P24 PAUL CLAPHAM:SGBGolf_NEW_template 01/06/2009 10:27 Page 24
Retailer Feature
School's out!
Paul Clapham looks at the importance of the local school to independent
retailers – and knowing what's on the curriculum
T
he value of sports retailers selling to schools can hardly be
exaggerated. In the first place, PE is part of the national
curriculum and as such schools have a legal requirement to
provide sports of varying types (see below). They are therefore
buyers of a wide range of sports goods and in significant quantities
which they need to replace and update on a regular basis. They are
also financially secure customers. Equally important, the kids listen
to their teachers (believe it or not), and so turn into customers. The
purchasing habits formed in one’s teens can and do last a lifetime.
Being a respected supplier to local schools also engages your
business with the local community. It adds authority to what you do;
if school sports departments deal with you, you must know what
you are about.
Sports retailers don’t know much about the PE section of the National
Curriculum. In fact the retailers I spoke to, who were very active in the
market and, indeed very successful in it, didn’t know anything about it. You
might well say: so what? Schools, specifically the PE departments, are
charged with implementing the overall package that is the Curriculum and
they therefore interpret that and purchase for their interpretation. Why
should a retailer know diddly-squat about it when the PE team at any given
school know it precisely and from my researches do not appear to expect
any such knowledge in their suppliers.
However, I suggest that retailers are missing a trick here. I can assure
you that schools suppliers in areas such as IT or text books do know the
requirements of the curriculum. In some respects it is a key sales tool. It is
simply good marketing to understand in advance what is driving any
given purchase and to know the parameters that your customers are
working with. Consider, too, that if you’ve done your homework (pun
intended) and know about the curriculum, in a competitive situation you
will have a distinct edge. It would also mean you are selling rather than
merely taking orders from PE teachers, who are, in general, not
commercially focused.
Teachers are however nobody’s mugs. They are aware of their lack of
commercial skills and one way that they compensate is to be active
networkers. PE teachers meet their counterparts from other schools at
sports matches and you may be assured that one of the things they discuss
is suppliers.
So you go onto the relevant bit of the government website –
http://curriculum.gca.org.uk and follow the links – and guess what? You’re
inclined to be deeply confused. ‘Do I actually stock anything that fits with
this?’ would be a not-unreasonable reaction. Trust me, yes you do, and, The various sports are categorised under headings: Invasion (eg football
trust me further, anything you don’t stock you can source and provide. and rugby); Net and Wall (eg racket sports); Striking and Fielding (eg hockey
and cricket); Combat (eg karate or judo). Schools are required to provide
"Retailers who have developed the
access to students for each of the sectors and they are free to choose the
sports which best suit their budget and facilities as well as reflecting local
schools sector have almost always
preferences.
You’ll need to adjust your thinking in terms of sales techniques. The LEAs
done it, initially at least, via school
have lists of approved suppliers and clearly you need to be on your local
uniforms"
one. That’s the easy bit. The bigger change relates to access. Despite any
prejudices you may have, most teachers spend most of their time actually
teaching. Therefore you have to plan contact calls and visits differently to
24 SGB SPORTS JUNE 2009
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48