Tech Rep
Confidence in knowledge
Odlo’s UK sales manager Ian Latham explains the company’s method for getting the premium, Swiss product ethos across to specialist retailers
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iving retail staff the confidence to sell a technical, premium product is key to successful sales. Retailers say once they’ve tried our products, they keep coming back for more. There can be a price issue to address when selling our products, and that is why it’s so important to give staff the right information so they can talk to consumers with confidence about the technical benefits, and why it’s worth paying the extra.
Continental shift
Odlo has a strong Scandinavian heritage, coupled with Germanic practicality, efficiency and application. It’s all about comfort and performance and we never have quality issues. This is a very important message to get across to staff. We are not there to compete with lower priced brands, we want to promote our product in the right way. There are lots of discerning consumers out there looking for a quality product. We target specialist outlets with staff who are really into what they do and have a natural interest in the product. We work with retailers who want to take the specialist display presentation package in store and want to sell the product at full price. Specialist retailers tend to hold onto their staff longer, so the message remains longer and you get more success. Our training sessions are run on a consultancy basis. We like to start with a question and answer session to find out what staff know about their products. Once we’ve established the level, we will give a short presentation on the heritage of the company. Odlo has come a long way since the founder created the first synthetic technical tights for his speed skater son who had been competing in woollen tights. We will give them information about our factories in Europe, which gives us a great advantage on quality control issues and speed of production. Short lead times in manufacture and quick delivery from our German warehouse ensure that the staff can sell our product with confidence, usually delivered within
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SGB SPORT MAY 2010
A process of Evolution
Next we get technical. Our Evolution range is all about function, performance and comfort. Key features include a seamless construction, which allows us to map the body and use integrated climate zones for temperature regulation, and to provide a perfect fit for comfort. Silver ions are permanently included in the material to inhibit bacteria and eliminate odour. These are all key selling points.
Our sports bras are probably the biggest challenge. Young, male staff can get
uncomfortable about the subject, which is why we have been known to talk retailers out of stocking bras if they don’t employ any female sales staff. As well as the technical functions found in other garments, our bras encapsulate the bust, which prevents flattening and, therefore, prevents potential damage to soft tissue. Around 70% of women unknowingly wear the wrong sized bra, so staff have
one of our retailers is out performing 4 or 5 shops put together in bra sales, by ensuring all the female staff wear the bras
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48 hours with no delivery charge. This quality of service helps the retailer gain additional business.
With good training comes great sales and
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the challenge of encouraging women to be measured. We have to work hard at this. Encouraging staff to actively try out the garments is the best way to get them to understand the technical benefits. This is why where we can, we supply test pieces to key members of staff and offer a generous staff discount. A personal recommendation is always more convincing for customers and helps boost sales tremendously. With good training comes great sales, and one of our retailers is out performing 4 or 5 shops put together in bra sales, by ensuring all the female staff wear the bras, so they can talk from experience. Changing rooms are also fitted out with measuring graphics and tape measures so women can be measured correctly, or even measure themselves. Our display stands and merchandising units are an integral part of our selling package and the retailers who invest in the display packages see a real increase in business. It’s vital that our products are presented in a certain way, to reflect the sophistication and quality of the lines. It’s a global message and very visual. Underwear is packaged in boxes on free- standing display stands, usually with a dressed torso, which presents the product very well. Other garments are displayed on wall and free-standing units, again with torso’s attached. There is a real science to the presentation style we use and our retail support team supply proven guidelines for layout. They actually produce bespoke plans so as to maximise the visual opportunities – we want retailers to earn the best return they can.
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www.odlo.com
A measured approach: Effective selling of sports bras is a specialist skill
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