Retail Experience

Merchandising strategy, innovative use of space and sales-driven store design.

Kevin Hennah’s strength is coaching businesses to increase sales and customer numbers through merchandising strategy, innovative use of space and sales-driven store design. His point of difference is his ability to fuse creative vision with an understanding of the commercial realities of retail.

“Kevin always presented training and advice in a way that focused on commercial outcomes and opportunities for genuine improvement in profitability, not simply concepts”

Christine Proctor

General Manager, Australia
KATHMANDU

KEVIN’S BACKGROUND

Employed by The Body Shop throughout the 1990s, their major growth period. Kevin held roles in Retail Operations, Seasonal Planning, Staff Training and Visual Merchandising.

Since 1999 he has established an International reputation as a Public Speaker and Consultant. Some of his diverse cross-section of clients have included Virgin Mobile, Westfield, OshKosh, Interflora, Australia Post, The Australian Retailers Association, Goldwell Haircare, TORO (irrigation), Villa & Hut, The RACV, Saddleworld, Kathmandu as well as numerous garden centres, optometrists and pharmacy groups.

Kevin Hennah has also featured as a guest presenter on Channel Seven’s Kochie’s Business Builders with David Koch.

Kevin’s thoughts

Image is becoming increasingly important to consumers and this has significant dollar implications for retailers. Sales-driven store design, innovative merchandising and powerful branding is fundamental to keeping physical stores profitable – it keeps consumers consuming.

Over time most retailers become ‘shop blind’ and opportunities to maximise sales are overlooked.

Visual merchandising is a highly influential selling tool. For most businesses, approximately 80% of sales are generated by only 20% of products. Does your current visual merchandising strategy showcase this 20% to full potential? If not, you are probably losing sales.

The Internet shifted retail ‘goal posts’, yet many physical businesses continued to aim in the same direction and looked externally for factors to blame when sales declined. Opportunities are abundant once you accept that retail is not static.

It often takes an experienced retailer, from outside the organisation to inspire you to refocus on opportunities to build sales.

Most businesses share a common goal – to maximise customer traffic and most importantly, profit. I expose businesses to new ideas and challenge them to seek out exciting sales opportunities which they have missed

"Kevin has been the ‘brains’ in the design, look and traffic flow (of OshKosh) and I could not recommend him more highly."

"Kevin Hennah’s experience and knowledge of the retail market has been instrumental in redirecting the focus of the Virgin Mobile stores and turning them into successful retailers."

"Kevin always presented training and advice that focused on commercial outcomes and opportunities for genuine improvement in profitability, not simply concepts."

"Without Kevin Hennah’s advice and ideas, I don’t believe we could have reached our sales targets during December."

"We’ve noticed an increase in sales – especially on Saturdays, which is our busiest day. We have also achieved our best ever sales for July and August, which was great!"