Wi12 Education Session to Highlight Value of Store Culture

Maria Reitan

The Winter Institute advanced education session “Understanding and Fostering Your Store Culture” will be presented by STYLED RETAIL™, a strategic retail consultancy with more than 50 years of collective experience, on Sunday morning, January 29. Among STYLED RETAIL’s clients are Minneapolis retailers Schuler Shoes, Red Wing Framing and Fine Art Printing, Juut Salon Spa, and JB Hudson Jewelers, as well as national brands such as Mr. Bubble.

Kevin Quinn

During the Wi12 session, STYLED RETAIL’s Maria Reitan and Kevin P. Quinn will discuss how a store’s culture fits into its mission and business ideals and how bookstore owners and managers can engage employees to carry those values forward. A series of exercises will help attendees put the key elements of store culture into practice. In order to make the most of this session, booksellers should come prepared to concisely explain their store’s values.

Here, Reitan and Quinn talk about some of what booksellers can expect to learn at the Winter Institute.

Bookselling This Week: What elements of store culture will booksellers learn about during your presentation?

STYLED RETAIL: Store culture/company culture is more critical to retail success today than ever. We will engage in a discussion about how to assess and manage store culture. We at STYLED RETAIL strongly believe that defining company values, inclusive of the values of key stakeholders, is the most productive way to bring store culture to life — to jumpstart the engine on how retailers will live their mission, execute their business strategy, and service their customers. This is true of newly formed companies as well as established retailers looking to sharpen their focus and become more successful.

BTW: Why is it important for indie booksellers to be thinking about their store’s culture?

STYLED RETAIL: Store culture directly affects business results both positively and negatively. Plain and simple, store culture matters. Store culture affects employee engagement, employee satisfaction, and employee retention.

BTW: How is a store’s culture related to its mission and values?

STYLED RETAIL: Store culture drives how a business conducts its operations, achieves its mission, and secures success. Values are a key ingredient in the recipe for positive store culture. We will dissect the tasty recipe of ingredients needed to be successful in retail today.

BTW: How does a store’s culture affect its bottom line?

STYLED RETAIL: Customers, now more than ever, open their wallets and support businesses that align with their values and whose store culture reflects these stated (and perceived) core company values.

BTW: Should independent booksellers approach establishing a store culture differently than chain retailers?

STYLED RETAIL: Understanding one’s competition is always important to success. However, store culture should be reflective of values derived from within first. For independent booksellers, establishing a strong culture that ultimately impacts their brand is critical in setting themselves apart distinctively from the growing wave of generic big-box retailers.

BTW: What are some of the changes indie booksellers can make to improve their store’s culture?

STYLED RETAIL: Initially, it’s (usually) less about ‘changes’ and more about asking oneself:

“What efforts can I take and/or provide my staff/team/customers/stakeholders for reviewing our company culture?”