Opinion: Retail lessons from the legendary Feargal Quinn

A few weeks ago, Andrew Lynch in The Sunday Times chose James Timpson as one of the Top 50 disruptors in the UK.

I’ve never heard the expression in the Timpson boardroom, but without doubt James has a clear and different vision that succeeds.

I could not help reflecting that Feargal Quinn, had he been based in the UK instead of Ireland, might have been similarly singled out.

He is a great retailer by instinct: ever curious about customers, obsessed about listening to his colleagues and packed full of energy and Irish charm.

His autobiography is a splendid primer for retail and ‘lead from the front’ entrepreneurship. Especially the latter.

Showmanship

Long before the expression ‘retail theatre’ had been coined, Feargal was engaged on making his first store in Dundalk an experience.

He decided he would hand out baskets to each customer as they entered – a revolution. This created great sales, but customers invariably took the baskets home.

“He rigged up an in-store PA system to talk to, entertain and encourage his customers to shop his new ranges. From his childhood in an Irish ‘Butlins’, he brought showmanship to grocery and created PR stunts to fashion footfall out of thin air”

He rigged up an in-store PA system to talk to, entertain and encourage his customers to shop his new ranges. From his childhood in an Irish ‘Butlins’, he brought showmanship to grocery and created PR stunts to fashion footfall out of thin air.

His philosophy was to recruit wisely and then trust his colleagues: “I think most of my business education has come from just listening to my colleagues, regardless of their ‘rank’ within the company.”

Feargal was way ahead of the pack in finding that company culture is the single most potent weapon in retail.

Wise too, in discovering that “bloody accountants” didn’t try to understand his customer and, worse, needed reminding that you can’t bank a percentage as he moved to shifting volume at lower prices.

Not that he didn’t have to duck and dive around restrictive practices and anti-consumer pricing regulation. Agile chap, it seems.

Superquinn

And his business Superquinn’s agility was also a huge source of pride. Feargal tells the tale of realising that best-before dates on fresh orange juice would be clearer with the day as well as the date stamp. They made the change in a few days.

Later, Sir Peter Davis came to visit Feargal and said that that little change would have taken Sainsbury’s six months.

“Superquinn went on to become the first retailer in Europe to launch a loyalty card, to champion value own-brand and introduce salad bars”

Feargal spent much of his time on the shop floor with his customers and his team soaking up what was really happening. How many of us in retail can honestly say we stay that close?

Superquinn went on to become the first retailer in Europe to launch a loyalty card, to champion value own-brand and introduce salad bars.

Feargal wrote Crowning The Customer in 1990, and for me it is as inspirational today as then. Required reading.

Feargal gave me a signed copy, pointing out that the “unsigned ones were much rarer”. In fact, it sold the world over, in 20 languages.

Legacy

Feargal eventually sold Superquinn and handed the CEO’s badge to Simon Burke. Seamlessly, Feargal became a Senator (the Irish equivalent of a Lord) and TV business guru, as well as a wise lobbyist at EuroCommerce in Brussels.

I first met Feargal in the 1990s when he kindly showed me his stores and shared his retail philosophy.

And there he was again at EuroCommerce when I was at the BRC, still sparkling and still putting colleagues and customers at the centre of the retail world. And still disrupting.