Feb. 9, 2018 "Retail's renaissance redefines stores as a destination": Today I found this article by Suzanne Bowness in the Globe and Mail:
Stephen Bebis is looking to hire a director of in-store experience. If the job title sounds like one that didn't exist 20 years ago, that's probably accurate. Mr. Bebis, a new partner at talent strategy firm The Bigwin Group after decades in retail as founder of both Quebec home-improvement retailer Reno Depot and sports chain Golf Town, says he's excited about the potential for innovation in retail careers.
"We're on the cusp of a retail renaissance. It's changing dramatically, and it's an opportunity to be part of an amazing transformation," he says. Technology and the increasingly connected, customer-centric world makes today's retail environment one where people can increasingly see themselves forging a long-term career path.
Unlike some fields, nearly everyone has had some interaction with retail, so the changing landscape is no secret. It's also easy to grasp that a director of in-store experience position would demand a mindset to think of retailing from every angle, from concept to space to lighting, smell and taste. Increasingly, stores are more than just a depot of shelves, but hubs for customers to connect with experts on their products.
The January launch of a new 21,000-square foot Samsung Experience Store at Toronto's Eaton Centre is just one recent example of retailers trying to create this "immersive, hands-on, multi-sensory experience," as described by the company's website.
Yes, customers can still test out the company's tablets and smartphones (and appliances, as the store centralizes all products), but now they can also play with virtual-reality headsets, receive on-site tech support and even attend events such as photography workshops or cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs – all of which build consumer connection while providing inspiration on how to use the tech tools.
Yes, customers can still test out the company's tablets and smartphones (and appliances, as the store centralizes all products), but now they can also play with virtual-reality headsets, receive on-site tech support and even attend events such as photography workshops or cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs – all of which build consumer connection while providing inspiration on how to use the tech tools.
"There's been a seismic shift with online integration in the consumer's journey and a need to elevate and personalize consumer experience in order to deliver value for customer time in store," says Patricia Heath, Samsung's vice-president of retail excellence.
"Retail careers look really different because of these changes."
"Retail careers look really different because of these changes."
Of course, technology and the ability to track online buying and browsing drives much of this change. After customer experience, big data and analytics have probably had the most impact on the industry, along with automation of supply chain and logistics processes, says Frances Gunn, associate professor in Ryerson's bachelor of commerce in retail management program.
Both Mr. Bebis and Ms. Heath name analytics as a top hard skill they would look for from anyone pursuing a career in retail today.
Both Mr. Bebis and Ms. Heath name analytics as a top hard skill they would look for from anyone pursuing a career in retail today.
Almost as important as technology itself is "omnichannel," retailer speak for the drive to maintain consistency regardless of whether the customer accesses a store online, by phone or in person. At Ryerson, omnichannel has become a curriculum fundamental of the retailing program.
Mr. Bebis points to the recent launch of the Amazon Go automated grocery store as an example of a retailer pushing to unify retail into one customer-service experience, something he says will only become more essential. "You can't have any barriers. You need the same look, feel and customer service. Retailers who are doing well in this space, it's because they're looking at it as all the same business, doing the same online as in the store," he says.
This need to see the big picture is also having an impact on the skills required of those who move up the retail career ladder. Hart Hillman, founder and CEO of The Bigwin Group, where recruitment focuses mostly on C-suite careers, says he and his colleagues look for leaders who are able to respond to change.
"Adaptability is key, to look into the future and see things others are not seeing," says Mr. Hillman.
"Adaptability is key, to look into the future and see things others are not seeing," says Mr. Hillman.
Ms. Gunn, who teaches leadership to her students at Ryerson, agrees. "From a leadership perspective, being able to mobilize a team, to move strategy in responsive way, you need to have leadership skills that are adept at being responsive," she says.
The promise of strategic thinking and innovation has made retail even more attractive as a career. In a 2017 paper published in The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, Ms. Gunn and her colleagues presented research that showed a shift in perception of retail-management careers over the past decade, in which people have started to see retail as an intentional trajectory, with a younger cohort even viewing the path as a way to engage in community building.
"When you think of it, it makes sense that retail is integral to any community," says Ms. Gunn. "And they're seeing that side of the business as being very appealing because it builds lives."
"Former ski-racer Vania Grandi brings business smarts to Alpine Canada": Today I found this article by Paul Attfield in the Globe and Mail:
When the Winter Olympics begin in Pyeongchang, South Korea, later this week, Vania Grandi will be there, enjoying a fairly unique vantage point.
Ms. Grandi has seen it from every angle. The native of Trieste, Italy, moved to Banff at the age of five, where she grew up watching the Games on TV. She competed on the Canadian national ski team, then covered winter sports as a reporter for The Associated Press in Italy, and managed media relations for the Salt Lake City Games in 2002.
But once the cauldron is lit at the Olympic Stadium on Friday, her interest in Canada's athletic peformance will be every bit as vested as those set to hurtle down the mountain, bobsleigh course or ski jump in a quest for gold.
Named president and chief executive officer of Alpine Canada on Jan. 1 – the first woman to lead the national organization that governs alpine, para-alpine and ski cross racing – the responsibility for Canada's success, or otherwise, will fall on her shoulders as squarely as those of any athlete.
Ms. Grandi graduated with an MBA from Westminster College in Salt Lake City in 2005 to transition from a career in journalism to senior positions in marketing and sales with mining giant Rio Tinto. Therefore, she feels well prepared for her new Olympic role, even though it will take some getting used to.
"While at Rio Tinto I was spoiled because I always had support on the finance side and the human resources and the marketing," she says. "Here I'll have to really bring it all together and make sure I'm using all of the skill sets that I learned from my MBA."
In a number of roles, from sustainable development advisor to general manager of commercial strategy, the three biggest takeaways that she got from her time at Westminster College were specific knowledge on how companies are run, confidence in her business acumen and lastly, the network of connections that she made, one that was largely responsible for her moving into the field of mining.
Embarking on her MBA program without a clear vision of what she wanted to do, Ms. Grandi picked the brains of other students. A few of her cohort were already employed by Rio Tinto, but her initial reaction to a career in the mining industry was somewhat muted. As someone who grew up in Banff surrounded by national parks, the idea of working for a mining giant seemed somewhat hypocritical.
But the more she asked questions, the more clear her path became.
"I talked to quite a few people there and realized I could make much more of a difference inside than outside and there were way more experts on water quality, on community relations, on marketing than many other [mining] companies that weren't under the spotlight so much," she says.
As a student in the executive MBA program, Ms. Grandi studied mostly evenings and weekends. While her colleagues in the program were busy juggling studies with their jobs at Rio Tinto and elsewhere, she used that time between jobs to start her family.
Looking back, with her two boys now 14 and 15, she wouldn't have it any other way.
"It was absolutely a formula that I would recommend for anyone in that situation because it took me three years instead of two, but I was able to enjoy my kids and do well at school and have something to really focus on, to keep the mind really busy," she says.
After wrapping up her skiing career in the late 80s, Ms. Grandi had decided that she wanted to build on the discipline and focus that she had exercised while competing on the slopes. In addition, she wanted to prove herself in the corporate world.
Her time as a journalist, in addition to the four languages she speaks, helped tick off the box for communication skills, and honing her interview skills and speaking in public enabled her to overcome a self-confessed shyness.
Her time as a journalist, in addition to the four languages she speaks, helped tick off the box for communication skills, and honing her interview skills and speaking in public enabled her to overcome a self-confessed shyness.
However, she still didn't know how corporations worked, and undergoing her MBA helped to imbue her with both knowledge and a sense of assuredness. She says the breadth of the program helped her to gain a sense of all the different functions that are important in a business, how they all work together, as well as the terminology to go along with it.
"The MBA really helps give the confidence that, hey, I've studied lots of different companies," she says. "I've seen lots of different approaches, different strategies and I can do this, it's not rocket science."
Her years in the work force before enrolling in her MBA also gave her a decided advantage. Ms. Grandi says her preceding career with AP, particularly in Rome, where she covered the seemingly annual political elections as well as an earthquake in Assisi, gave her a framework for her professional life, and the decision to take an MBA helped to fill in some other parts of that puzzle.
"The timing is important," she says. "At the time I decided to get my MBA, I'd already been working for 10 years, so I knew a lot more about who I was, about my skill set in my 30s than in my 20s, so I was much more driven to learn specific things."
With her background as a member of one of Canada's foremost skiing families – her brother, Thomas, is a four-time Olympian, and her sister, Astrid, was also a member of the national ski team – the onus is now on Ms. Grandi to bring all that experience to bear with Alpine Canada.
While Canada's results in Pyeongchang, in both the Olympics and Paralympics, will give her a good measure of where the country stacks up on the global skiing stage, Ms. Grandi says Canada's shortcomings could well reflect some of her own early-career hiccups, namely communication and confidence.
Reflecting on her own ski-racing career, she says the athletes didn't always know what the executives at Alpine Canada did, and what support was available for the athletes, so she says she will endeavour to improve the connection and feedback.
And though competing in a sport dominated by the European heavyweights, such as Austria and Switzerland, can appear daunting, Ms. Grandi says there is no reason Canada cannot be equal to those powerhouses. It all comes down to the mental aspect.
"If you're the best in Canada, you can be the best in Europe, you can be the best in Asia," she says. "So I think it's really about getting confidence."
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