Understand the commitment

Due to the extensive team commitment required, we only accept one Retail Assessment project at a time, and unfortunately not all co-ops are in a situation compatible with our assessment program. Before accepting an engagement, we meet with board and store leadership to evaluate the dynamics, staff capacity, board skills, and the overall financial situation.

Most Retail Assessment engagements last 9–12 months, typically involve 1–3 on-site store visits from our team, and require financial transparency plus a considerable time commitment from store management.

If your co-op needs our Retail Assessment and turnaround help, please contact us to discuss sooner rather than later: The more financial runway your store has when we begin, the greater your chances of success.

What’s involved

Every Retail Assessment project is completely customized to your co-op’s situation. We will assemble a team focused on operations, communications, strategy, marketing, and leadership training. We bring a fresh eye to your store, pushing your team past common ‘store blindness’ and identifying opportunities and gaps within your competitive landscape and within your co-op. From there, we build an actionable plan for growing sales,  working alongside the GM and managers to provide guidance, feedback, and accountability.

What leads to a successful outcome?

We’ll reiterate here that every project is different and outcomes cannot be guaranteed, however there are consistent factors that contribute heavily to solid sales growth through our Retail Assessment program. We look for:

• Board stability, an understanding of their role, a healthy culture, and a willingness to roll up their sleeves and do what’s needed.
• A reasonable degree of institutional knowledge within the board and store leadership.
• A general manager who is open to feedback, accountability, change, and can be fully transparent with our team
• Leadership with a reasonable grasp of the financial situation, and a willingness to address difficult decisions that may be ahead of them.
• Operational record-keeping and systems available for in-depth review.
• Willingness of store leadership to prioritize meetings, deadlines, and action items from our team, including communicating these to store staff.
• A commitment to the established processes and systems after the engagement ends.