From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
It was looking like it was going to be a quiet day in the Lionesses Hub. It was 9:30am, the Head of Finance (HoF) was deep into a third coffee, all was as normal. But was it? Emerging from the darkness that is the Finance PowerRoom (as the HoF likes to call it!), we were shocked to hear the announcement, “Retail is Dead. Long live Retail!” boom across the stunned room.
The HoF expanded. For the past 30 years people have been talking of the decline in Retail, that High Streets would disappear, that online would take over, and old ‘Bricks and Mortar’ Retail would die to be replaced by only Amazon, that small businesses would never be able to compete with the big names.
Yet…
…time and time again Retail has reinvented itself, kept ahead of the curve, nimbly skipped past the attacks from the larger cumbersome competitors and continued to thrive daily within its own niche world. The ’High Street’ may indeed be on its life support, but then it has been replaced by pods of ultra cool boutiques that come together such as at 44 Stanley in Johannesburg (a serious centre of Lioness-ness!). It is this nimbleness, this adaptability, the constant improvement on ‘normal’ that is so important.
CV19 has, of course, transformed all industries, but Retail has been one of the worst hit outside of PPE and Groceries. Retail more than any other industry had to overnight significantly ‘up their game’ and transform for online sales. Delivery companies enjoyed a surge in popularity as the ‘last mile’ once again proved complex. Apps such as ‘what3words’ took the accurate Google Maps (to within 50m) and transformed the last mile delivery accuracy (to 1m) by giving 3 unique words to each square metre (yes square metre!) so that delivery drivers knew exactly where to deliver or even where someone is standing!
As we have suggested before, those that had a delivery truck with idle times or going out half full, should offer this space up to some of the neighbouring businesses, thereby making extra money and their neighbours extra happy. Indeed, we saw recently an enterprising young man launched Uber for delivery trucks in Nigeria (he must have read our previous letter!).
The point being that if we sit at home and like Chicken Licken’s (or Chicken Little for our fabulous, ever growing and >100,000 USA membership!), fear going outside because ‘The Sky is falling’, our prophesy of doom will indeed automatically come true. In business (as in life) nothing moves in a straight line. We might be lucky and there is an upward movement over time, or unlucky and there is a downward movement, but in between there will be ups and downs. How do we ride and turbo charge the ‘Ups’ whilst ensuring the ‘Downs’ are small and controlled?
Incredibly difficult to do, often when there is a ‘Down’ our entrepreneurial minds shut off, unable to see the light through the doom and gloom. The spirit that started us on our journey starts to flicker and feels about to go out.
Yet, as Melanie wrote recently in one of her Blogs.
Richard Branson’s words always come into my head [when there is a setback] - he says, “A setback is never a bad experience, just a learning curve.”
So where can we find new inspiration, where can we look to re-find our ‘mojo’, where can we turn this fear of the sky falling on our Heads into a learning experience from which we can grow? In times likes these it is essential to go outside either physically or virtually, to look around and gain inspiration from other entrepreneurs and businesses.
In amongst all of the chaos that is Covid, the fabulous photo of a sign in a café above says it all. What a great idea, and as one can see there are enough kind hearted souls having recognised just how lucky they are to have a paying job, who are willing to add an extra smile to the day of someone not quite as fortunate.
Yet, this is not a new idea, indeed our global coffee traveller (the HoF) confirms that in Italy for many years it has been common practice to pay for a ‘caffe sospeso’ or ‘suspended coffee’ to be left for a less fortunate person.
Much like introducing the ‘caffe sospeso’, learning from others is not something new, simply that coffee shop owners have seen this and have expanded upon it. Indeed Japan in the 1970’s and more recently China have learnt from others, mostly from the expertise of the German and USA Industrialists and then adapted and improved on what they learnt. Improvement of course may mean make better as in Japan’s case (we can’t forget that Nissan made air-conditioning available for all of their models, not just for the expensive ones as the American, German and UK manufacturers had previously), or make cheaper in China’s case.
It was interesting to see the other day in the FT that Macys was joining forces with a credit provider from Sweden called Klarna. Why did this deal grab our HoF’s interest. Quite simply, it is taking an old idea in Sweden and elevating it to the entire world.
The old idea?
In Scandinavia for decades now, many Retail outlets would actually invoice their customers, allowing them to take the goods home, try and either pay the invoice in 30 days or return the goods.
Klarna have taken this to other countries and created an app whereby customers can buy from Macy’s or other retail outlets that have signed up and then pay in either 4 instalments, or with financing, or full in 30 days, the customer having the choice. Of course it is safer for the retail outlet to do this through a formal system like Klarna than simply doing it on their own, but it has been shown to increase spending by customers and increase loyalty. Taking an old idea and transforming it for a global market.
But returning to our ‘caffe sospeso’ brewing quietly in the corner, perhaps this can be adapted in someway, to lean on the generosity of others whilst bringing our customers closer. In the journal Psychological Science, psychologists Thomas Gilovich and Matthew Killingsworth, along with Cornell doctoral candidate Amit Kumar, looked deeper into the understanding that spending money on experiences "provide[s] more enduring happiness.” due to the ‘anticipation’ factor. Is there an additional ‘kicker’ gained by the excitement that anticipation brings before the arrival of an experience, in addition to after, as opposed to the impatience we feel as we wait for an Amazon delivery of something material?
We interrupted the HoF (now on his 5th coffee of the day) to ask if this was true. Turning to the bookshelf we always believed to be full of business and financial books, a well thumbed set of the collected poems of Keats was found, page opened to ‘Ode to a Grecian Urn’ and handed over. A poem about the painting on the side of a Grecian Urn showing a number of different moments and events forever stuck in time, including a young couple a fraction of a second before a kiss, and this was dramatically pointed out by our ever helpful HoF.
Keats understood perfectly the anticipation, expectation and indeed, high emotion aroused when so close to such an event (in this case a kiss), that in his mind, it was almost the highest and purest form of happiness.
“Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!
…More happy love! more happy, happy love!
For ever warm and still to be enjoy'd,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy'd,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.”
The HoF moved distractedly onto ‘Ode to a Nightingale’, so we left, but there was no doubt in our minds that Keats was correct - expectations of an event trumped impatiently waiting for a delivery from Amazon many times over!
How can we use that to our advantage whilst bringing ourselves closer to our customers. There may be a long term supporter who would sponsor extra tickets to a Fashion show for your Interns so that they can learn from the greats because they are so impressed by your work, whilst (and here is the Keats’ kicker) joining you so that you can impart your knowledge, experience and skills. Now there’s an experience that many would happily pay for.
The expensive tickets to a Trade Show, essential to keep our ‘Little Grey Cells’, ticking over in the inspiration department, can also be brought into Keats’ world. There is no doubt one of your supporters would absolutely love spending the day with you at such a show - there is nothing better than going to one of these with an expert who can (whilst picking up inspiration), explain the beauty, intricate design and detail of what is in front of them. Obviously these are currently done virtually, but then be original and invite them round for a meal or a drink while it is going on so together you can discuss the show and virtually visit areas that excite and engage. One of the ‘advantages’ of CV19 is that suddenly you can pick the very best Trade Shows across the globe, for example the German Trade Shows are here with no need for an expensive plane flight and hotel!
Perhaps you can arrange a Team viewing, allowing for a number of supporters to be together with you, thereby spreading the cost of the tickets. They will learn so much from your expertise and passion. As we have discussed before, one of the best ways to sell is to show your expertise. This is not a ‘hard’ sell, but instead creates a fabulous growth of influence which in turn allows for a far stronger relationship with your customers. Coupled with Keats’ anticipation, we believe this is a great way to bring yourself closer to your customers. Surely, Amazon can wait a few more years for Global Domination!
As the great (and stolen from us far too young) Chadwick Boseman revealed, Denzel Washington (no point putting ‘Great’ in front of his name, it is automatically assumed by all!) secretly paid for him to go to prestigious summer theatre program at The University of Oxford. Indeed, as ‘caffe sospeso’ has shown, there are many good souls out there who appreciate that they are in a strong position and are willing to help out in some way and if they in return get to anticipate an event, and then enjoy, AND then remember - what a HUGE win this is for them.
So next time you feel like Chicken Licken and just want to pull the Duvet up over your head as the morning sun arrives, just remember the ‘caffe sospeso’; remember all ideas can be adapted and improved upon with a little thought; remember Keats and the anticipation of the moment caught in time; but most of all remember that there are large supporters of female led businesses out there as well as other Lionesses you can turn to and bring closer into your world.
Stay safe!