NEWS EXTRA


outside of our sector, including looking at hairdressing models and those in the car industry, to help shape our idea. I have worked in training centres, before so had an understanding of the basic things you would want and then the team had their ideas for practical things like ‘how big a bay do we need?’, ‘how many strips of wallpaper are you going to be able to put up?’, and ‘what are we actually going to use the space for?’. “It’s definitely been a learning curve but we have been able to use that footprint to roll out to other locations, which has worked well.” Whilst the flagship Academy in Slough is a standalone centre, others operate out of colleges across the country, including Bolton, and the latest addition in Newport in Wales.


Working with retailers The majority of courses are attended by


however, a lot of Dulux’s retail customers take advantage of


decorating professionals, the


training facility as well. So, what is the benefit to a retailer or merchant?


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“Predominantly, the retailer’s courses tend to centre on product knowledge – so understanding the range, and also understanding the language a decorator might use when they come in to store,” explains Vickie. “If a customer comes in and talks about ‘flashing’ or ‘edges’ we help retailers understand what those technical terms mean.” The Academy runs bespoke courses for particular retailers, including Homebase, B&Q and its own Dulux Decorator Centres, including intensive bootcamps centred around a particular theme, such as paint spraying. “Our team explains what a decorator is looking for when they come in store, what they might ask, and can also answer any questions a retailer or merchant might have heard over the counter, such as queries about spray tip sizes, or something.” But there is also potential for smaller retailers to take places on other group courses – all free of charge. “Our merchanting team might deal with independents that have a few people who want to do the


course and we find other businesses to fill the spaces, so we have a group of between eight to 12 people,” she says. “We choose carefully so they’re not competing in the same area and it works really well. We had an independent merchant who had no access to training and they were able to come because they can just have one space on the course. We don’t charge retailers to take part in these courses; it is part of the offer of being a Dulux stockist. We realise, if we want to sell quality products, we need people to champion those products for us in store.” A key motivation for the business is that it wants retailers to be able to give colour advice. “People struggle with colour,” says Vickie. “When customers come in, they just want someone with confidence to help them make a decision. The business spends a lot of time on how it designs its colours. With the colour stripe cards, and how the colour wall works, there is a science behind it all, so training people how to use the tools effectively with someone, makes a huge difference.”


This year the Academy is launching an


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package for retailers, with the intention that everyone in a branch can benefit, rather than just the few who can attend the course. “We can’t guarantee that the person we have trained is going to be in the store when the decorator comes in with all the questions,” laughs Vickie. “But also we are noticing that turnover in retailer merchants is quite high, so they might have invested in the training but that person doesn’t then stay in the business.” The modules are still being put together but Vickie explains: “We are trying to make it as interactive as possible…One of the training modules we’ve got is based around a ‘look, seek, find’ approach in store because, actually a lot of the information the retailer or merchant needs is on the back of the can or in one of the leaflets or brochures they’ve got but they don’t think to look at them, so we try to take them back to what have you actually got in front of you.”


training


To feature in our product news pages send your press releases through to Ed Waugh ewaugh@datateam.co.uk or call 01622 699513


www.diyweek.net 12 APRIL 2019 DIY WEEK 11


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