Canadian Retailer - Winter 2014 - 32

RETAIL PROFILE

Locations with smaller square-footage result in more intimate customer engagement.

or LIDS Sports in Quebec, is a mall-based retailer offering a full assortment of sports headwear, apparel, accessories and novelties. LIDS
Clubhouse (Edmonton Oilers and New Era)
focuses on partnering with professional and
collegiate sports teams to operate team stores,
e-commerce and concessions at various athletic events. And LIDS Direct is the company's
- ELEANOR LYNCH e-commerce network that provides state-of-theVancouver Regional Director, LIDS art online merchandising for all LIDS branded
retail as well as its Clubhouse partners.
LIDS also offers a host of specialty fashion
"When I came here nobody knew who we were," McFater says.
categories and accessory products including "But with the incredible growth of the company, people began
backpacks and purses, headbands and wrist- to see the career opportunities that are available, particularly
bands, iPad cases and laptop computer bags, at the executive level. Our strategy has been to network, recruit
sunglasses, wallets, collectibles and novelties, and hire candidates who will support our infrastructure plan for
pet supplies, toys and games, bumper stick- our progression. We now have eight district sales managers that
ers, jewelry, knickknacks and even licence oversee multiple stores across Canada and five district manplates, ranging in price from less than $5 to up agers in training to prepare for our continued growth, and we are
to $120 for a Dallas Cowboys football helmet.
looking for three more executive candidates for our district-manJeff McFater started with LIDS in Canada as ager-in-training program to fulfill our succession plan needs."
Director of Canadian Operations which, at the
The typical LIDS retail format is a small store of about 800
time, consisted of just one store concept (LIDS square-feet with only one to three staff on duty at any one time,
Headwear) and two district sales managers, one although some stores can be as small as 100 square-feet, or as
in Eastern Canada and one in the West, who large as 1,500 square-feet. This means store-level employees in
ran multiple stores. In 2011, he was promoted to many cases may have to work on their own and have very close
Divisional Director for the LIDS Sports Group contact with customers, requiring extremely good engagement
overseeing four major retail concepts.
skills. "Because our stores are mostly small and intimate, we
really look for people who enjoy engaging with customers,"
Professional partnerships
says Eleanor Lynch, LIDS' Regional Director in Vancouver.
LIDS Headwear offers officially licensed, "Our motto is 'Have Fun Sell Hats' and we try really hard to rebranded and specialty fashion headwear in the cruit people who genuinely reflect that value and enjoy working
latest styles and colours. LIDS Locker Room, with customers, because our first priority is customer service."

"Because our stores are mostly small and
intimate, we really look for people who enjoy
engaging with customers. Our motto is
'Have Fun Sell Hats' and we try really hard
to recruit people who genuinely reflect that
value and enjoy working with customers,
because our first priority is customer service."

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