- +18%sales from the new store format
- 12% → 16%market share
- ×3online sales, from £500k to £1.5m
- +5%sales from a new seasonal planning process
The situation
Clintons is a greetings card, gift, party and gift wrap retailer. When I was VP Marketing & eCommerce, from 2011 to 2018, it had 750 stores and £400m of sales.
I managed all marketing communications in store, online and digital, defined the range and proposition around what customers needed, ran all customer and market insight, and held the P&L for online.
What I did
- A new store format with a better customer experience, range and pricing, developed from what customers told us frustrated them about the old stores.
- A new brand identity to go with it.
- A customer insight programme that informed business strategy, proposition development, category plans and pricing.
- A new seasonal planning process that put the customer at the centre, backed by robust data. Cards and gifts is a seasonal business, so getting each event right matters.
- A new ecommerce tech stack to inject growth online.
The results
The new store format increased sales by 18%. Market share grew by four points, from 12% to 16%. The seasonal planning process delivered a 5% sales lift. Online sales trebled, from £500k to £1.5m.
What other retailers can take from it
- A store format built around customer pain points pays back. Guesswork doesn't.
- Insight is only valuable when it changes decisions on range, price and format.
- In a seasonal business, the planning process is as important as the creative.
Tim has been a client of mine for a good number of years, and I have always found him to be a fantastic client to work for – extremely professional in his outlook and knowledge of his sector, and always challenging us to do better to give him the key insights he needs.
