Shopping centre council programme to assist small retailers

The first stage is a nine-month pilot project involving the council’s first accredited advisors and specially selected retail centres in three regions. So far, 40 of the required 60 advisors have been appointed for the pilot, from 120 applications. They are working in centres in Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

Raise professionalism levels

The project is part of an ongoing effort by the SACSC to raise levels of professionalism in the industry and assist shopping centre related retailers to improve their trading and profitability. The programme, funded jointly by the SACSC and shopping centre owners, has been designed in a collaborative effort between the SACSC’s executive chairman George Skinner and business advisor Paul Hartnady.

Tracey Fowler, GM of the SACSC said: “The successful floating of this initiative is a top council priority for 2007 under recently-elected president Julie Hillary. An enormous amount of work has gone into its eventual success. We are fortunate to have the depth of knowledge of these specialists who together have researched industry solutions over 20 years.”

Skinner and Hartnady describe the programme as having an approach radically different from previous initiatives and involves business advising as opposed to training. Its function is, in the first instance, diagnostic, followed by a proposal based on findings and finally the adoption of a tailored business programme with measurable results.

The successful applicants for the role of retail business advisers (RBAs) many of whom are already professionals in the field, have also received specific instruction from the SACSC.

Emphasis on advice, not training

The emphasis is on advice and result-oriented business methods, and not on training, and existing trainers in the industry are expected to work hand-in-hand with the advisors in a communication network that is being established, whose benefits are part of the SACSC’s Retail Business Advice programme.

Once the pilot programme is successfully completed, it will be expanded to the accreditation of further RBAs by the SACSC. The advisors will be licensed to work in selected shopping centres under an exclusive mandate with the support of the centre owners. Their task will be to bring development services, advice, and retail expertise to SME retailers at an affordable cost.

The services are aimed at improving retailer sales, or reducing their costs, to a pre-determined desirable level in relation to the cost of the RBA’s services. The advisors will use a process for diagnosing retailer problems comprising a specially developed questionnaire and performance analysis.

Key areas to be explored

Some of the key areas to be explored are selling, finance, business planning, merchandising, stock management (including procurement, buying, warehousing, distribution), promotions, leasing, legal, security and safety, hygiene, shrinkage, and franchising.
The successful consultants have to operate under specific protocols for ethical business practice and will work with individual retailers on a fee basis, to improve their business performance over periods of six to 12 months. Retailers are entitled to terminate the relationship at any time.

On completion of the pilot and its approval for national implementation, future RBA applicants will pay a licence fee for training, accreditation and access to network and support services. This revenue will ensure that the scheme is self-funding in the future.

It is envisaged that where an RBA has difficulty providing the necessary specialist advice or support required by a retailer, they will use the network to locate an accredited RBA who is able to service the needs.