Who is the busiest retailer in Brit

Who is the busiest retailer in Britain? Marks and Spencer? Sainsbury perhaps, or Tesco? Wrong on all three counts. The answer is Richer Sounds, a little-known,privately-owned,cut-price retailer of hi-fi equipment with 28 shops in the UK.

In the Guinness Book of Records, Richer Sounds warrants an entry for the highest sales per square foot of any retailer in the UK - Ј17,000 - for its store on London Bridge Walk in the City. Even taking an average across all 28 stores, Richer Sounds still clocks up Ј5,780 per square foot, ten times more than Marks and Spencer, six times the sales achieved by Sainsbury.

It is profitable too. Sales are up and its operating margin has soared from 3.4 per cent in 1989 to almost thirteen per cent today. Last year Richer Sounds made profits of more than Ј3m on sales of almost Ј48 m.

The man behind Richer Sounds’ success is founder, managing director and 98 per cent shareholder Julian Richer, a 39-year-oldLondoner who, at the age of 14, used to buy and sell candles during the energy crisis of 1974. A likeable bloke who wears his blond hair in a pony tail and operates from a small converted Victorian vinegar factory in Bermondsey,south-eastLondon, he raps out his sales pitch.

‘Even when I was at school I wanted to go into business,’ he says, ‘but my age was against me. Property was out - I wasn't old enough to sign a contract. Cars were out - I couldn’t drive. So I turned to hi-fi,which was catching on at school. I bought asecond-handBang and Olufsen for Ј10, did it up* and sold it for Ј22.’ In 1979, at the age of 19, he opened his first shop - the one on London Bridge Walk.

Since then little has changed. In simple terms, Richer Sounds sells discounted hi-fifrom tiny, basic shops with low overheads. Stock turnover is rapid and the company’s smallness gives it flexibility to take advantage of deals offered by manufacturers onend-of-lineor surplus equipment.

The technique has enabled Richer Sounds to secure itself a lucrative niche in a Ј4 bn audiovisual market dominated by independents.

While leading multiples stock mainly the mass market, volume selling midi systems which became popular in the early 1980s, Richer Sounds sells only hi-fiseparates such as tuners and amplifiers. It buys eitherend-of-lineranges which manufacturers are hoping tooff-loadbefore the next, cosmetically different model arrives from Japan, or small orders of current models which, perhaps because of poor stock management, the manufacturer is

prepared to sell at a reduced price. Now, as manufacturers' stock control improves, three-quartersof its stock is current models.

Suppliers are keen to do business with this quirky* retailer. ‘People like Dixons and Comet have so many stores (344 and 262 respectively) that unless you've got 5,000 of a model it's not worth their while putting it into their distribution system,’ says Clive Roberts, sales and marketing director of Akai. ‘With Richer, you can do a deal on 30.’

Marketing is a key weapon. Richer so Sounds advertises regularly in national newspapers (‘We buy late space at a discount,’ Richer says) and in alternative* magazines such as Private Eye and Viz. Every month it produces up to 350,000 copies of a brochure pushing the latest offers.

The shops are like walk-inwarehouses.Outside, "bargain bins" tout special offers including audio cassettes for 59p. Inside, compact disc players, tuners and speakers from leading names such as Sony, Akai and Marantz are stacked from floor to ceiling. Banners hanging from the ceiling proclaim: ‘If you’ve seen it cheaper, we'll beat that price by up to Ј50.’

Good service is another priority. At Richer Sounds staff are trained not to be pushy*. They all attend two training seminars a year at Richer's country house in Yorkshire, where more attention is paid to following the correct administrative procedures.

First-timehi-fibuyers get a call to check that they have plugged in the equipment correctly. Customer receipts include a freephone number they can dial if they have a problem. Richer’s own name and office number are supplied too.

The emphasis is on fun. If it’s raining, customers are given a free umbrella. In summer they get a Chilly Willy (a type of ice lolly). Other seasonal gifts include mince pies at Christmas and hot-crossbuns at Easter. ‘We have a laugh,’ Richer says. ‘We don’t take ourselves seriously, but we do take our customers seriously.’

Результаты (русский) 1:

Who is the busiest retailer in Britain? Marks and Spencer? Sainsbury perhaps, or Tesco? Wrong on all three counts. The answer is Richer Sounds, a little-known,privately-owned,cut-price retailer of hi-fi equipment with 28 shops in the UK.In the Guinness Book of Records, Richer Sounds warrants an entry for the highest sales per square foot of any retailer in the UK - Ј17,000 - for its store on London Bridge Walk in the City. Even taking an average across all 28 stores, Richer Sounds still clocks up Ј5,780 per square foot, ten times more than Marks and Spencer, six times the sales achieved by Sainsbury.It is profitable too. Sales are up and its operating margin has soared from 3.4 per cent in 1989 to almost thirteen per cent today. Last year Richer Sounds made profits of more than Ј3m on sales of almost Ј48 m.The man behind Richer Sounds’ success is founder, managing director and 98 per cent shareholder Julian Richer, a 39-year-oldLondoner who, at the age of 14, used to buy and sell candles during the energy crisis of 1974. A likeable bloke who wears his blond hair in a pony tail and operates from a small converted Victorian vinegar factory in Bermondsey,south-eastLondon, he raps out his sales pitch.‘Even when I was at school I wanted to go into business,’ he says, ‘but my age was against me. Property was out - I wasn't old enough to sign a contract. Cars were out - I couldn’t drive. So I turned to hi-fi,which was catching on at school. I bought asecond-handBang and Olufsen for Ј10, did it up* and sold it for Ј22.’ In 1979, at the age of 19, he opened his first shop - the one on London Bridge Walk.Since then little has changed. In simple terms, Richer Sounds sells discounted hi-fifrom tiny, basic shops with low overheads. Stock turnover is rapid and the company’s smallness gives it flexibility to take advantage of deals offered by manufacturers onend-of-lineor surplus equipment.The technique has enabled Richer Sounds to secure itself a lucrative niche in a Ј4 bn audiovisual market dominated by independents.While leading multiples stock mainly the mass market, volume selling midi systems which became popular in the early 1980s, Richer Sounds sells only hi-fiseparates such as tuners and amplifiers. It buys eitherend-of-lineranges which manufacturers are hoping tooff-loadbefore the next, cosmetically different model arrives from Japan, or small orders of current models which, perhaps because of poor stock management, the manufacturer isprepared to sell at a reduced price. Now, as manufacturers' stock control improves, three-quartersof its stock is current models.Поставщики хотят делать бизнес с этим необычным * розничной торговли. ' Люди, как Dixons и кометы имеют так много магазинов (344 и 262 соответственно) что если у вас есть 5000 модели это не стоит их время, поставив его в свою систему распределения,' говорит Клайв Робертс, продажам и маркетингу директор Akai. «С богаче, вы можете сделать сделку по 30.»Маркетинг является ключевым оружием. Богаче, так что звуки рекламирует регулярно в национальных газетах («Мы покупаем конце пространства на скидку,» говорит богаче) и в альтернативных * журналах, таких как приватный глаз и Viz. Каждый месяц он производит до 350 000 экземпляров брошюры, нажав последние предложения.Магазины, как inwarehouses ходьбы. Снаружи «сделка бункеров» рекламируют специальные предложения, включая аудио кассеты для 59p. Внутри проигрыватели компакт-дисков, тюнеры и докладчиков из ведущих имена, такие как Sony, Akai и Marantz stacked от пола до потолка. Баннеры свисающие с потолка провозгласить: «Если вы видели дешевле, мы будем бить что цена до Ј50».Еще одним приоритетом является хорошее обслуживание. В Рише звуки сотрудники обучаются не быть напористым *. Все они посещают два учебных семинара год в Рише в загородном доме в Йоркшире, где больше внимания после правильных административных процедур.Первый timehi-fibuyers получить вызов, чтобы проверить, что они подключены в оборудовании правильно. Квитанции клиентов включают бесплатный номер, который они могут набрать, если они имеют проблемы. Богаче на собственное имя и офиса номер поставляются слишком.Акцент делается на веселье. Если это дождь, клиентам предоставляется бесплатный зонтик. В летнее время они получают Chilly Willy (тип льда палочке). Другие сезонные подарки включают пироги на Рождество и горячей crossbuns на Пасху. «У нас смех»,-говорит богаче. «Мы не принимать себя всерьез, но мы серьезно относимся к нашим клиентам.»