Not too late to save Christmas

It happened to me recently at Edgars in Killarney, Johannesburg.

I knew they had to have boys' swimming shirts somewhere in the kids' department, but I couldn't find them.

Even harder to find was some assistance in my search, until a security guard spotted my aimless wanderings and led me to the boys' swimwear rail and, in fact, pointed out three different styles of swimming shirts.

That's it, I thought. Edgars and I had come to the end of the road. I was absolutely not going to spend my money at a business that clearly did not know or care whether or not I had stepped into the store that morning.

I am not the only person who has had it with businesses that demonstrate no apparent respect for me as a valued and individual client.

By all accounts, these shops now risk having their futures determined by a growing tide of disgruntled consumers who are — to steal a metaphor from the Flux Trend Review for 2010 — turning their credit cards into ballot sheets.

Trend guru Dion Chang's annual review warns that the economic disaster at the end of 2007 brought with it a consumer revolution that few retailers have heeded.

The issue is no longer simply bad service; it's about me, the individual, demanding to be seen, heard, listened to and spoken to.

I'm not going to part with any cash unless the feeling is right.

Some of us are concerned eco warriors, others are watching out for your commitment to social responsibility. All of us want a good deal.

And with the analysts predicting this Christmas to be the worst retail sales period the country has seen in 10 years, times have never been more challenging for the fashion business.

Hell, it can't be pleasant facing a festive season with such a miserable forecast.

But all is not lost. There are fewer than 60 days to go to Christmas — enough time, I reckon, for retailers to have a radical rethink and come up with some innovative ideas to make the festive season a good one for all of us.

We're all feeling the effects of the recession, but essentially there has to be more money around with the lowering of interest rates over the past two years.

But so far I've noticed precious little going on in the malls and boutiques to tempt those bruised shoppers back into the stores.

Let's go back to the drawing board. Men and women shop for clothes because they make us feel and look good; our shopping experience needs to do the same.

It seems even Edgars might be waking up to the fact, simply by rethinking their change rooms.

The size of a small Parkhurst house, the changing area in their magnificent new concept store in Melrose Arch is the kind of space that women dream about.

With floor-to-ceiling mirrors, rooms twice the size of changing rooms we are used to, and designer leather seats for friends to keep us company, all it needs is a cappuccino machine and I'll be there all day.

Oh, and hire the security guard in your Killarney store and make her store manager.

It's simple. Notice me, make me feel good, give me what I want — and I'll return the favour.

Source: The Times

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