Advertisement

PentaVision

Eyecare Business

Article

Editor's Letter

Full Circle

Eyecare Business March 1, 2005

EDITOR'S LETTER
Full Circle

Back in the 90s, I attended a seminar at the National Retail Federation about how site selection was the key to success for small businesses. A few years later, it was time to board up brick and mortar and turn to a future in click and order. This January, however, many of the consultants at the annual NRF meeting seemed to have come full circle and, when it comes to smaller businesses, the key is competing the old-fashioned way--on service.

The three Ls--location, location, location--don't work as well anymore, because everyone, it seems, is on the move. It's happening with the big boys like Sears and its new, non-mall format, Sears Essentials, which has locked its sights on Target, a chain that just announced expansion plans into...you guessed it, malls.

The lines are getting just as blurred in traditional independent strongholds of urban trendy and suburban quaint. Here, mom and pop's awning-shaded, brick-fronted shops are being replicated in the hot, new outdoor format called a lifestyle center, replete with English gardens and cobblestone walkways and chain stores. "They're designed to give mall-weary shoppers the comforting experience of being on an idealized Main Street," James Gilmore, co-author of The Experience Economy told Fortune magazine. "Some small businesses won't survive this round," he added. "Those that do must constantly innovate by enhancing their customers' experience."

So, what does all this mean? According to Gilmore, as well as several consultants at the NRF, we have, indeed, come full circle. For small business, the three Ls have been replaced by a single S...and that stands for service.

Stephanie K. De Long
Editor-in-Chief

P.S. Don't miss this month's CE course for opticians sponsored by Seiko.

 

What to Read Next