“The only real mistake is not taking action or trying something for fear of failure,” says Alain Hellebaut, who shares some valuable lessons learned during crises at RetailDetail Night, drawing on his wealth of experience as a retail manager, including a successful relaunch for Maxi Toys.
“Don’t ignore the small signs”
Sooner or later, every company will face a challenging period. This is especially true in the retail sector, where margins are sometimes thin, consumers are fickle, and competition is disruptive and ruthless. “In my experience, it’s rarely the big storms that shake a company. It’s the small cracks that are ignored for too long: a slight drop in traffic, changing customer expectations, an overly optimistic inventory position, a brand that is gradually losing its relevance… It starts subtly, but the pattern is often clear if you want to see it,” says Alain Hellebaut, who has been active in the retail sector for thirty years, at Fun, Maxi Toys, and Oh’Green, among others.
And then you have to intervene quickly and transparently. “Crises are inevitable—but chaos is a choice,” he says. “I believe that leadership in times of crisis is not so much about knowledge or strategy, but mainly about attitude. How you are present, how you communicate, how you make decisions under pressure.” And not every crisis has to end like some recent examples: for toy chain Maxi Toys (which had 225 stores internationally and 1,250 employees), Hellebaut managed to successfully relaunch 75% of the stores and employees, under the wing of the French group King Jouet, which in turn is part of the Italian Prenatal Retail Group.
A positive story
Hellebaut proved that it is possible to restart a business from an extremely difficult situation. He therefore wants to bring a positive story in challenging times: “Failure is the price of progress. The only real mistake is not trying for fear of failure.”
At RetailDetail Night, on November 20 in Antwerp, Alain Hellebaut will share the lessons he learned in the preliminary program “Failing Forward,” where retailers talk about their “inspiring failures.” The participants will engage in open conversation with moderator Stefan Van Rompaey, with colleagues, and with you, the audience. Also on stage: Pascale Switten on the relaunch and end of outlet store Cameleon, Mark MJ Vandevelde on the journey of sustainable sneaker brand Komrads, and Stijn Martens on the journey of the first Flemish online supermarket, Hopr.
Click on the button below for the full RetailDetail Night program and to reserve your ticket.
