Why am i an expert?
I am a retail expert mainly because of two things: I have been working in retail for many years. I attend classes, conferences and network events, a necessety for being profesionally updated in all retail fields. That is quite a lot to take on, but I am proud to say that over 80% of my customers are returning customers. I give my customers tools, honest feedback and empowerment. Hence they can consentrate on building even better shops for their returning customers as well.
After travelling, especially Norway, and norwegian shops,
there is one thing that never surprises me:
Many shop owners lack framework for their shops. and therefore they do not appear profesionally enough. On top of that they lack the confidence and the stamina to plan out a strategy for their shop. The secret to success is actually to plan for it.
To define your unique strategy is one of the most important building blocks in your company.
Too many shops have to close, bacause they make bad, and wrong, descisions because their strategy is weak or not present at all.
how do we create magic together?
To define your unique strategy is one of the most important building blocks in your company. So this is the first thing we focus on
and afterwards everything is easy!
For several years I have been working in my own company called Butikkutvikler.no AS. I have been helping small, independent shop owners all over Norway to improve their businesses. I have published four norwegian books on retail, and published several e-books as well. I am also a public speaker on different retail topics.
The word boutique...
When I decided to "go abroad" with my business I used quite some time to think about the name for my business. My brand in Norway is unique and the word Butikkutvikler(.no), which is my norwegian brandname, means something like shopdeveloper. Many people in the retail industry in Norway use a lot of english words and expressions. To me, that feels a bit stupid when adresseing a norwegian audience. When I started my business many years ago, I would never even have thought about taking my business abroad. But hey; things change, and Norway is a really small country. :-) Hello world.
In Norway, or should I say in norwegian, we really just use one word for a shop. Either it is a foodshop, a clothesshop, a shoeshop etc. It is always the word shop (butikk). In english howewer people seem to use different words; store, shop and even sometimes the word boutique is used. I just knew that I wanted to use the word boutique when taking my business abroad, and when I googled it, I was even more sure about the decision.
Wikipedia definition:
A boutique is a small store that sells stylish clothing, jewelry, or other, usually luxury, goods.
So why boutique? I am not only helping "luxury goods-stores", but my heart lies with the smaller, independent shops. The big chains are making our world so much alike, so now the customers can find the same shops in Oslo as in Athens. And I actually find that to be somewhat sad. And I suppose you do too.
The big retail chains have been taking over the small shops on the corner, and on the high street. the same things, wherever we go? I believe in the "revival" of independent shop. But the people running these shops may need some help once in awhile.