May 2026
ertonline.co.uk
value ladder for the sake of margin. Instead, Mr Sargant says the aim is to recommend the most suitable product based on a customer’s actual needs and budget.
He gives the example of a customer who came in looking at a premium fridge. Rather than simply supporting that choice, the team pointed out an alternative from another brand that offered a comparable specification at a lower price.
“I didn’t really think about the appliance, what was in the box,” he says. “I thought about the box. A lot of this industry is more about logistics than people realise. AO, for example, is essentially a dressed-up logistics company with a retail shopfront.”
“When I first joined, we chased volume for a while. Now we look more at what’s actually in the box. What are we selling? Is it right for our customers? Is it right for us? That’s where the priorities have shifted.” His day-to-day role is less about direct selling
and more about alignment. Working with a relatively small leadership team, he describes his job as ensuring different areas of the business continue moving in the same direction. “I ask people to run their own areas almost like their own businesses, within the broader culture,” he explains. “Then my job is to keep pulling everyone back towards the North Star, making sure we’re aligned. If you don’t do that, you can easily have three or four people pulling in different directions.”
Customer first If there is one phrase that recurs throughout the conversation, it is customer-centricity. Mr Sargant is open about the fact that this is harder to maintain in practice than it sounds in theory. “It’s actually a lot more difficult
than you
think,” he says. “You can come up with an idea and think it’s right for the business, but then
you have to stop and ask, ‘What is the benefit to the customer?’ If it doesn’t genuinely help them, the idea generally shouldn’t go ahead. “The biggest flaws in my business career have been when I’ve done something for our benefit without enough customer benefit. never really flies.”
That philosophy carries through to the sales
process. RDO does not position itself as a business looking to push customers up the
It
“The customer really appreciated that,” he says. “People don’t trust salespeople. They don’t want to be sold to. So I think it comes as quite a surprise when they come in here and they’re told what we genuinely think is most suitable for their requirements and their budget.” That approach, he argues, pays off over time. “It’s very relationship-based here. Our repeat customer rates are really high. It pays for itself in lifetime value, making sure customers feel they’ve been dealt with properly. There’s no short-term thinking in that.” It is also reflected in the retailer’s decision to maintain visible staffing presence in-store, even if that comes with a cost. “You walked in and there was someone available to help straight away,” he says. “That does impact profit because not everyone does it, but we’re a customer-centric business. We know if we build that trust and give people the right experience, they’ll come back.” >>
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