The leaders of retail

Shortly after Mark McInnes resigned from David Jones I wrote an article for SmartCompany that was triggered by a question from Sue Mitchell at The Australian Financial Review. The question was something to the effect of, “Do you think retailing skills are innate, and who would you nominate as a great retailer?”

My two nominees were Solomon Lew and Mark McInnes. It’s funny how things work out with the passage of time. In nominating the two, I used the phrase that they were both ‘polarising’ characters.

Solomon Lew is a retailer and trader of global stature. He innately understands and drives ‘the deal’. His childhood was tough and shaped his drive. His early days in retail taught him to buy cheap and sell high. Those skills were initially shaped in buying and selling cartons of products. Later they were honed in buying and selling shipping containers of product before creating significant wealth in buying and selling whole retail businesses.

He is very focused on the deal. While many business people will leave a little on the table for the selling or buying party, Solomon doesn’t. He, and I can only surmise, probably has the highest return on any deal done at any given point in the economic cycle. And he has spent the last two years lining up finance and targeting retailers to do the next major deal. The only part missing is the retail leader who loves to be on the shop floor and who can inspire store staff.

So it’s good to see that Mark McInnes is back in retailing and working with Solomon Lew. His passion for, knowledge of and dedication to retailing makes him the last link in Lew’s next 10 years in the retail space.

McInnes walks the floors and understands the creation of not just good, but excellent shopper experience within high end retailing. He will take all the moving parts, stores, suppliers, brands and funding that Solomon has now amassed for him and turn it into millions of great shopping experiences that generate billions of dollars in profitable sales.

My dad once told me that you only need two things to make a lot of money – a few good people and a bit of money.

In his role as CEO of CROSSMARK, Kevin Moore looks at the world of retailing from grocery to pharmacy, bottle shops to car dealers, corner store to department stores. In this insightful blog, Kevin covers retail news, ideas, companies and emerging opportunities in Australia, NZ, the US and Europe. His international career in sales and marketing has seen him responsible for business in over 40 countries, which has earned him grey hair and a wealth of expertise in international retailers and brands. CROSSMARK Asia Pacific is Australasia’s largest provider of retail marketing services, consulting to and servicing some of Australasia’s biggest retailers and manufacturers.