As competition increases and footfall declines, a growing number of brick-and-mortar retailers are turning to performance and labour analytics to make smarter decisions on how to hit targets. Here we talk to Alexander Mahler, Head of Retail Operations at Tom Tailor, to find out how StoreForce has empowered its teams to maximise sales by leveraging real-time data. Starting out as a small German textile company in the 1960s, Tom Tailor has expanded into an internationally acclaimed brand with a strong global presence. From its Hamburg headquarters the casual fashion and lifestyle label designs and produces ten collections each year - including menswear, womenswear, childrenswear and homeware - and distributes its products through 421 of its mono-label retail stores, plus several wholesale partners. With its ranges available across 35 countries, the brand has achieved impressive core sales in Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as Switzerland, South-eastern Europe and Russia. While rapidly expanding and cementing its position as a market leader within its mid-price segment in the fashion industry, the company’s commitment to quality, authenticity, and a casual aesthetic has remained unchanged. “Our customers are very much connected to our products in terms of value and brand name recognition, and they demand first-rate products at great value and in-store service - we’ve achieved 60 years in business so far by continuing to meet those expectations” explains Alexander, Head of Retail Operations, who’s been an integral part of the brand since 2007.

All-In-One Solution

Today, Tom Tailor employs almost 3,000 people worldwide, and with such growth comes labour management challenges as well as an increased need for performance visibility. “In order to empower our people to oer the best possible service to our customers, I was searching for a tool that can generate schedules by considering customer’s needs and flow.” Says Alexander. Prior to engaging StoreForce, the brand had manual processes in place to set and report on KPIs for each of its stores - often relying on till system data which was open to misinterpretation - and it had become progressively more diffcult to gain accurate and timely data. He also adds that “StoreForce gave us a complete package combining the personal schedules, business intelligence, reporting & monitoring the relevant KPIs and giving the visibility to the whole team” “We were also only seeing store performance at a daily level, which just isn’t granular enough in a very fast-moving and sometimes volatile market. There was a real mismatch in terms of what we wanted to achieve, as we were unable to fully leverage data to strengthen sales. As a result, we decided that it was more important to enable our teams to respond to upcoming opportunities rather than just reflect back on performance when it was too late. We needed an opportunity-driven system, and that’s what StoreForce provides.” “One of the other key advantages that StoreForce oers when compared to the other options we considered - including providers based here in Germany - is that it’s an all-in-one solution, easy to use and very well tested by successful retailers. That was pretty important in the decision-making process as we were keen to reduce the multiple touchpoints for our retail teams, freeing them up to focus on the customer experience.” 

Retail Agility

After successfully rolling out StoreForce across all of its Germany-based stores in 2021, Tom Tailor’s retail teams are now empowered with the real-time data they need to drive ‘in the moment’ selling. With clear visibility and AI-driven analysis of KPIs including units per transaction, average transaction values and conversion rate, store managers are able to pivot to hit targets, guided by accurate info that’s updated every 30 minutes. The system also eliminates the need for manual data collation and reporting, delivering precise analysis and saving staff an incredible amount of time through automation. “We have a high level of alignment and commitment from teams post StoreForce implementation”, says Alexander. “As the tool is designed and developed by a company with hands-on retail experience, it’s very much an employee engagement-centricsolution, and combines store schedules with business intelligence, reporting and monitoring figures that are relevant and actionable for people on the ground” says Alexander. “From my perspective, it was also a really smooth implementation, with all of our requirements being met, including support and training. In particular, the convenience of now being able to instantly check sales and labour performance at any time - even on my mobile phone while I’m on the road - is a game changer.” Another advantage for the brand is that the StoreForce system is now being used as an internal communications tool across Tom Tailor stores, enabling teams to quickly and easily share insights, ideas, best practice, and know-how with other branches, creating a private social network of real value to the company and its workforce. 

Data-led Performance Culture

The introduction of a tool that monitors productivity and labour costs can realistically be met with initial apprehension from retail teams, however through its transparency, accuracy, and intuitive interface, Tom Tailor’s staff have been quick to embrace it, recognising that it’s designed to set them up for success. “Previously, managers would often need to rely on subjective opinions and observations when it came to decision-making and performance reporting, whereas now the StoreForce system equips them with the facts and figures they need, exactly when they need them, to more effectively manage their store and team. It delivers the know-how, and has helped us move to a fact-based performance culture.” says Alexander. “They understand that the tool is for them - they own it - and that’s been a critical element in terms of adoption and utilisation. We’ve taken steps to build a performance culture in the past with much less success, however with StoreForce our managers are seeing the results themselves, I don’t need to retrospectively explain results or deliver top-down data. Our teams are very much involved, engaged, and motivated by the system, and that’s made a huge difference in terms of embedding lasting change.” 

Delivered Results

By enabling Tom Tailor to harness, monitor and respond to opportunity driven data, the implementation of StoreForce has not only made a cultural impact by providing a clear focus to its teams, but also delivered significant financial benefits too. Since introducing the system, the brand has increased overall sales, as well as a proven increase in average transaction value. “We’re very happy with what we’ve achieved so far,” confirms Alexander “and we’re looking forward to focusing on net sales gains too once we have a post-pandemic view of impact at the end of 2022. Essentially, we’re outperforming the market right now and that’s a very strong position for us to be in. By focusing on maximising the opportunities of the traffic in our stores, we also feel a lot more confident about future growth amid the current economic downturn, which is a major challenge for all retailers right now.”

Ongoing Expansion

The impressive results provided the proof of concept needed to further utilise the StoreForce solution, and so following the successful implementation of the system right across all of its German stores, Tom Tailor has continued the rollout across its Austrian branches too, with further expansion planned in the future. “I’d recommend StoreForce to every customer-focused retailer who wants to keep their brick-and-mortar stores running successfully. It really is an essential tool for anyone looking to maintain - and more importantly grow - their business, and something that will likely be used by all retailers within the next five years.” says Alexander. “Right now at Tom Tailor, we’re actually only using about 65% of the StoreForce system but we’ve already seen excellent results, and there are so many other opportunities for us to explore now that we have the right tool in place - we’re just getting started.”