Learn Walking before Running

Bonjour, Good morning, Buenos dias, Hyvää huomenta,

My parents came this week to see me and visit Finland. We talked about Leaninno course, and obviously about Wiklund-Sokos case. They found this exercise really interesting because we had to solve a REAL problem which happen nowadays. My father is a company CEO for 20 years so his opinion is quite relevant I think.

I asked them to help me, no because I am lost but in order to have new ideas and obtain an external review. So, we went to Sokos and BEFORE all I show them the building.

Unfortunately, when you see this building, this is unwelcoming. Plus, you have few enters, and the left enter (bellow flags) is old and seems abandoned. Sorry for the word but that's true!! If I enter in a welcoming gallery and I am good surprised, I become enthusiastic and I want to spend my time and money. If my first impression is bad, I am going without desire to buy.
Moreover, the building seems old with his gris color, if we repaint him in white, it gives another dimension, youngest and freshest.

We want to find solutions HOW TO ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS? Yes, of course we have to think about that. But first, we have to pay attention to the more simple details, like the appearances of our building. If it's not welcoming nobody will enter in Wiklund, you can do what you want inside and spend 1 00000000000 in decoration, it still the same. If nobody enter, nobody spend money.
I remember my last company boss, he was always saying :
"The essential is bring the customer in our store, when it's done, we win. "


When you want to attract customer, your aisles must be impeccable. However, look at the laborious condition of this furniture. It doesn't make you to buy... It's difficult to criticize but we can not close our eyes in front of details like that. And even if the furniture was perfect, the presentation is not attractive. Maybe build real furniture would be interesting and more new, adapted with the news ways to sell.

Sokos Wikland - Turku

Also, I went to Tallinn with them and I took some ideas from Estonian galleries. The big difference I think was the space into the gallery, in Viru (big mall in Tallinn) you can find places where you can sit and have a rest. These malls are spacious and people like that. In a spacious environment, you can breathe and charge your batteries, you feel free like a bird. When you are tight, you feel oppressed and this has consequences on your consumer behavior.

Ulemiste Mall - Tallinn

Forum Gallery - Tallinn

In Galleries Lafayette in Paris, the windows are constantly renovating and improving. They consider  the consumer want news, the society is under permanent development and the decoration has to adapt it to follow this moving. 

Sokos Wiklund might change his windows more often, and work with designer to give a new image of this shop, an image in harmonization with our society, youngest, more colored, more decorated, with music, recentest, more spacious.

Furthermore, a lot of companies try to catch customer with new methods. We keep the royalty program alive but we think to open new possibilities.
For instance, once a week we can do a game with the customer and one customer per week will win a car. This is a constant expense but thanks to that we can catch always more customers and the word of mouth can make us famous. In Galeries Lafayette in France, you have a lot of events organized frequently, with which the customer get a lot of good advantages.

We had though that parquet is better than old tiling and the ceiling may be renovate. Sometimes, we do not have to go too far and search problems about the target (even we can do it and we will do it) but we have to find simples problems and resolve them to progress.

Thomas