I'm exaggerating a bit, but I really get the impression that those who make decisions don't know anything about the situation in our stores. Just my personal opinion, but I'm probably not the only one who thinks so? I keep hoping that I am wrong and that they know what they are doing.
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Wow. Macy's stores are freaking Potemkin Villages.
It is better that they not see the stores. Then they can communicate more effectively
with shareholders and market analysts. Plausible deniability.
As with all things, there is tasty cheese and stinky cheese! What kind of cheese are you
talking about?
"Retail would be wonderful if not for the stores!" Either I heard this quote, or I made it up, but it seems appropriate. With regard to the question, I would assume the executives at least see the store in which their offices are located. Years ago, I had occasion to work for a time in a flagship store. It was certainly educational. I quickly learned the paths of our team and was advised to always attend to those areas first. For one, our employee entrance was situated at a place in the building that would allow the executives to bypass walking through the store and immediately take the elevators to the second and third floors to their offices. They were intentionally hidden but, unfortunately, difficult for the customers to find. The classic positioning of elevators viewable from a central, main aisle was canceled in favor of one that would convenience the CEO and staff. Of course, no one admitted to this favoritism, but it was certainly apparent. Yet, at some point, they would emerge to either get coffee in the first-floor cafeteria or eat in the third-floor restaurant. I might add that business was healthy in these establishments until the management and buying team was eliminated due to a reorganization of the company. The mentioned paths were diligently walked and never varied, but it meant that every area along the paths was a priority even if it was not. I later used this as a guide to appease many a store manager as they also took predictable walks. Their focus always being much the same . It works!
The most amusing feature of this pattern pertained to the outside of the store and its four equally important display windows flanking the main entrance. However, everyone, including the vendors, considered the two windows to the right of the entrance more significant. Why? Well, they were closer to the underground parking garage and employee entrance. Again, convenience ruled! The visual manager always made a point of dressing these two windows first, before completing the set. She even mentioned, on occasion, if time did not permit her to complete the project, she left the blinds down until she could...sometimes over the weekend! No one said a word. After all, it involved walking.
I try to laugh at these foibles, but I'll admit they do provide evidence of something which I've long observed. The running of a store is a process and one which is achieved with a huge staff of workers. By example, I've yet to view the credits of a film, especially a major one, in which only fifty people are listed. Typically, the credits can go on for a long time and most of the audience leave. I don't! Yet, I've known managers to observe a project taking place and express disappointment that it's not done in a couple of hours. Floor moves, especially, are huge and I've participated in many. I sometimes wonder if they've seen too many reality based series in which houses are magically transformed in a sharply edited one hour show. (?) Well, perhaps I should give them the benefit of the doubt, but then I think of those previously mentioned display windows.
This is very typical - all hands pitch in for the visit by the big cheese. Every company I've worked for does this.
Leadership, especially higher up, has not seen stores in their “usual” day in, day out state. There are armies of people that get a store ready for a high level visit. Even a simple regional visit. It’s all fake. I know this, because I am constantly being pulled from my own store to fix another store’s mess and get them “visit ready.” I wish our CEO did actual morning of, real surprise visits and spent a day observing and learning (no prep from stores) so he could really see what goes on daily without a large amount of support. Or maybe they know and don’t care. I haven’t figured that out yet.