Holland & Barrett’s director of projects Ray Aldis chats to Retail Week at NRF about innovations that have caught his eye.
What has caught your attention at NRF’s Big Show?
This is my fifth year here and my main priority is to try and understand what to invest in on the tech front.
Last year I was impressed with Lexmark shelf-edge label solution and we now work with them, so I’m always interested in what else I can discover.
Some of the automated checkouts I’ve seen are really impressive, as is electronic shelf-edge labelling. I think that’s the future.
At Holland & Barrett we looked at the technology but the capex is prohibitive at the current time. We estimated it would take £20m to kit out the entire estate. I predict that cost will drop in five-plus years’ times.
I’ve also got a chance on The Oracle Retail Exchange to meet retailers who have gone through the same thing we have. It’s important retailers who can learn from each other get to meet up. Retailers are very good at allowing other businesses to learn from them, they’re very open.
What are your investment priorities in 2016?
Holland & Barrett had its first million pound week for the website recently and in 2015, UK online sales hit £41m, which is 27.5% growth. In addition 40% of traffic comes from mobile devices.
“For us, customer experience is centred around products and knowledge. Associates undergo a comprehensive training programme and have to have that passion for advising customers and answering questions”
Ray Aldis, Holland & Barrett
In-store at Holland & Barrett availability is very important and shoppers have to be able to go into a store and find what they need.
Shelf-edge information is vital – it’s more than just price. We use them to explain additional information such as better pricing information; and can include QR codes.
The biggest opportunity is in supply chain and omnichannel.
Of course everyone at NRF beats the same drum, but they beat it because it’s true.
Consumer expectation is changing pace and it’s very difficult to keep up with. Customers shop the brand – they don’t consciously think they are moving through the channels. We have extensive current Oracle applications and a future Oracle roadmap.
How are store associates encouraged to promote cross-channel shopping?
“Consumer expectation is changing pace and it’s very difficult to keep up with. Customers shop the brand – they don’t think they are moving through channels”
Ray Aldis, Holland & Barrett
Some store managers have more than 30 years’ experience so it was a shift in mindset to get them to understand mobile and online are just as important.
To encourage an omnichannel attitude, we introduced a strategy of giving store associates a share of web sales for their store if the customer shops online.
They then get that for the lifetime duration of that customer.
How has click-and-collect been received by customers?
Click-and-collect pilots are being trialled in 215 stores and we have plans to roll out to the rest of the estate later this year.
Order in-store is the final part of the omnichannel experience which we’ll introduce to enable stores access to a huge range.
What does customer experience mean to you?
We are the only retailer to have an accredited qualification in nutrition and supplement for staff associates to advise customers.
For us, customer experience is centred around products and knowledge. Associates undergo a comprehensive training programme and our staff have to have that passion for advising customers and answering questions.
What’s your biggest challenge looking forward?
Supply chain is going to be what we’re working on and using technology to support the pace of rolling out Holland & Barrett throughout the world, especially supporting franchise partners.
Ultimately we want the customer experience to be the same wherever you are in the world and technology will play a big part in that.
We’ve undergone rapid expansion with 76 new stores last year (resulting in a 63% return on investment); four agreed new franchise territories; and five franchise territories in negotiation.
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