3月下旬的48小時內(nèi),百思買的新任首席執(zhí)行官科麗·巴里做出一系列決定,極大地改變了這家消費電子零售商的面貌:從3月22日開始,百思買不再允許購物者進入全美1,000家門店。取而代之的是,員工會把訂購商品交付給在路邊等候的顧客。
去年6月,巴里為百思買規(guī)劃了一幅行動路線圖,助力這家消費電子連鎖零售商敏捷地實現(xiàn)電商轉(zhuǎn)型,并由此獲得該公司最高職位?,F(xiàn)在,就在她即將迎來履新一周年之際,巴里又開始重新規(guī)劃公司的未來。在百思買轉(zhuǎn)為路邊取貨之后,其銷售額僅比上一年同期下降30%。與其他零售商的悲慘境遇相比,這點打擊實在不算什么。盡管如此,巴里仍然不得不讓12.5萬名百思買員工中的5.1萬人“無薪休假”,她自己也主動減薪50%——至少在9月之前。
為應(yīng)對新冠疫情,消費者不僅大量囤積食品雜貨,他們也開始購買百思買的冰箱和冰柜。在各大零售門店外,購物者排起的長隊橫貫整個街區(qū),迫使巴里不得不對銷售模式進行動態(tài)挑戰(zhàn)?!爸辽儆幸晃慌抨牭念櫩筒榈搅宋业碾娫捥柎a,告訴我有些人在排隊時沒有遵守社交距離政策?!彼f。
多年來,百思買一直秉持著這樣一種運營理念:家庭與科技將變得更加“互聯(lián)”。 冠狀病毒加速了這一趨勢。她說:“我們的目標(biāo)從來沒有如此真實。”以下是經(jīng)過編輯的訪談實錄。
《財富》:大約600家百思買門店在今年5月通過提前預(yù)約的方式重新開業(yè)。你怎么知道現(xiàn)在是重新營業(yè)的正確時機?
科麗·巴里:我們很早就被幾乎每個州和市政府確定為“必不可少的”零售商。但我們覺得,隨著時間的推移,是時候從必需品零售轉(zhuǎn)為安全零售了。顯然,人們需要我們賣的東西,在某些情況下,他們真的需要我們上門服務(wù),比如說他們家的冰箱壞了。讓哪家門店重新營業(yè),是由一系列因素綜合決定的。比如,我們必須考慮當(dāng)?shù)匾咔樘幱谑裁措A段,當(dāng)?shù)卣趶?fù)工復(fù)產(chǎn)方面有哪些規(guī)定,我們在當(dāng)?shù)赜卸嗌賳T工能上崗,等等。老實說,對于重新營業(yè)的正確時機或者重新營業(yè)后的需求狀況,我們并沒有十足的把握。在重新開業(yè)首日,到下午3點的時候,我的收件箱已經(jīng)收到了來自各個門店的反饋信息,讓我知道哪些措施行之有效,哪些行不通。我們已經(jīng)開始進行一些調(diào)整。
預(yù)約模式是如何運作的?你把它比作約會。
你可以打電話、上網(wǎng),或者直接去門店預(yù)約。接下來,我們會提前打電話,告訴你一些注意事項。我們會要求你戴口罩。等你來到門店的時候,我們會備好現(xiàn)貨。然后,一位同事會與你結(jié)伴而行,引導(dǎo)你走完在店內(nèi)購物的全部流程。每個人都朝著一個特定方向移動,沿途是有標(biāo)記的,所以很容易保持社會距離。根據(jù)店面的大小——我們的營業(yè)面積從2萬到6萬平方英尺不等——我們可能會同時接待10到24名顧客。
一些門店現(xiàn)在重新開張了,這是不是一個讓部分被解雇員工(共計5.1萬人)重返工作崗位的機會?或者說,還需要發(fā)生什么事情才能做到這一點?
在目前這個時點,我們還不能召回這些員工。現(xiàn)在還不行。我們相信我們可以利用現(xiàn)有員工來運作這種模式。我真的不知道什么時候才會更像以前的模式。
我們還能回到以前那種隨便走進商場購物的日子嗎?
這就是我覺得不一樣的地方。我們不能用昨天的零售手冊來解決今天的問題。只是假設(shè)一下,周末可能會出現(xiàn)大量的需求,人們愿意再次走進商場購物,而且我們可以創(chuàng)造足夠遠(yuǎn)的社交距離,這樣員工才有安全感。但在平日里,我們采用預(yù)約制,那是一種更受約束的購物體驗。路邊取貨會一直存在下去。我認(rèn)為零售手冊不太可能回歸以前的模樣。
讓顧客和員工在店里感到安全是一回事。公司員工呢?他們近期會重新回到辦公室上班嗎?
在我們的內(nèi)心深處,我們?nèi)匀挥X得百思買是那種老派零售商:“門店復(fù)工在即,大家都要回去上班了!”我們早就知道我們需要改變,但一直沒有足夠的動力去做這件事。然后,一夜之間,我們所有的公司員工,大約5000人,都在家工作。但總體來說,他們的工作效率高得令人難以置信。
所以,我們將非常謹(jǐn)慎地制定一個很有階段性的復(fù)工計劃。我們的團隊將會考慮每一個細(xì)節(jié)。比如,需要戴口罩嗎?可能吧,如果你是在一個共享空間工作的話。走進辦公樓時,還要測量體溫嗎?很可能,如果這樣做確實能夠降低病毒傳播幾率。更多的人可能會在家工作。彈性工作制將變得更加常態(tài)化。(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:任文科
3月下旬的48小時內(nèi),百思買的新任首席執(zhí)行官科麗·巴里做出一系列決定,極大地改變了這家消費電子零售商的面貌:從3月22日開始,百思買不再允許購物者進入全美1,000家門店。取而代之的是,員工會把訂購商品交付給在路邊等候的顧客。
去年6月,巴里為百思買規(guī)劃了一幅行動路線圖,助力這家消費電子連鎖零售商敏捷地實現(xiàn)電商轉(zhuǎn)型,并由此獲得該公司最高職位?,F(xiàn)在,就在她即將迎來履新一周年之際,巴里又開始重新規(guī)劃公司的未來。在百思買轉(zhuǎn)為路邊取貨之后,其銷售額僅比上一年同期下降30%。與其他零售商的悲慘境遇相比,這點打擊實在不算什么。盡管如此,巴里仍然不得不讓12.5萬名百思買員工中的5.1萬人“無薪休假”,她自己也主動減薪50%——至少在9月之前。
為應(yīng)對新冠疫情,消費者不僅大量囤積食品雜貨,他們也開始購買百思買的冰箱和冰柜。在各大零售門店外,購物者排起的長隊橫貫整個街區(qū),迫使巴里不得不對銷售模式進行動態(tài)挑戰(zhàn)?!爸辽儆幸晃慌抨牭念櫩筒榈搅宋业碾娫捥柎a,告訴我有些人在排隊時沒有遵守社交距離政策?!彼f。
多年來,百思買一直秉持著這樣一種運營理念:家庭與科技將變得更加“互聯(lián)”。 冠狀病毒加速了這一趨勢。她說:“我們的目標(biāo)從來沒有如此真實?!币韵率墙?jīng)過編輯的訪談實錄。
《財富》:大約600家百思買門店在今年5月通過提前預(yù)約的方式重新開業(yè)。你怎么知道現(xiàn)在是重新營業(yè)的正確時機?
科麗·巴里:我們很早就被幾乎每個州和市政府確定為“必不可少的”零售商。但我們覺得,隨著時間的推移,是時候從必需品零售轉(zhuǎn)為安全零售了。顯然,人們需要我們賣的東西,在某些情況下,他們真的需要我們上門服務(wù),比如說他們家的冰箱壞了。讓哪家門店重新營業(yè),是由一系列因素綜合決定的。比如,我們必須考慮當(dāng)?shù)匾咔樘幱谑裁措A段,當(dāng)?shù)卣趶?fù)工復(fù)產(chǎn)方面有哪些規(guī)定,我們在當(dāng)?shù)赜卸嗌賳T工能上崗,等等。老實說,對于重新營業(yè)的正確時機或者重新營業(yè)后的需求狀況,我們并沒有十足的把握。在重新開業(yè)首日,到下午3點的時候,我的收件箱已經(jīng)收到了來自各個門店的反饋信息,讓我知道哪些措施行之有效,哪些行不通。我們已經(jīng)開始進行一些調(diào)整。
預(yù)約模式是如何運作的?你把它比作約會。
你可以打電話、上網(wǎng),或者直接去門店預(yù)約。接下來,我們會提前打電話,告訴你一些注意事項。我們會要求你戴口罩。等你來到門店的時候,我們會備好現(xiàn)貨。然后,一位同事會與你結(jié)伴而行,引導(dǎo)你走完在店內(nèi)購物的全部流程。每個人都朝著一個特定方向移動,沿途是有標(biāo)記的,所以很容易保持社會距離。根據(jù)店面的大小——我們的營業(yè)面積從2萬到6萬平方英尺不等——我們可能會同時接待10到24名顧客。
一些門店現(xiàn)在重新開張了,這是不是一個讓部分被解雇員工(共計5.1萬人)重返工作崗位的機會?或者說,還需要發(fā)生什么事情才能做到這一點?
在目前這個時點,我們還不能召回這些員工?,F(xiàn)在還不行。我們相信我們可以利用現(xiàn)有員工來運作這種模式。我真的不知道什么時候才會更像以前的模式。
我們還能回到以前那種隨便走進商場購物的日子嗎?
這就是我覺得不一樣的地方。我們不能用昨天的零售手冊來解決今天的問題。只是假設(shè)一下,周末可能會出現(xiàn)大量的需求,人們愿意再次走進商場購物,而且我們可以創(chuàng)造足夠遠(yuǎn)的社交距離,這樣員工才有安全感。但在平日里,我們采用預(yù)約制,那是一種更受約束的購物體驗。路邊取貨會一直存在下去。我認(rèn)為零售手冊不太可能回歸以前的模樣。
讓顧客和員工在店里感到安全是一回事。公司員工呢?他們近期會重新回到辦公室上班嗎?
在我們的內(nèi)心深處,我們?nèi)匀挥X得百思買是那種老派零售商:“門店復(fù)工在即,大家都要回去上班了!”我們早就知道我們需要改變,但一直沒有足夠的動力去做這件事。然后,一夜之間,我們所有的公司員工,大約5000人,都在家工作。但總體來說,他們的工作效率高得令人難以置信。
所以,我們將非常謹(jǐn)慎地制定一個很有階段性的復(fù)工計劃。我們的團隊將會考慮每一個細(xì)節(jié)。比如,需要戴口罩嗎?可能吧,如果你是在一個共享空間工作的話。走進辦公樓時,還要測量體溫嗎?很可能,如果這樣做確實能夠降低病毒傳播幾率。更多的人可能會在家工作。彈性工作制將變得更加常態(tài)化。(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:任文科
In 48 hours in late march, Corie Barry, the new CEO of Best Buy, made a flurry of decisions that dramatically transformed the electronics retailer: On March 22, Best Buy stopped allowing shoppers inside all 1,000 of its U.S. stores. Instead, employees would run orders out to customers waiting curbside.
Barry landed the top job at the electronics chain last June by plotting a path forward for Best Buy that deftly navigated shifts in e-commerce. Now, as she approaches her first anniversary, she’s again reimagining the company’s future. After Best Buy switched to curbside pickup, sales dropped just 30% compared with the prior year’s. While this proved a much smaller hit than what other retailers suffered, Barry still had to furlough 51,000 of the company’s 125,000 employees—and take a 50% pay cut herself until at least September.
As consumers loaded up on groceries to prepare for the pandemic, they also stocked up on Best Buy fridges and freezers. Lines outside stores stretched around the block, forcing Barry to adjust the model on the fly. “At least one customer in that line tracked down my phone number to let me know people were not socially distanced in that line,” she says.
For years, Best Buy has operated on a thesis that homes will become more “connected” with technology; the coronavirus has sped up that trend. “Never has our purpose been more real,” she says. The Q&A below has been edited for length and clarity.
Fortune: You are now, in May, reopening some 600 of your stores by appointment only. How do you know it’s the right time to reopen?
Corie Barry: We were named very early on an essential retailer by almost every state and municipality. But we felt like, as the weeks went on, it was time to move from essential retailing into safe retailing. Clearly people need the things we sell, and in some cases they really need us in their homes. Like if they have a broken fridge. Where you open is going to be dictated by a combination of what is the path of the virus, what are local jurisdictional regulations, and what is our employee availability. I’ll be honest, there is no perfect knowledge of when the right time is or what demand is going to be. By three o’clock on day one of reopening, I already had in my inbox feedback from our stores on what was working, what wasn’t. And some of the tweaks we’re already making.
How does the appointment model work? You’ve likened it to dating.
You can call, go online, or just walk up to a store to set your appointment. The next step is a pre-call about what to expect. We will ask you to wear a mask. When you come to the store, we will have them available. And then you’ll be paired with an associate who will literally be your concierge throughout the store. Everyone walks in a certain direction and it is marked so it’s very easy to keep social distance. Depending on the size of the store—our footprints range from 20,000 to 60,000 square feet—you’re probably talking somewhere between 10 and 24 customers in there at a time.
Now that some of the stores are reopening, is this an opportunity to bring back some of the [51,000] furloughed employees? Or what needs to happen to do that?
At this point, we are not bringing any of them back. Right now. We believe we can run this model with the employees that we have. I don’t know when it will look more like the model of old.
Will we ever get back to just being able to walk in a store and shop around?
Here’s what I don’t think it looks like. It doesn’t look like you use yesterday’s retail playbook to solve today’s problems. Just hypothesizing, it may be you see a lot of demand on the weekend and people are willing to come back in and shop, and you can create enough distance so your employees feel safe. But on the weekdays, it’s appointment-only, and you keep it a much more kind of constrained experience. And you always have curbside. I don’t think the playbook is ever going to look the way it looked before.
It’s one thing to make customers and employees feel safe in the store. What about your corporate employees—will they be working in the office anytime soon?
Best Buy, in our hearts, we had that old-school retail feeling, like, “The stores are going to be open, and everyone’s going to be at work!” And we knew we needed to change but just hadn’t quite had the impetus to do it. And then, literally overnight, all of our people corporately, about 5,000 of them, are working from home. And yet productivity on the whole was incredible.
So it will be a very staged and careful return to work plan. And our team is covering everything from, Are you going to wear masks? Probably, if you’re in shared spaces. Will there be temperature checks when you walk in the building? Probably, if it’s proven to actually reduce the spread of the virus. More people will likely work from home. Flexible work arrangements will be much more regular.