RETAIL MAGIC: Malls will be more fun if the employees go the Friedman way.

The brass clip pinned to the lapel of his jacket reads ‘Showtime’. And he believes it’s important to “put on a show” the moment the customer walks through the portals of a retail outlet, to turn shoppers into buyers.

Retail consultancy guru Harry J. Friedman, whose sales and management techniques have benefited over 500,000 retailers worldwide, feels Calcutta’s true rack potential can be realised only if shop-floor staff are provided with critical inputs to be able to engage the consumer.

The master strategist and founding CEO of The Friedman Group, in town for a branding and retailing summit on Wednesday, stresses failure to augment front-end human resources could cost retailers dear, more so when international players throw their hats into the ring.

“The priorities here are often warped and retailers so occupied with logistics, merchandising and setting up the next outlet that they forget to turn theoretical concepts into practical, usable systems that works where it counts — on the floor,” points out Friedman, sought for his here’s-how information for boosting sales.

Having great products, great advertising and great merchandising is only half the battle. Developing a well-trained staff at the dealer level is where most successful players are focusing now — Harry J. Friedman

Referring to the burgeoning middle-class with a spiralling disposable income as the key consumer segment in new-age retail, Friedman stresses the need to be sensitive to their wants. “The desire to serve and an infectious enthusiasm while addressing the customer must be inculcated among floor staff. If you have sales people selling merchandise they can’t afford, it often breeds contempt for the shopper that can ruin a store,” he warns.

To inject “a high degree of sophistication in a largely unsophisticated matrix”, The Friedman Group is ready to bring in its best practices in training, development of human resources, organisational structures, career path, compensation packages, etc all geared to increasing retail productivity and professionalism.

Towards this end, the US-based major has tied up with Pearl Academy of Fashion (PAF) to offer retail consultancy services. “We’ll operate as a licensee of The Friedman Group in India and under this association, we will work with the industry directly, with tailor-made programmes to answer specific needs of different retailers,” explains A.K.G. Nair, PAF executive director.

Apart from the acclaimed Project Gold Star programme, Friedman has created scores of customised sales-generating programmes in sales and customer service, store management, product knowledge and store operations. “The primary focus of training and consultancy programmes is to ensure better conversion,” adds Nair.

Friedman, who feels only a minuscule fragment of the retail fraternity in India is prepared to invest on people skills yet, has seen enough encouraging signals in Calcutta already on this, his first trip.

“We are not for everybody, but only for those who have set themselves real exacting standards in terms of shopping environment and quality of service. In Calcutta, we are lucky to be early, because when you retrofit, it becomes much more costly than doing things right at the beginning,” he quips.

PAF promises to fly down Friedman Group faculty to train local workforce in tandem with its own personnel. “The relatively low attention to people skills is evident among organised retailers here. The ability to understand the product and excite the customer holds the key and we must pull up our socks now, or miss the bus,” says Nair.