Perspective
Retail performance is not driven by isolated decisions, but by how well a small number of critical levers work together. Leading retailers outperform because they manage their store network as a portfolio of capital assets, apply rigorous location due diligence, actively reallocate labour to its highest-return use, and build the operational discipline that enables scale.
When these elements are aligned, value creation becomes repeatable. When they are not, underperformance becomes structural and persistent, regardless of brand strength.
From our experience, leading retailers win because they perfectly connect four key elements: 1. Store network master planning, 2. Store network implementation, 3. Salesforce optimisation, and the often-overlooked discipline of, 4. Retail operations.
1. Shift to mindful store network master planning
Store network master planning defines the long-term investment logic of the retail footprint. Market prioritisation, clear store format roles, and disciplined capital allocation set the ceiling for performance. A store network, even when geographically dispersed, should be managed as a capital portfolio, with each format playing a defined role in balancing risk with return.
Each format therefore requires explicit, locally adapted investment expectations. Best practice shows that leading retailers optimise formats while keeping investment hurdle rates constant, rather than compensating weaker locations with incremental capital.
Several specialty retailers we recently examined consistently selected stores aligned with brand aspiration, while competitor performance showed materially better alignment between store placement and customer behaviour. The result was a predictable mismatch between brand ambition and demand reality. As Mark Parker, former CEO of Nike, once noted, “consumers decide what the brand is.”
2. Focused store network implementation
This is where strategy meets economic reality. Analysis across equivalent stores shows that a poorly positioned store does not lose demand; it never reaches it.
Most implementation failures are avoidable and typically stem from insufficient location due diligence rather than unforeseeable market change. Where this discipline is absent, access, visibility, and catchment frictions can suppress 45 to 50 percent of revenue potential, while rent, labour, and service charges remain largely fixed. The outcome is a multi-year blight on the stores' P&L.
3. Back to basics & store salesforce
Store labour is often the largest controllable cost in retail. Studies across comparable speciality retail networks shows that 25 to 30 percent of labour hours do not directly contribute to customer engagement or sales. This share is likely to increase as in-store technology introduces additional non-customer facing tasks.
High-performing retailers treat labour as a flexible operating asset, reallocating hours toward customer-facing value creation without compromising essential non-customer activities.
Unlike lease commitments, labour deployment can normally be adjusted at short notice, making salesforce optimisation one of the fastest levers to improve productivity, margin, and cash flow.
4. Playbook for retail operations
Operations determine whether strategy scales. They ensure that product availability, VM standards, marketing activation, and technology are executed consistently across the network.
Empowered store management, combined with simple processes and strong governance, lowers cost to serve, exposes underperformance early, and ultimately, enforce customer lifetime value. Laissez-faire works only when financial, operational, and brand boundaries are clear.
Across all of this, the product remains the anchor, as operations create value when they support the right strategy, in the right location, with the right cost structure, for your products.
At Brand Retail Solutions, we work precisely at this intersection. We help retailers ask the right questions, frame the right investment hypotheses, that translate complex retail landscapes into actionable plans.
Wishing everyone a strong finish to the year and thoughtful planning for the next.