Hospitality Design - November 2014 - 80

perspectives

interview peter harris

2
2. A colorful seating area
inside the Scotts Square
location of On Pedder in
Singapore.

3. The Great Room at
the Shoe Library at Lane
Crawford's Canton Road
store in Hong Kong.

3

hinted to the culture outside, providing this new
addition to Beijing with a sense of placement.

In what way do you extend service
beyond the retail ﬂoor?

Technology, which has provided the retail
industry with the possibility of omni-channel
engagement, has resulted in a potential 24/7
customer contact, providing continual customer
access across continents and time zones.
The inclusion of personal shoppers online
and in our stores working with internally
developed concierge desks aided by technology,
has allowed the development of very personal
service relationships between our store teams
and customers. Far beyond the immediate retail
encounter, our teams can book a restaurant,
arrange flowers, change a flight, suggest a gallery,
or just offer to our customers an insider's guide to
what's happening across any of the cities we are
working in, in addition to selling you the musthave Louboutin pump.
Lane Crawford in Hong Kong and China has
invested in extensive retail square footage to its
one-of-a-kind personal shopping suites. For many
of our customers, they are the preferred places
they choose to visit in the store, whether it be to
shop, take a tea, or meet their friends.

What is the importance behind creating
the same level of service for each
customer, from the top 2 percent down
to the average consumer?

Equality of engagement. Consistency must apply
to all levels of customer service across multiple

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channels. There must be no disparity in service
level between tiers of consumers. When achieved,
we know we have succeeded in developing
effective 360-degree customer service. External
consultants measure the quality and consistency
of our engagement on a regular basis, which
helps us identify areas of investment.

You are a major motivator of people.
How does this factor into your approach
to service, and how do you motivate
your employees? Is there a notion of
providing service for your employees in
what you do?

The internal culture of a company, particularly
at management level, determines the tiers of
service that cascade through the organization,
with the temperature of that culture needing to
be measured on a regular basis.
Extra to the checklist of motivators, career
path, environment, remuneration, here at the
Pedder Group we work on a number of strategies
that aim to deliver learning-always promoting
positivity, wellness, general happiness, and fun.
Most recently, complementing the wellness
center located on a floor in our building
where staff on a daily basis can benefit from
participation in such activities as yoga classes,
gong baths, and meditation, we invited 25 of our
management team members to a retreat in the
mountains in the Philippines (part of an annual
commitment to well-being) where over a fourday period they worked on a program centered
around their own personal work-life balance.
Back in the office, this wellness is

complemented by programs such as Detox
Monday, a company sponsored weekly juice
cleanse, and through our Let's Escape program
where biannually the entire company chooses
and hikes a trail in the hills of Hong Kong.

The Pedder Group has grown tenfold
over the last decade-how do you
maintain the same level of quality
and connectivity with your customers
through that level of growth?

Connectivity with our customers has and
continues to be developed through each
individual in the organization embracing and
delivering on our internal mantra 'Beyond
Desire.' Its purpose: the creation of a benchmark
that challenged each individual to think
innovatively, to reach a little higher.
It's this reaching across the breadth of the
business into areas of product partnership, visual
merchandising, store design, which continues
to evolve our stores-delighting and surprising
existing customers, attracting new customers,
and guaranteeing that continued connectivity
and interest.

Where do you see the company 10
years from now, and what will be
most important in maintaining your
positioning?

Our position will be maintained and enhanced
through exploring with the team the most
innovative ways to tell our seasonal footwear
and accessories story, guarding the detail while
continually exploring newness. hd
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Hospitality Design - November 2014

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