Canadian Retailer - Store 2016 - 20

KPMG EXECUTIVE ROUNDTABLE

"We have digital screens
in our stores to create an
element of 'theatre' and
'romance' to the experience...It can't always be
about selling. You have to
focus on the customer with
great digital content."
- ALISON SIMPSON
Holt Renfrew

Russell: We sell a fun, aspirational lifestyle.
And millennials have largely been our customers. Our biggest challenge is how we reach
them and how we talk to them. That's been a
moving target. But one thing seems certain-
they like to shop online and on their mobile
devices. I see that as a big opportunity. The
challenge is in making our online presence as
current as possible. It's clearly where millennials are going to be shopping.
Sjostrand: At IKEA, we focus a lot of our effort on sustainability, in all its forms. It's one
of our cornerstones. We are always looking for
ways to use less energy, to reduce our carbon
footprint, to ensure that the materials we're
using are responsibly sourced and that the
impact we have on the communities we serve
is a positive one. As such, we like to help all of
our consumers live a more sustainable life at
home. Millennials share many of the values
we care about and this positions us very well
with them. We speak their language.
Soleas: Millennials are a very important
customer for the LCBO. They're disruptors.
They're all about digital. They come into our
stores with their mobile phones, often speaking to friends about the bottle they should be
buying. We're trying to cater to their needs

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CANADIAN RETAILER | STORE 2016

and preferences. It's important
to understand who they are, what
they want and how to treat them.
We're looking at ways to make
their trip to the LCBO more enjoyable and interactive because the
in-store experience will keep them
coming back. For instance, we're
looking at the use of a virtual
sales assistant, a Siri-type application, that customers can download
to ask questions or obtain recommendations on products-even information on where products are
located in the store.

Hudda: Boomers are our largest
demographic, not just as customers but from a staffing perspective
as well. But millennials are heavily
influencing our clothing designs.
Our customers want the fashions
the younger generations are wearing. So we're catering to a more
fashion-forward boomer customer. That's why, to this end, we've
tweaked our line quite a bit over the last two years.
Caldwell: If you wanted to buy a sofa at The Brick six years
ago, you had a choice of brown, black, light brown and dark
beige. Around that time, we started to really talk about millennials. Since then, our assortment has changed significantly.
Now we offer sofas in shades of red, blue, green and yellow.
And we've started to take into account the size of our furniture, too. Home sizes have changed. We need to offer millennials the right-sized furniture for their first home. As a group,
millennials appreciate explanation and gravitate toward experience and knowledge. So we've spent time training our
people to have the right knowledge about our products.
Baldwin: Currently a number of technological developments
are disrupting the retail environment. There's a pull from the
consumer in the way they adopt and use technology, including their use of mobile devices-both in-store and beyond.
There are also technology investments being made, to help
retailers improve their backend logistics and inventory management, as well as customer-facing technologies that can
help improve the in-store shopping experience. As we continue to evolve, how is technology influencing your business,
and what kind of investments are you making to enhance the
different points along the shopping journey?
Hudda: Our motto is fashion meets technology. We want to be
on the cutting edge when it comes to fashion technology. We've
integrated with all of our department stores. And we're very

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Store 2016