TUMI

Charlie Cole

Designing Verticalized System for 360-degree Customer  View 

It’s easy to over complicate. Ultimately retail is divided by two  lowest common denominators of data–at the product level and at  the customer level. Product may be SKU or UPC and customer  in this day in age is primarily email address. You need to design  a system verticalized from supply chain, warehouse the ties data  back to the SKU/UPC, and ensure the system has the cabaility to  talk to the customer side of the home. 

Customizing Product—Key to Run a Successful Business 

We are a premium brand with a 40+ year heritage that’s built upon  quality, style, functionality and iconic design; which is why we  have to be very selective and thoughtful about how we work with  every medium. This includes tailoring merchandise selections  based on certain partners, as well as making sure we have clear  goals and expectations based on device type. Are people using their  mobile devices to BUY Tumi or LEARN about Tumi? Those sort of  questions are what we obsess over. 

Automate as Much as Humanly Possible 

In our department we have a rule–if you can’t analyze your own  functional area of expertise, you can’t lead it. More simply, if you  are not able to understand the numerical nature of your business  in the modern environment, I don’t believe you can grow in retail.  In the bounds of reporting and analytics–the key is to automate as much  as humanly possible. If a retailer is running well–there is simply too  much for a human being to analyze. Advances in predictive analytics  allow for machines to offer personalized experiences that used to  be impossible. 

Big Data and Analytics Transforming In-Store  Experience 

Slowly. The limitations are not the analytical technologies  available, instead, it’s about retailers being limited by legacy  systems and more importantly legacy rules around compensation 

CUSTOMIZE AND COMMUNICATE—  TWO KEY ELEMENT TO SUCCESS  FOR RETAILERS  and staffing.

I also believe that there is a major  cultural mind block within a lot of retailers that  needs to be removed by executive endorsement of the  practice of analytics.  Technology to Drive Innovation  Both technology and VR will be hot topics in 2016.  While they are important trends to be aware of,  I don’t believe they will immediately impact the  landscape this year. Wearables will continue to  something businesses try to get into, but I also think  that technology is evolving so fast that it’s hard to  stay ahead of it and you’re destined to lag. 

Digital Leadership—Hub of Data  Prolifireation 

Digital leadership ends up being the hub of data  proliferation across an organization. It used to  be that analytical and technical abilities were the  priority of a CIO/CDO/CXO role–but now–I would  say interpersonal communication is the #1 trait one  needs in order to succeed. 

Further, communicating weekly with everyone  on your leadership team (merchants, marketers,  retailers, etc.) is imperative for success. There are  so many disparate mind sets across a retailer—  traditional brick and mortar, technologists,  designers, merchants, eCommerce professionals,  analysts, finance—if communicate is not done at  the highest level but also in a cross functional way I  don’t believe a C-suite can be effective.  I think as consumer expectations change Internet  of Things (IoT) will be more important but the  reality is people’s expectations for shopping still  revolves around personal service. I hope that  never changes.