Learn from the Best: Thoughts from Famous Retailers

During busy weeks, it’s helpful to take a few minutes to stop, think, and improve. There’s always something to learn, from improving customer service to building a stronger company culture. Here’s some inspiration from some of the top leaders in retail to start your week off well:

“In the end, the customer doesn’t know, or care, if you are small or large as an organization…she or he only focuses on the garment hanging on the rail in the store.”Giorgio Armani, Founder of Giorgio Armani 
 
“Our mission statement about treating people with respect and dignity is not just words but a creed we live by every day. You can’t expect your employees to exceed the expectations of your customers if you don’t exceed the employees’ expectations of management.”Howard Schultz. CEO of Starbucks

“If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.” –Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon
 
“If you’re a big-picture guy, you’re not in the picture. Retail is detail.”  James Sinegal, CEO of Costco
 
“The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And really, if you think about it from the point of view of the customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience.” –Sam Walton, Founder of Walmart
 
“We believe that customer service shouldn’t be just a department; it should be the entire company.” –Tony Hsieh, CRO of Zappos.com
 
“Your vision is very important. You should know whom you’re selling to, what your marketing and advertising says about you, and whom it’s speaking to. Me personally, I don’t try to please everyone. I understand who I am selling to and I work towards that vision all the time.” –Ralph Lauren, Founder of Ralph Lauren
 
“The friendly smile, the word of greeting, are certainly something fleeting and seemingly insubstantial. You can’t take them with you. But they work for good beyond your power to measure their influence. It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.” –James Cash Penney, Founder of JCPenney
 
“What is good for our customers is also, in the long run, good for us. “ –Ingovar Kamprad, CEO of IKEA
 
“Those department stores that have survived the decades did so by keeping pace with customer needs and preferences.” –Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy’s

 

Visit our website today or call us at 1-800-999-0771 to find out how Specialty Store Services can help with your store fixture and display needs. Maybe in a couple of year we will be quoting you too.