Strategy Case for a Kids Shoe Retail Chain
This is an example of a slide created as part of one of my consulting assignments for a retail chain of children’s footwear.
This slide was meant to clearly display, for each location, the size of the store (sales are represented by the height of the bar), with the gross profit and EBITDA margin shown below.
The stores are arranged in order of four-wall gross profit contribution.
As business analysts, we often create graphs/analyses like these to look for patterns that would explain performance variances across locations.
A Financial Model for The New Facility of The Skating Club of Boston
As a member of the board of The Skating Club of Boston, I was in charge of building a pro forma financial model for the planned undertaking of moving The Club from a one-rink facility in Boston to a new, 3-rink facility in Norwood.
To help financially examine the plan, I created an extensive model, including multiple scenarios of ice usage for the three rinks (see screenshot o the left). The output of the model was used to reassure the membership (and the banks) the the move was in fact a financially sound endeavor, and helped secure financing.
The new club opened in September of 2020.
Creation of a Website for a High-End Custom Wrought Iron Manufacturing Business
As part of my work for a high-end custom manufacturer of wrought-iron fences, gates and railings in in the NYC metro area, I created a website that
Reflects the company’s capabilities to design and manufacture products reminiscent of the old-world charm that wrought iron evokes
Conveys the company’s high level of quality and craftsmanship
You can visit the website by clicking on the picture to the left.
Creation of a Loyalty Program for a Specialty Retailer
As an MBA student intern, I was privileged to worked for the late Tom Stemberg, the founder of Staples, to create a loyalty program for one of his portfolio companies, a specialty gift retailer.
I learned a great deal about retail and customer loyalty that summer as I spent hours researching the topic both academically by reading relevant literature, and practically, by shadowing staff for many hours at several of the stores, interviewing the staff and customers and observing best (and less best) practices.
The end product was a a long slide deck with detailed suggestions of what the loyalty program could look like, including the reward structure, rollout plan, the use of technology, etc.
The biggest insight that has stuck with me, however, is the role that trust plays in loyalty. At the end of the day, we are all human, and as humans we crave relationships. The best loyalty programs leverage the latest tools - whether it is CRM, social media, AI - to make the customer felt known and cared for - without creeping them out of course. Knowing what they like, what they purchased, and asking them how they liked it, or making them meaningful offers on items that they will actually want - all of that builds trust. And if you can build trust with a customer, you will have a customer for life. That’s true loyalty.