Context: need for insight into the growth potential and the continued professional development of acquired offices
Like its main competitors, the company had acquired a large number of retail offices over a very short period with a view to increasing its market share. As a large number of these new acquisitions did not have the level of professionalism and the ROI of the established offices, a profitability analysis was requested in order to enable the company to lift all offices with sufficient financial growth potential to the desired performance level.
The order to carry out the profitability analysis was entrusted to E&Y, who called upon the experience and methodical approach of Luc Janssens. The analysis and the subsequent reorganisation had to be completed within one year. Given the sensitive nature of the assignment, reporting took place directly to the national management.
A holistic approach to several business dimensions has the largest chance of success
The client's intention was to lift the selected group of offices to a high professional level over several dimensions: brand identity, the sales and marketing strategy, the sales processes, the available competencies, the product offer and the operational processes. The plan was for all selected offices to undergo a restyling and to be standardised wherever possible.
As the scope of this project encompassed several departments, a multidisciplinary team was created with representatives of finance, sales and marketing, human resources, corporate identity, distribution, ICT and legal. It became clear early on that the success of this project would largely depend on an integrated and project-based approach, focussing not only on the "technical" side of things but also and especially on the human aspect of the guidance.
Start of the project: feasibility study of the acquired offices
As the acquired offices were very different in terms of location and customer traffic, staffing, product offer and methods, the decision was taken to first screen all offices to determine their growth and profitability potential. Especially the exact location and the size of the office constituted a critical factor of success. However, a few basic principles exist in this respect, which are generally accepted in the retail sector.
Offices with a small sales potential were gradually closed, while offices with an interesting potential that were located too close to one another qualified for exchange negotiations with the competition (which actually took place for some of the offices). In this phase of the process, an open and honest dialogue took place with all executives concerned, with clear communication with respect to the ambitions of the project and the way of working. A plan to gradually close down all offices that were not selected was drawn up.
Transition planning for the selected offices
An intensive sales and marketing plan was drawn up for the offices that had potential for growth. The plan also included a complete restyling of the buildings and the interior decoration.
All staff members received a very extensive training, covering all aspects of the office activities: office organisation, product offer, administrative processes, IT, leadership, customer approach, etc. The executives were intensively assisted and coached throughout the project.
All responsibilities and processes were compiled in a compendium developed specifically for that purpose.