Category: Shopping

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Shopping

£100k to £360m in 12 years!

I read a lot of success stories – and stories where people and organisations didn’t make it.

It’s always good to learn from those who didn’t make it. And I’ve began to list a number of common denominators to why they didn’t make it to the big time. Yes – there’s a few generic ones… like the people in charge, the direction of the organisation, etc…

But I’m not going to focus on that. I wanted to focus on something else.

So I tweeted the other day – how Tesla is the most valuable car maker in the world… and how Nikola is valued more than Ford – despite not even selling a car yet!

Crazy times!

But not really.

Investors are looking to the future.

What does the future hold. What does the future need. What do people in the future need. What will people in the future want!

We’ll save the conversation about electric vehicles for another day.

But one thing I would like to say is – I see ALL industries being disrupted (if not already being disrupted).

What does that mean Bal? How can you disrupt ALL industries? – there’ll be some that you’ll always need… like food and drink.

I even see those industries being disrupted! It’s taking time.. but it’s happening.

Case 1.

(Briefly……) Yesterday, I had a gentleman knock on my door. He was from the Modern Milkman.

Basically, they are like the old milkman, who drive around – deliver milk, eggs, juice, etc… to your doorstep – early in the morning, so it’s all ready for your breakfast. It’s all fresh from the local farm…

Why do I think they’ll do well…. maybe not take over current ways of supermarket shopping (well, you never know!), is because of 3 things. 1) They deliver to your doorstep. 2) They’ve got an app! And 3) They are using the thinking of ‘recycle, reuse, reduce’ – their not using single-use plastic….! And more importantly… milk (like Coca-Cola) tastes better out of a glass bottle…

Case 2.

Another one for the ‘drinks’ sector. We all like a beer. Most of us enjoy going to the pub on the weekend and enjoy a pint or two. What choice did you have? – we all know there were the regular choices… and maybe one or two additional ones. Nothing too exciting to write home about.

But again – it’s all changing. There’s now microbreweries. There’s craft beer! There’s more people making different types of beer than ever before. And these are very quickly appearing in pubs and bars up and down the country.

We want variety. We want choice.

Take Brewdog for example. A Craft brewery who saw an opportunity. And has made it work for them. And how are they doing financially… well, have a look at their post recently on LinkedIn…

And finally… Case 3.

Cakes and cookies… bakery goods, being disrupted by smaller independent bakers, local bakers… who sell goods online or through Facebook (where they can connect with friends and family).

Take for example, Bal’s Bakery….. (on Instagram, @balsbakery)…. they make vegan cookies, eggless cakes, etc… but more on the success of this in a future blog post 🙂

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Shopping

In-Store or To Your Door!

Times have changed. I’m not going to talk about how this pandemic has changed our shopping habits – how we have been ‘forced’ to shop online – as shops are closed… but I did want to talk about how companies have adapted. Quickly. And some who have not.

The latest phrase I saw was… In-Store or To Your Door! – which I thought was great. Simple. Catchy and more importantly a very simple approach to how you can get your goods.

But as a company, how quick can you move?

Very quick. All depends on you. Are you ready to change? Are you ready to adapt?

Heinz to Home. Heinz being able to deliver to your home what you want from their product range. Yes there’s limits and restrictions but the key thing is – you can still get your baked beans…. essentials are important, right?

There’s a few companies who have upped their online presence and upped their game to sell online. But then there’s a few who haven’t.

Take Primark for example. £650m a month to zero. Their business model is all in-store. Nothing online. They don’t offer you an opportunity to purchase anything online.

How to buy Primark online by using eBay, ASOS and Amazon ...

Now – this was tweeted earlier in the week.

Primark has it’s own website. They have all the clothes listed with information etc… How hard is it to built a payment mechanism so people can add garments to a ‘trolley’, ‘checkout’ and then ‘pay’…?

Ok… Primark don’t want to do that. What’s stopping me?

Well, Bal… you don’t have the Primark website!

No. But www. primarkonline.store is available to buy. I can ‘ask’ to copy the images. And if I could get an agreement to buy bulk clothes from Primark, in a matter of no time…. I could be selling Primark clothes online!

Yes… question could be, do people want to buy clothes online if they’re not going out… everything is on lockdown. Maybe… it could be people need more homewear… lounge wear… nightwear… etc…

The point is…. make your business model reflect the conditions. Put in place what you can, to ensure it’ll be in store…. or ensure, you can get it to their door!

I’m not offering any services to set organisations and/or businesses up to function online… but am offering a service where I can advise you, point you in the right direction to set it up yourself (because I’ll be honest – it’s really easy!) and I can guide you.. on how to adapt. The key thing is – where’s your customer… and how can you get your product to them.

Goes back to the basics of Lean Thinking (if you don’t know about Lean Thinking – you should go google it and research it!) – it’s all about the timeline from when a customer orders to the moment they receive the goods and you get the money.

That should be the shortest amount of time possible.

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Shopping

Ready for Christmas?

Okay, Christmas is coming – and I’m usually on BBC Radio letting you lovely folk know what to get as presents….

This year, I’m going to do it slightly different. I’m going to recommend a few presents over a few blog posts – with some reasons why you should get that as a present for a friend, family or loved on.

So first up – it’s a book! – I’ve recommended it before – and I’ll be honest, many of you didn’t listen – so this is the last time I’ll mention it! (Actually it probably won’t… I will mention it again – because I think it’s soooooo important you read it).

It’s the Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***

Honestly – one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Really made me challenge my thinking. Really made me think! – and I can say, I was a lot more happier and focussed since I read it. I’ve got it on my shelf and will be reading it again very soon.

Now – I’m recommending you buy this book and give it as a present to people who like to read – who need a little motivation – who need to think differently – who really need to not give a f*ck in life!

Now – I’m not just recommending the one book – I’m going to share 2 books with you!

Me personally…. I’m going through a thousand thoughts…. I’ll let you know what they are…. basically, if you’re reading this, you probably know I work for Coca-Cola EP and have done so for the past 10 years! – That’s right….10 YEARS!!! – Damn!…. in addition… I’m at that stage in my life where I’m thinking… how long have I got left… don’t worry, nothing happening to me, but it’s like – I’m not getting any younger, I’ve had a close friend pass away, there’s a lot to do in life, right? – so with all these thoughts going on…. I’m picking this bad boy of a book up over Christmas…

Now one thing I want to point out is I have loved the 10 years at Coke… and I’m saying that, because if you’ve read this book, then you’ll know the bit about the commentator… and how he was moved to another sport.

Who Moved My Cheese was first introduced to me at Kodak. Absolutely loved it the first time I read it – and love it today.

So there you go – 2 books for Christmas.

I’ll share some other Christmas present ideas in my next blog post…. don’t worry, it’ll be before Christmas lol

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Shopping

2019 Black Friday Sales…

Yes, that’s right – Black Friday is nearly upon us… or is it?

Well… actually it isn’t. It started last week! That’s right – the likes of Amazon and others, started with their sales last week…. when they dropped the price of their Amazon Echo Dot down to £22…. and lots of other items right down in price!

Just seems to be getting earlier and earlier…. Now… whilst, I’m not going to tell you what the best offers are, or how to shop during Black Friday Sales… make sure you know what you want and that you’ve checked the price of it -what it was before the sale, what it was for the past year or so… and most importantly… is it really a bargain?!

Bal, how can I check the prices?

Well – you have several options… for me, I’d recommend – https://uk.camelcamelcamel.com/ – where you can check what the price has been before and if it’s really a bargain.

For example… check the price of an iPad Pro…

that’s right… down to £399! Now – you can check the biggest price drops and you can check your items.

So… enjoy Black Friday Sales… hope you get the bargain you want, and make sure, you don’t go too crazy!

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Shopping

Till free Sainsbury’s!

You may or may not remember – I spoke a while ago about how Sainsbury’s were working on an app – on which you can scan items and then pay for them!

Guess what – they’ve now got it across the Holborn Circus Store in London on a three month pilot!

That’s right – Sainsbury’s has launched the UK’s first till-free grocery store at the central London branch, which allows shoppers to pay with their phone and then walk out of the shop without going through a checkout.

Customers use the app to scan groceries as they walk round the store, bag them and then pay in the app, scanning a code to confirm payment.

Now, where have I heard about this concept before Bal?

Amazon are doing it…

For us Brits – especially at Sainsbury’s – more than 80% of payments were cashless (honestly, I thought it would’ve been higher!)

Now this pilot – involves a revamped store to cater for the ‘food to go’ people. Alcohol and tobacco have been removed because it takes ‘time’ – and by that, I mean ‘people time’ to verify the age of the person buying it. I’m sure in due course, there’ll be verification steps within the app to allow this… and maybe a shelf locked with a pin code to allow access.

So what’s the feedback?

A beaming lady declared the system “easy to use and a complete timesaver” – and the overall feedback has been positive.

Will we see more of this? – I believe so….