Start Design

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Oxfam GB is an international Humanitarian and Development Charity that operates over 600 Charity Shops in the UK as part of its fundraising, supported by 23,000 amazing volunteers. I am the Trading Director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Start Design?

We wanted to design and build a large concept Charity Superstore with a sense of retail theatre and local community.

What were your goals for this project?

Income / Profit Public Engagement Circular economy model of re-sell / re-use / recycle

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We had previously engaged Start through a competitive tender process on our smaller store design. Start had stood out as the ideal company to work with at that stage and it was a natural progression to work with them on this project, especially given their experience of working with other large format concepts for sports brands (and others) across the world.

Describe the project in detail.

Start were briefed on what we wanted, took time to understand our brand and needs, designed the concept, refined it and after a planning delay (outside of their control) we opened in Sept 19.

What was the team composition?

Small team of project manager and designers, with input from their founder as required.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The Superstore has been very successful since opening, attracting both donations and turnover in excess of our highest expectations.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Great. They work very efficiently and kept us informed throughout the process.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

They really strove to understand our thoughts and culture, without trying to impose a formulaic solution. The look and feel of the store fits our brand as well as creating the necessary wow factor.

Are there any areas for improvement?

We have always had a good relationship with them. Nothing to highlight in this section.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Etisalat group is the Most Valuable Portfolio Brand in MENA, valued at over USD 10 billion with a customer base of over 144 million subscribers across 15 countries. Etisalat UAE is the home and flagship market of the Etisalat group, providing telecommunication services to the UAE since 1976 and the first company within the Middle East to offer mobile services as early as 1982.

The company is seen as a business and cultural icon within the UAE, woven deeply into the country's DNA and recent history. I was responsible for: Strategic planning & execution of developing store design, operations, systems, technological innovations, people and property portfolio management, and to dramatically improve customer experience and bottom-line results.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Start Design?

Etisalat's retail portfolio consisted of a legacy of retails formats. Very large business centres with granite floors and counters that offered all services. Malls, mostly had kiosks that were focused on sales.

Customer service queries were referred to the business centres. Any stores in malls and the kiosks were a smattering of design concepts. All formats served customers in a very antiquated manner with customers having to queue and wait for different counters for different services.

The legacy systems were also detrimental to how the person on the counter served and attended to the customers needs. Stores were littered with dozens of marketing messages, in the format of rollup banners, leaflets and posters. There were also no products on display. A new store design was required that would encompass the vision of a new way of working. Included, were radical changes to people, training, processes, systems.

The essence of the vision was "How to make Etisalat easy to do business with." Easy for store teams to make it easy for customers. Start Design was required to provide us with a new store design that would radically change the way we served our customers.

What were your goals for this project?

To make Etisalat easy to do business with, for our store teams and our customers. To be delivered through great stores, great people, great products and great systems. Both service levels and sales values had to increase with the overall package have a large positive impact on the Etisalat brand.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Start Design was known in the market place as a premier design house. Start Design were approached with a briefing on our vision for Etisalat Retail. Mike and his team provided some thorough research on customers within the UAE and Etisalat customers visiting our existing outlets and how this would both align and challenge some of our thinking.

Etisalat's vigorous vendor selection started with Start Design in the mix. After a detailed process the selection committee awarded Start Design the contract. Start Design were chosen due to their understanding of our customers, our company culture, their local presence, and the need for function and form of the design to complement each other. Creativity could be dialled up or down to hit this sweet spot. Importantly Mike Curtis and his team were able to quickly build a relationship with the Etisalat team that allowed challenging debates that brought out the best design thinking for all.

Describe the project in detail.

• Tender floated
• Vendor selection committee formed and commenced
• Start Design awarded contract
• Smart Store team formed weekly meetings
• Target retail site selected
• Furniture mock-ups and materials provided
• New store tea selected and included in design thinking and final few days of build
• First store built
• Achieved the best high value sales, best product sales and best service levels within the UAE above higher ranked locations.
• Debrief of learning
• First kiosk opened with same elements
• Debrief of learning

What was the team composition?

Apart from myself, we had a dedicated Director from Etisalat who was our single point of contact with the agency. From the agency, apart from the CEO, Mike Curtis (who was always available), we also had a single point of contact, even though there were more people in the team.

Communication was therefore channelled clearly between Etisalat and Start Design. When areas of specialisation from Start Design were discussed, such as digital signage, specialists from that team would be engaged and always including the usual SPOC.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The first store was opened in Al Ain, was a low profile mall. However, the results achieved for high value sales, product sales and customer service, instantly hit top spots in the UAE. The CEO was highly impressed and invited the Chairmain of Etisalat to formally open the store. It was the first time we saw local youth engaged with the store. The first time we saw families visiting together and the first time that products were properly on display as well as a list of a dozen other firsts.

For a first newly designed store, we had an incredibly low list of moderations, which were only a few tweaks here and there. We went on to open another 130 stores of the same design. In 2018 for the first time, Etisalat was awarded the most valuable brand in the Middle East. One of two reasons given for the step up in achievement was the role out of the Smart Stores. The entire store rollout team were incredibly proud.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Workflow was smooth between the two teams. This was due to the engagement from the start of Mike Curtis the CEO. Also the forming of single points of contacts between the two teams, kept communication clear and on-track. Being local in the market, also helped Start Design and Etisalat with face to face meetings when required.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Apart from creative thinking, there was a clear understanding and application of operational functionality. We managed to build a great looking store that was far easier for store teams to functions in and far more engaging and productive for our customers.

The building of a relationship that allowed both of us to challenge each other, pushing and pulling so that we stayed on the tightrope of delivering the ultimate in experience and brand all wrapped up in a great design. That would be summed up as creative, listening, challenging, collaborative and availability and passion at a leadership level.

Are there any areas for improvement?

Start Design did a great job for us and we worked well together. Any challenges we had were always addressed as we went and therefore here are no overriding areas for improvement that stand out.