Kathy Mance featured in a local Alexandria newspaper signs an agreement to develop and localize a Retail Training and Certification program with leaders from the Chamber of Commerce.

H.E. Minister Rachid’s keynote address spoke to the need for modernizing the industry through city planning for allocation of commercial activities and licensing businesses, including retailers, so that commerce is no longer able to take place in basements, garages or on the pavement, as has been the custom.  This, Minister Rachid noted, will provide every honest trader an environment in which he can succeed as he is able to protect and serve customers.   He explained that “man is the backbone of development – any development” and encouraged Chamber members to work with his department to change policies.

After hearing from government officials, educators and retailers, it became clear that NRFF will have an important role in helping to shape Egypt’s retail economy by working with the Alexandria Chamber to deliver training and certification in customer service, sales and selling skills and retail management.

During their visit, Kathy and Sarah were able to witness firsthand a unique view of Egyptian retailing as they made their way through Egypt’s legendary Khan-el-Khalili market, a labyrinth of streets lined with shops selling goods of every description.  They enjoyed the bustling energy and familial atmosphere in the Egyptian marketplace and quickly understood the diversity in business practice among these retailers, whose shops have been passed down through families for generations.  In addition they visited more familiar mall stores and talked with some “traders,” as retailers are known in the area.

As part of their travels, Kathy and Sarah take time to tour Cairo by camel, visit Egypt’s legendary Khan-el-Khalili market, and talk with some “traders.”

As part of the government’s aggressive plan to improve their retail economy, the Ministry of Trade and Industry is supporting the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce’s partnership with NRFF to develop curriculum and certifications to bring industry standards and best practices to Egypt to advance Egyptian retailers’ ability to better understand and serve customers.  Later this summer, the Chamber plans to offer three levels of training: Customer Service, Sales and Retail Management. Certification exams in Customer Service and Retail Management will be the capstone to the blended learning programs delivered through the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport.

“The academicians and retailers of Alexandria look to NRFF to gain a better understanding of the skills and knowledge most critical to retail work, as well as a training strategy for promoting career advancement to provide a better experience for the customer.  Our plan was enthusiastically received and it validated our work to date and made us very excited to continue and complete the work ahead,” said Sarah.

Kathy agreed, “The highlight of my trip was gaining an understanding of the government’s aggressive plan to work to achieve an educated, honest, and systematic approach to retail.  Real change is in the air and I’ll be very interested to watch these efforts bear fruit and pleased to know that NRF, through the NRF Foundation, is playing an important role in this transformation.”

The Alexandria Chamber of Commerce plans to send a delegation to NRF’s BIG Show next January to learn from practitioners across the world and to continue discussions that began at last week’s inaugural conference.  Kathy and Sarah look forward to welcoming these new partners to NRF’s 100^th Birthday Celebration in New York City, NY.

This was my first day EVER in New York City. I came with the University of Arizona’s NYC Study Tour and according to my itinerary, this was the only day I had to explore. We had a jam packed week ahead of us filled with super sessions, networking opportunities, and sponsored dinners.  Of course, I hadnn’t had any sleep the day before my flight (because I was so excited!), and didn’t sleep on the plane. Let’s just say coffee became my best friend again.

Under my motto of “sleep when you die” I thought it was the best decision to drop my bags at my hotel and explore the city as much as possible. That I did. I saw Times Square (very touristy), slightly overrated, but something I needed to check off my list. Then explored a little of Chelsea, experienced the Subway, caught a taxi (on my own!) and passed out knowing that the week of a lifetime was about to begin once I woke up.

Day 2

The first day of the convention was slightly overwhelming, especially being a measly college student in the world of REAL retailers. I attended the Power of Retail Design session which was very interesting because it is an area of study I want to go into after college. It was interesting to hear about the subjects we learned about at school being discussed as real ideas and projects to be implemented into stores. For instance, they spoke about brand imaging, and how to reach the international market.

I also attended David Wolf’s give his presentation on “A New Fashion Perspective.” Can I just say that he is amazing?! I completely agreed with his ideas about rethinking trends. It was so unbelievably refreshing to hear someone speak out against new trends and fashion shows unlike the teen bloggers today that pretentiously gawk over every new fashion line they see. Finally, someone who has credibility to speak about fashion!!  Wolf predicted fashion will have a new emphasis in fabric manipulations, pastel colors, rustic fabrics, and flower prints. It will be interesting to see what happens to fashion in the coming years. So pretty much, I loved his presentation.

Day 3

The U of A Study Tour and I pretty much got to walk to Expo floor and see all the booths. It was a great opportunity to network and get to know retailers and presenting companies. It was interesting, though, because people either thought we were high-schoolers, or other retailers. Obviously, they didn’t read our badges. Some people would approach us and be like “oh the University of Arizona…” and some would mention they didn’t realize that college students attended the convention.  Despite some puzzled looks we got, I still thought it was a great experience for us to meet people who could potentially hire us one day. By the way, I loved the Design Studio. If I come again next year, I will spend all my time there instead.

Day 4

LOVED!! the supper session “The New Luxury Paradigm” with designer Tory Burch and CEO of Saks Steve Sadove. They spoke about surviving the recession and adapting to the new environment to remain successful. It was reassuring to hear that retailer’s have a plan B for their company. This then brings potential to us college students to find a job out of college. Likewise, the feeling of satisfaction spreads to the consumers who get to see their favorite stores still open while the economy takes a turn. I found it funny that there are probably so many consumers who don’t even realize the behind-the-scenes of retail companies, and there I was exposed to it all. The luncheon we attended was phenomenal to be a part of. I was surrounded by some of the most powerful people in the retail world! And I got to meet Terry J. Lundgren…the namesake of our retail school!  Very many 20 year olds can tell people that they did what we did.

Day 5

The saddest day of the trip…we left for Tucson. Flying home made me realize the life changing opportunity I was a part of. It was totally worth missing the first day of school for, totally worth not sleeping all week for and totally worth all the money I worked hard for to attend. I was so incredibly grateful for the opportunities I was given through this trip and the NRF convention itself. The sessions and networking made me realize that I made a great decision to become a Retail and Consumer Sciences major.

Stephanie is a student at the University of Arizona, one of the Foundation’s college partners.

Sarah Conrad, Director of Retail Learning Solutions, at the Forbidden City. Sarah visited China as part of NRF’s retail management training initiative with CASTLE Worldwide.

What did you learn about retail management in China that you didn’t know before?

Surprisingly, most retail management candidates coming out of college degree programs have no practical experience.  They have studied the concepts, but have never put them into practice.  That’s why it was so important that when we developed the new Retail Operations Management curriculum that it was extremely experiential in nature and that students get the chance to get their hands dirty.  The concept was VERY well received.

I can certainly imagine there were some language barriers. How did you manage them?

In my travels I found that most people I met spoke very little English. There were several instructors who had actually spent some time at Universities in the U.S. and Canada, so there were either people who spoke a lot of English fairly well or almost none–not a lot in between.  I had an amazing translator for all my work-related communication, which was a necessity! Hotel front desk staff were relatively fluent and, interestingly, the young men and women who staffed Beijing’s famous indoor market, “Silk Street,” all spoke excellent English in order to capture the HUGE tourist market.  I managed to learn just enough Chinese words to be polite!

What opportunities are there for retailers to grow and/or develop in China?

I was shocked to see and learn about the power of the luxury goods market in China.  Not only was every famous luxury brand represented in the local malls and shopping districts to attract and appeal to tourists, but the Chinese consumers are apparently very brand conscious as well, and willing to save for months to be able to sport that monogram or wear that favorite label.  When you consider the salaries of the typical Chinese worker and that the markup on these goods is higher than in the U.S., it is an amazing realization.  The retailers are certainly capitalizing on this and I imagine will continue to do so as they consider expanding into this unique market.

Did you have any time for sightseeing? Where did you go?

I did a lot of my sightseeing through the car windows as we drove all over the city to meetings. Our itinerary was so full.  I did manage to get to see the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.  I look back now on the pictures and can’t believe I was really there!  I planned to go and visit the Great Wall, but the weather turned and there just wasn’t enough time to really do it right.  So, instead, I did some extra shopping!  Next time I also hope to see the Bird’s Nest at the Olympic Stadium.

Describe your experience working with Chinese trainers.

I worked with about 30 trainers, and found them to be so eager to understand how business is done here in the U.S.  It was clear that U.S. retailers are regarded as experts and they just wanted to know how everything works here.  The concept of constructive criticism is not really accepted in China, and we had some unique challenges working to get the trainers to suggest areas for improvement within their own companies or even among our group. They were all so excited about what they were learning and very anxious to put their new skills into practice.

Did you eat anything that you had never tried before?

Almost every meal was an adventure!  There were lots of delicacies and I quickly realized that Chinese food here in the U.S. is not too authentic.  I tried almost everything and was fascinated by such dishes as pig intestine, jelly fish, stomach and a few other local favorites.  We got to experience Cantonese, Shanghainese and Szechuan style food and I would say that my favorite new foods were all Chinese fruits and vegetables that we just don’t get here.  I will admit that I became a real pro with the chopsticks!

Did you visit any US-based retailers while you were in China? (ie: McDonald’s, Starbucks, Best Buy, etc.?)

The only U.S.-based retailer I visited was McDonald’s on the last day.  We were all missing the familiar tastes from home!  The big difference was that they actually had an option to order right from the table with a waitress.  The menu was only in Chinese however, so we just had to point to the pictures of the food we wanted.  I was curious if they had the same names for their burgers, but never found out.  I can say with confidence that it tasted just like home!

What’s next for the Retail Operations Management program? Will you be delivering the curriculum and certification exams in any other countries?

Retail Operations Management training will begin to be delivered very soon with the next phase being the creation of an Advanced Retail Operations Management curriculum and Certification in early 2010.  Now that we have the initial curriculum developed, we can begin to promote it more broadly both in and outside the U.S.  So far, we have been in discussion with 4-5 other countries who are paying close attention to what NRF Foundation is doing and who are eager to implement similar training and credentialing in those countries.

For more information about NRF Foundation’s retail management training initiatives in China, read the press release.

But, this week, I’ve been particularly excited by a number of interesting news articles that have highlighted the retail industry. Interviews with retail executives, tips for landing retail jobs, managing retail employees — these are the kind-of articles I like to read — the ones that focus on real people in retail.

Here’s a digest of my favorite articles from the week:

(1) You Want Insights? Go to the Front Lines
New York Times, Corner Office, August 15, 2009

Every Sunday, the New York Times interviews top executives about the challenges of leading and managing. This week they interviewed Brian Dunn, CEO of Best Buy, who discussed leadership lessons he has learned (when you’re asked what you think, tell people what you think), and how he uses technology (monitors Best Buy mentions on the web and on Twitter; uses Skype to watch NBA basketball with his kids).

Some of my favorite quotes:

“Learning from people who are actually doing the work.”

“Be really careful about what you believe about yourself. You’re never as good as they say or as bad as they say. When I was made C.E.O. on June 24, I didn’t wake up that morning smarter. I didn’t wake up with a massive I.Q. expansion. I did wake up with a new responsibility.”

Read the full article.

(2) Your Career: Landing a Retail Job in a Recession
New York Times, Business, August 17, 2009

Retail jobs are harder to find in this economic environment. Read about what individuals and universities are doing to find jobs. One example: University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School has been working with retailers to develop short-term projects, in areas such as operations and merchandising.

Other tips include:

• • Focus on financially healthy chains.
  • Look for jobs at stores where you regularly shop and that you’re passionate about.
  • Meet the managers: Don’t just drop off your resume
  • Be flexible. Working in retailing can mean long work schedules, particularly as the holiday season approaches.
  • Play up your experience in customer service.

Read the full article.

(3) Unlocking the Potential of Frontline Managers
McKinsey Quarterly, August 2009

The managers of frontline employees are crucial, yet often overlooked.

This article highlights the importance of the district/area managers, store managers, site or plant managers, and line supervisors. These managers direct as much as two-thirds of the workforce and are responsible for a crucial part of the company that typically defines the customer experience. Yet, they often have too limited flexibility in decision making and too little room for creativity.

Read the article (full article requires subscription).

Did you miss these articles in the news? Don’t miss out on any more. Sign up for a number of free NRF publications and get the latest retail news.