letters What Samm did next… I
t’s now three months since I left Lakeland, having previously been their Buying & Merchandising
[B&M] Director (Housewares Magazine, September/October p15). Three months! Where did that go? When I first left, I decided that I’d
take some ‘me’ time during my garden leave and do a little of what I love… so I decorated our dining room and worked my way through a number of other jobs. I hate not being busy and love to get things done, so I thoroughly enjoyed a few weeks to catch up with some of the stuff I hadn’t got around to. Being a B&M Director, wife and mum doesn’t provide much time for decorating and taking up the curtains! It also gave me time to think. I contacted a number of recruitment companies and considered which direction I wanted to take. It immediately became clear that there aren’t tons of jobs in retail right now - no great surprise - and so I decided to think in broader terms. Home interiors has long been a hobby of mine. Many years ago I turned down a role for an interior design business in order to move north and work for Matalan, but I’d always wondered what would have been. So I enrolled for an online course and several weeks later here I am, an
accredited interior designer, having passed with distinction. I’ve also spent some time setting up a website, social media pages and materials ready for my first customer. Now the challenge: how to market the business!
I decided that in the short term I’d offer painting and decorating as part of my business proposition. I’m currently in the middle of redecorating a house from top to bottom for an elderly gentleman who wants to put it on the market. If nothing else, it’s keeping me busy, active (good grief, I sound old!) and is helping financially. Does this mean that I’ve switched off from retail? Never! B&M, product,
retail and housewares have been my passion for many, many years. I’m already pining for the industry, and watching the not very active recruitment sites intently. I’ve tried to spread the word that I’m available for consultancy work, at least in the short term. With over 25 years’ experience in buying, merchandising and stock allocation, I have a lot of experience to put to good use. I can say with absolute certainty that there are a number of retail challenges out there right now (!) that I could assist with. So. Interior design. Painting and decorating. Consultancy. A new B&M
Directorship. As I said, I hate not being busy, so better to jump into a multitude of opportunities than sit and wait for something to come my way. I want to look back on this period in my life with pride at what I achieved. Where do I go from here? Well, I struggle to think of my future without housewares retail as part of it. I’d love for a fantastic opportunity to sweep me off my feet. So fingers crossed that despite the general election, the tide turns and retail starts to see an upturn in sales. I can hope, can’t I?!
Samm Swain Mobile: 07725 947 942 Email:
samantha-swain@sky.com Website:
http://www.colouryourroom.co.uk Instagram: colour your room kendal
An excellent platform
in the piece. The events have been going for the past 21 years and are designed to engage with consumers, who like to meet the people behind the inventions and the brand. They provide an excellent platform for my business to get direct feedback from the public on what they think about my products - positive or negative. This way, I can redevelop the products on a case-by-case basis. The in-store demonstration activity has changed hugely over the years as we are not just selling a product, we are educating the consumer - plus explaining the reason and creativity of the design, and providing knowledge with helpful and useful tips about the world of wine. We know that consumers are looking for an excellent shopping experience, so we provide free ‘wine tips’ booklets which offer advice on the best-selling wines and break down the snobbery of wine with easy to follow wine terminology, to help customers get the best out of their wines
F
ollowing the recent ‘On the Board’ article about me and my business (Housewares Magazine, September/October p18-19), here is an update on our ‘Meet the Maker’ days which I mentioned
- and hopefully leave the store fully informed when purchasing the latest wine accessory that will maximise the taste and add value to their day out. According to my customers, the demos I undertake have a very positive
effect on customer shopping experience, staff training, product knowledge and sales. Over the years we have conducted events in selected branches of John Lewis, Fenwick, Beales, Morleys Stores, Makro, and some AIS stores, along with Harrods and Selfridges in London, plus Brown Thomas and The Kitchen Whisk in Dublin, to name but a few - plus many independents. We offer free bottles of wine via our wine partner Alchemy or a free CellarDine product on a specific spend, but this depends on the store. Meanwhile, our new ZOS wine preserver has done very well at Lakeland, helping to make it into the housewares chain’s top 10 best sellers. POS units were provided to each store by way of support. I do feel that the product’s design, unique operation features and performance makes it a stand-out item, and I’m delighted that it has produced some strong sales. We are already working on the extension to ZOS plus other CellarDine
branded lines and hope to have these ready by Autumn/Winter 2020. Thank you to everyone for the ongoing support.
Peter Dunne Managing Director & founder CellarDine
20 |
housewareslive.net
•
HousewaresLive.net
•
twitter.com/Housewaresnews
December 2019
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
