Leading the Pack: Spotlighting 9 Retailers

By Cathy Hotka
It has long been said in retail that the merchant is king. But while that phrase has a grassroots appeal, it's hard to ignore the game-changing contributions made behind the scenes. Retail practitioners in IT, fulfillment, supply chain, and other disciplines make a huge difference in sales, and work hard each day to provide competitive advantages.

This year's Pacesetters were based on knowledge gathered from experience in the industry, informal nominations from leaders in the field, and a digital nomination process accessed by a select list of invited experts. The intent is to call attention to retail executives who have significant responsibility for business and IT programs that contribute to the success and performance of their companies. To qualify, a retail executive must be a rising star in his or her company, but not yet a C-level executive. The following executives have demonstrated a track record of leadership and achieved proven results, which is why calling attention to their important work is richly deserved. Congratulations, Pacesetters!

STEVEN SCHILLINGER

When you're in blazing growth mode, how much does the customer experience matter? Plenty, according to Schillinger, who's in charge of ensuring that clubs work the way customers want them to. It's a thriving company and a busy atmosphere. "We are looking at a variety of programs including an improved check-in process that eliminates the need to show a membership card or government identification," says Schillinger. "The system utilizes a low resolution finger scan that protects our members' privacy. We have completed our pilot and members love the simplicity, security, and speed. We are also upgrading and installing automated scheduling, reporting, and club auditing systems to give leaders and front line team members the information they need to be successful." 24 Hour Fitness knows that the gym isn't the only place that customers interact with the brand. "Our Web team has given us more flexibility and transparency than any of our competitors from iPhone apps, Web marketing, and unique features such as each club having its own home page with individualized photos and schedules. Members and guests want to engage with us through a variety of different channels and we have made sure that we are able to meet those needs." After a 16-year career, Schillinger believes that a company's growth has to do with the way headquarters and associates think and interact with the customer. "We are constantly exploring ways to improve our member and guest experiences. That's not something you just bring to the office -- it's a way of life."

Shyrose Kassam

Roots is known by some as the "Canadian Gap," and it owes some of its current success to a quest for a better customer experience. Shyrose Kassam has been a key player in refining and redefining how Roots manages its business. Roots has been using an advanced planning tool to improve turns, fine-tune assortments and directly affect the bottom line. "The ongoing evolution of the different channels of consumer buying challenges us to find not only the best way to deliver the customer experience, but also how to manage it and execute it," says Kassam. "Roots is currently involved in rolling out a multi-channel fulfillment application," allowing the chain to "be more consumer-centric and build models that enable best business practices." Kassam notes that the challenging economic climate allows retailers to rethink the way they do business. "The one certainty in retailing today is that the channels available to customers will continue to transform the way we do business. Retailers need to take advantage of these new doors and reinvent the ways they manage their inventory. It is not a question of if we change the way we plan, but that we must change the way we plan if we are going to remain competitive in this dynamic consumer economy."

Karen Beebe

Customers know Chico's FAS as the parent company of some of retail's fastest growing brands: Chico's, White House | Black Market, and Soma Intimates. Karen Beebe is a major reason for that speed. Beebe joined Chico's in July 2009, after nearly two decades at Limited Brands, where she served most recently as chief technology officer at Bath & Body Works. Since moving to Chico's, Beebe has leveraged her ERP skills and implemented core applications (including financials and business intelligence) and allocation for WH|BM and Chico's and allocation for Soma Intimates in fall 2009. Beebe and her team crafted a quick and seamless transition with no interruptions, as Chico's enjoyed double-digit comps. Next, the team will roll out enterprise planning, size scaling, channel clustering, and other advanced capabilities. These ambitious software plans lay a foundation for Chico's to build on its reputation for providing amazing customer service. "The experience from our rapid implementations has allowed us to build business and technology collaboration that is enabling us to get closer to our goal of providing a seamless, multi-channel experience for our customers," says Beebe. "Additionally, we are focused on providing a similar level of capability for our product development process." No wonder the company's recent sales growth has been double-digits.

Jeff Rohr

Helzberg Diamonds hasn't been around as long as diamonds have -- but almost. Formerly a family owned business, Helzberg Diamonds is a 95-year-old Berkshire Hathaway company. It's Rohr's job to ensure that IT systems keep up with the company's growth. He has his hands full. Helzberg is engaged in a full POS replacement of hardware and software for 233 stores. He's working on an upgrade of the company's broadband wide area network. Helzberg also is upgrading its e-commerce platform to accommodate a rise in sales in that channel. "The mood here is very upbeat, very positive, and energized," says Rohr. "We're focused on winning market share, and we're making progress." Rohr has spent 14 years at Helzberg and loves it. "Because we're small, we get to do different things, and we always get to do something new. It's challenging. And it's always about focusing on how to solve business problems."

Randy Cucerzan

What happens when a store associate becomes an IT leader? Cucerzan started out on the sales floor of one of Genesco's retail shoe stores and worked his way up to his current post. Genesco has grown significantly since 1924 and now has a number of specialty brands including Johnston & Murphy, Journeys, Shi by Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Underground Station, Lids and shoes under the licensed Dockers brand. Cucerzan is in the midst of compelling projects, including management of the store POS support and user support areas and keeping hardware and software running. Cucerzan worked with store operations managers to identify an appropriate managed network provider to persistently connect nearly 1,400 retail stores. Connecting stores to corporate headquarters in Nashville, TN allowed the company to enjoy new capabilities and expand cross-channel sales, while experiencing a full store technology refresh. Once all the stores were wired, IT's focus turned to replacing new POS terminals and laser printers in more than 1,000 retail stores and replacing non-PCI-compliant pin pads. Cucerzan continues to work with store operations managers, training managers, and business leaders to deploy the proper technology for new initiatives. The training and operations initiatives will make the company more efficient and enable the chain to expand. "Successful projects are business driven and business qualified," says Cucerzan. "When we win, we win as a team."

Chap Achen

Chap Achen has "multi-channel" in his title, and delivering a consistently excellent fulfillment experience is his aim. He manages customer orders for Best Buy's U.S. Channels, with a goal of ensuring that the chain delivers on its promises for delivery. "People see our capabilities for fulfillment and infer that that's true across channels," says Achen. "Having one platform allows us to ensure that If an online customer is told that the item will ship in three days, or will be available for in-store pickup in 45 minutes, it should be the same promise, the same experience regardless of channel. It allows us to give choices to customers that are similar across channels and we think that gives us a competitive advantage."

Stacey Shulman

Stacey Shulman believes that the future is now. Shulman is the point person for the largest item level RFID rollout in the world. American Apparel will make RFID a key part of its more than 30 new stores this year, bringing their total to just under 50 stores by the end of the year or about 20 percent of its stores. At the same time, American Apparel will have dropped per store costs of item level RFID rollouts by more than 60 percent, through better planning, streamlined methodologies and improved vendor relations. In 2010, Shulman and the rest of the IT team will implement a number of enhancements including workforce/labor management and labor/scheduling optimization, loss prevention gates in high theft stores, combined traffic counting and LP cameras, a new sales and conversion tracking program, new promotion management tools, a customer loyalty program, and United gift card programs that span Web and retail in different countries. "The projects we are setting out to accomplish in a single year are staggering for a team our size," says Shulman. "I believe the best way to get major projects done is to take more time up front to put down a good solid foundation for the project, then to break the project into small and very quick deployment iterations to avoid shortcuts that will cost more money or will de-stabilize the solution." 

Anant Ahluwalia

Making major changes to retail systems is a lot like working on an aircraft engine while the plane is in the air. Ask Ahluwalia, who is helming a project that will create a consumer-driven supply chain to support all U.S. operations for Delhaize (Bottom Dollar Food, the Food Lion family of brands, Hannaford and Sweetbay). Delhaize calls this it's "Supply Chain Master Network" project, a multi-year initiative designed to integrate the supply chain systems and processes of all Delhaize America banners. It will use existing and new technologies to enable process improvements and better utilize the expertise of in-house operations experts. Ahluwalia, a graduate of the Birla Institute of Technology, also has been involved with the Systems Enhancement for Global Access (SEGA) database, which enables forecasting and perpetual inventory management solutions and supports Hannaford's vision for around-the-clock global access of its systems and applications. The five-year, wide-ranging master data management program created a foundation for improving the company's ability to quickly make category decisions that helped it identify, respond and capture market opportunities. "In grocery, locally-focused assortments are key to increasing sales," says Ahluwalia. "Organizations that create business processes and invest in tools that are able to predict changing consumer demand and quickly adapt to those demand signals will deliver higher value to their customers."

Ashley C. Ekola

"It's all about a strong foundation", says Ekola, of iconic retailer Abercrombie & Fitch. According to Ekola, the company has spent the last couple of years refitting its technical and application infrastructure to support rapid international expansion of its brands including Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Gilly Hicks, and Abercrombie. A&F successfully executed a plan to implement enterprise solutions that would enable it to open stores in new countries, like Japan, quickly and in line with its distinctive brand identity and quality. Ekola is the point person for the refresh, which included deploying new technology, building technical competencies in the organization, and leading with the operational discipline that would enable systems to be available, reliable, on time, and on budget. A&F also is now in the process of upgrading a remaining ERP suite and rolling out new POS systems chain wide. "Committing to a strategic plan and getting priorities absolutely straight, attracting smart people who are committed to success, and tirelessly building resiliency, accountability, humility and leadership of all types throughout the organization" are the ways to get ambitious projects. Ekola notes that the nature of the industry is changing: "Retail is becoming more customer-centric by the day in many ways. The path to success is to know your customer, and select those strategies and technologies that will over time strengthen an active, loyal connection between the customer and the brand."