mobile going to do? We’re going from customers using the phone to browse and research, to carrying out transactions. So be aware of what is happening with mobile. There are a lot of mobile platforms, so if you are looking at applications, you need to think about which platforms (iPhone, Blacberry, Nexus) your clients use and how they use them.

The other key area that demands a lot of attention is the need to understand the customers’ eCommerce journey. To really use the technology that is out there, whether you already have it or are looking to invest, you need to take a close look at your customers shopping behaviours. The channels they use, where they browse, where they spend. Capturing the data so you can turn it around to give your customers the best experience is important.

There is this symbiosis between technology and customer – both leading each other at various stages, but overall developing together. For each retailer the technology used will be dictated by the different customers they have, or want to have. If you do not understand how your customers shop, how will you know which technology you need to invest in and how you should use it?

Does the growing strength of multichannel and the technology surrounding it mean there is nothing for the Bricks & Mortar retailer?

No, not at all. There will always be a need for customers to go into the store - that face-to-face contact is important. What we should see is in-store operations reflecting, supporting and capitalising on other channels. This goes back to understanding and catering to customer shopping behaviours. For example, online customers can get reviews of products from a range of impartial sites. In-store customers can ask their friends or the sales staff. What about if customers could also get reviews using kiosks or in-store displays? They’d need to be genuine reviews; the good and the bad - the integrity of the information is important.

In-store kiosks have been incredibly successful. They’re a fantastic way of upselling and a valuable tool for sales teams. If customers can check the availability of an item and locate that item, then that frees up staff to focus on other aspects of customer service. The days of ‘I’ll just check out the back” should go. If an item is not in-store then a customer can see other stores, perhaps nearby, that do stock the item, or they can order online from in-store. It’s an incredibly versatile tool.

I mentioned in-store displays. There are so many ways for retailers to use these. For a start there is in-store advertising and promotions. Imagine if this was all controlled centrally - Head Office determining a promotion and it being implemented in real time across all stores, along other channels and promoted to customers there and then. Customer love ‘surprise’ bargains, but don’t like hearing they could get the same item cheaper from the online store – that goes back to the importance of a fully joined-up operation.

Other ways this can be used…fashion retailers can show their clothes on the runway, so customers can see how the clothing looks on, how it moves etc. Home retailers could display price and feature comparisons between products… …again, the technology is there, business just need to be creative in how they use it.

Final words?

Dig down and really understand customer shopping behaviours, and then use technology to support that.

Here’s an example I like to refer to. There’s a train station in Germany, in which a lingerie retailer has put in a kiosk rather than open a store in the station. A customer can shop via the kiosk; is able to search and pay quickly. As part of the checkout they can enter their train ticket details, which acts as proof of ID and also gives the lingerie retailer the time by which they need to deliver. Nearby, at a store, the order is received and a courier delivers the ordered and paid for items over to the station. The customer takes delivery at the designated customer waiting point.

I like this example for two reasons. Firstly it demonstrates how technology supports the customer. You can shop conveniently and quickly, and it fits in with your travel plans; they don’t need to worry about missing their train. For the retailer the technology allows them to be located elsewhere, so the stock they carry is not restricted by space and they avoid high store lease costs.

The technology is getting better and better, and people are adopting it. For retailers there is this ever increasing need to get behind that and get the most out of the technology. Give people what they want, or be innovators, show customers a better way of shopping.

Book here to secure your place and enter K3-2010 to gain free entry. Free. That's a great word.

Q. What do you think has been the secret of American Golf’s continued success?
A. The key to our success is based upon excellent customer service and great value. The success has also been underpinned by the business keeping a close control of its costs and working capital.

Q. What is the secret to good customer service?
A. At American Golf we make sure we offer the best range of products at the best value. Our ethos is very much focussed on ensuring our staff always look to sell the right product to a customer in order to improve their game.

Q. What is the company’s attitude to investing in technology?
A.As a business any investment in IT has to deliver on one of two counts – either improve business efficiency or improve the customer experience.

Q. How do you convince the board to invest in IT?
A. Any investment we make always has to have a strong and clear payback in terms of financial return.

Q. How do you get the best out of your suppliers?
A. Golf is dominated by around 6 major suppliers, to grow our business it’s vital that we work in close partnership with our key suppliers.

Q. What are American Golf’s plans for 2010?
A. To continue our store rollout programme and to continue to increase our market share.

• Simon Taylor from Action Audio
• Martyn de Young, Project Manager at Age UK, the new charity formed from the merger of Age Concern England and Help the Aged
• Jo Lee  from Bravissimo Ltd
• Ashish Kapoor from Dreams plc
• Kim F McCulley  from Hotel Chocolat
• Paul Forester Monsoon Accessorize
• Lindsay Page  from Ted Baker
• Steve Dudley from Aurum Holdings
• Michael Jones from Bennetts Retail Limited

Thanks to everyone who took part in the survey. Not only did you help support the Retail Trust, but all your responses have given valuable insight into customer interaction within multi-channel operations.

The event featured a great line-up of speakers, including a keynote from Asda's  Excutive Development Director. Doug Gurr, Joe Tarragano from eBay and Roz Hunt,  Head of Online for Lloyds Pharmacy. K3's own Tony Bryant delivered a great presentation on "What Does Multi-channel Strategy Mean to a Bricks and Mortar Retailer".

" This years  multi-channel summit was a very successful event, with more than 80 retailers joining us for a busy day packed with presentations and thought provoking comment around one of the most talked about topics in retailing today", Tony writes in the introduction to the post-event report written by retail journalist Gynn Davis.

With our extensive background in multi-channel we are proud to have taken a lead part in the Multi-channel Retail Summit 2010, as it brought together some of the latest ideas and freshest perspectives from throughout this fast-paced industry.

• 270,000 staff will be employed at 35 venues throughout the UK
• There will be an Olympic broadcast audience of over 5 billion
• The UK will be visited by around 20,000 press and media personnel
• 9 millions tickets will go on sale for the Olympic events

Staggeringly the typical sales uplift during the Olympics is around 60%. For retailers, the opportunities are unparalleled, however to fully reap the benefits of this event, planning, for those not already off the line, needs to start now.

Thinking location? With East London starting to buzz with construction, the Westfield Stratford City is standing relatively empty. Current occupants, Marks and Spencer and John Lewis are well positioned, however for such a large retail complex, in the heart of ‘Olympic territory’ to still have room to spare, suggests some retailers are not looking as far ahead as they need to. Given the events of 2009, and the ongoing residual effects, that is somewhat understandable; but with the ‘r word’ fading into history, many retailers have greater freedom to enter into negotiations with retail landlords and physically position themselves for 2012.

For those who remain unclear on how to take advantage of this event, or the full scope of how it may impact retail, Retail Knowledge is running a must-attend event: Opportunities for Retailers from London 2012 is for those who are looking ahead, or who have identified they need to be. Held at the London Marriott, Grosvenor Square on 17 March, 'Opportunities for Retailers' will cover why the Olympics is not about just London, what you can do with the Olympic brand/sponsors/licensed products, which government bodies are there to support retailers and asks are you ready to cope for the disruption during the 100 days over which the event is held. Download the full agenda.

Are you going to let the opportunities of London 2012 pass you by?

• Doug Gurr, Executive Development Director, Asda Wal-Mart
• Aamir Ahmad, Managing Director, Dwell
• Tony Stockil, CEO, Javelin Group
• Richard Burrell, Director of Media Operations, QVC
• Darren Gardner, Head of New Business, Multichannel and Future Strategy, The Carphone Warehouse Group PLC
• Tamer Ozmen, Vice President, Online, Orange
• Nigel Randall, E-Commerce Systems Manager, Waitrose
• Joe Tarragano, Enterprise Services, eBay
• David Oliver, Director, CRM (EMEA), Hertz Europe Limited
• Tony Bryant, Business Sector Manager, K3 Retail Business Solutions
• Ros Hunt, Head of Online, Lloydspharmacy
• Duncan Grant, Director of Multichannel, The Entertainer

See you there!

Contradicting the BRC's  response are reports saying that small grocers support this move,  as  do the Scottish Grocers Federation. The SCF Chief Exective John Drummond said "I hope this announcement will introduce a culture change within the major supermarkets and an acknowledgment that they must be open and transparent in their supplier dealings."

In December 2008 it had become apparent that the economy was shaky and opinion columns were littered with views on who and what was to blame. By the time we moved through first half of 2009 the landscape of the UK High Street changed in a way without comparison. While the Retail industry could focus on 2009 as the year when the wheels seemed to fall off, there were also many lessons and successes.

Online and multichannel retailing stepped into its own this year. We saw the important role of value retailing as customer’s became even more discerning about where they spent. Conversely high-end retailers also assured us that even in the hardest of times people needed luxury.

Predictions for next year include a further easing-up of pressure on the economy and businesses, having taken away the lessons on 2008, investing more into their processes and the technology that supports them.

Whatever the New Year holds, the team at K3 are looking forward to embarking on the challenges of 2009 and wish you all fun and prosperous holiday season.

All the best

John

Once you have completed the survey your details will be entered into a prize draw where ten lucky people will win a LUXURY HAMPER ! Even better, you are contributing to a very good cause -  for the first 100 surveys completed £5.00 will be donated to the Retail Trust.

Oh, but it just gets better! As a thank you for taking part The Retail People we will also be sending you a copy of the research report, so you can see what the overall thoughts are out there.

That's 5 minutes of your time very well spent , good luck!