PHOENIX STORES New life from old troubles

SALES & MARKETING Retail opportunities

ONLINE & TECHNOLOGY Let’s get social!

INCREASE GROSS MARGIN How margin works

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COVER STORY The secrets of Revital’s success

ENHANCE EFFICIENCY Employment contracts

SECRET SHOPPER Could do better

RESOURCES Fact!les on Global by Nature and WFBM

What’s Hot in store Connect with Suppliers

FROM THE TOP Cheryl Thallon’s Ideas Factory

H!"#$ng %&'$( )*+$n, -r.+p/r

+p0120re3 by

Written by retailers for retailers

issue 6 | spring 2013

www.betterretailingmagazine.co.uk

Revital founder Raj VoraEntrepreneurial Issue

BETTER RETAILING MAGAZINE 2726 BETTER RETAILING MAGAZINE

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Raj Vora opened his !rst health food store in Willesden in 1991. The next year, with plenty of positive signs from

the !rst store, the second was opened in Victoria. Then, nothing except solid business from the two Revital shops for a further eight years.

That gap indicates a period of foundation-

REVITALISED!Raj Vora, owner of Revital’s 15 stores, his son Rahil and Chief of Operations Sanjay Patel plan to double that number by the end of next year. Alistair Forrest probes for the secret of Revital’s success. to arti!cial substances such as antibiotics and

steroids as a way of healing and preventing infection. That single thought process was to provide people with a natural alternative – to use vitamins, minerals and herbs.”

Over those formative years, Raj gained experience by working in the health food industry and as his dream of opening a store grew in intensity, he was supported by Eamonn Regan of Quest Vitamins with help from companies like BioCare, Lamberts and Solgar.

CHANGING TIMESRevital stores are not clones of the original concept. Each has its own local autonomy because although there are product ranges that will always be popular nationwide, people are different and towns and regions have their individuality.

“Sixty per cent of the products in each Revital store will be the same,” said Raj. “The remaining 40% of products is dependent on

location, availability and most importantly, customer requirements.

“Initially when Revital started, we as a company were advising people what to take and when, but now due to the internet being so readily available, people are coming to us and telling us exactly what they want and why, almost as if the roles have been reversed.”

It takes time to understand your customers properly – the most important item of research for any health food store – and therefore if growth is on your agenda it must be at a pace that allows experience to be absorbed into the company’s psyche.

“As you can see from the list of stores opened since 1991, for the !rst eight years we had only two stores, Willesden and Victoria,” continued Raj. “Both of these stores succeeded immediately and soon we required space for storage and an of!ce in the London area.

“In 2000, an opportunity became available in Ruislip and that is when the

laying while the Revital vision of was developed and the team brought together.

Now, after 22 years including 15 openings and zero closures, Revital is poised for further dramatic expansion to double in size in two years inspired by the Vora entrepreneurial vision with the support of chief of operations Sanjay Patel.

Raj’s wife Nutan has shared this vision from the outset and now his son Rahil is masterminding the expansion to 30 stores.

“It was a single thought process that pushed me to open that !rst store,” said Raj, “and the principle is exactly the same today even if consumer attitudes have changed. As a young man in India I saw friends and family turning

business really began to grow. Since 2003 we have opened at least one shop per year except in 2009 when the economic climate dipped and the nation was in a recession. Following 2009, reports showed that even with a recession, Revital was not as affected as much as was !rst thought and plans to expand continued with the opening of another store on Kings Road, London.”

It wasn’t long before Revital began to attract a wider interest and support came from a number of health writers >p28

Revital is very careful in choosing an area in which to open a store:1. It must have a population that has

the degree of af!uence necessary to afford the nutrition offered. Originally Willesden was 50-50 VMS/food but Revital overall is now roughly 70-30 in favour of higher value VMS. “Willesden was the "rst but today we are more likely to target towns like Guildford, Solihull and Worcester,” said Raj.

2. Revital does not want to go head to head with any independent health food shops. Raj notes: “Of course Guildford already had Food For Thought, but this is predominantly food whereas our emphasis is more on VMS. We try to avoid competition with independents because we consider ourselves to be independent and we are batting for the same team with its "rm principles.”

3. If there is an existing independent, it is possible they would consider an offer. “Willesden was an existing store,” said Raj, “Stratford and Beacons"eld were Goldshield, Cambridge was an old store, also Solihull. We always pay a premium price for the goodwill – it’s the way we run our company with contented staff and contented people with whom we do business.”

Criteria for expansion

Raj Vora (centre) with son Rahil and chief of operations Sanjay Patel

Since opening in Willesden, the Revital policy for new stores is to look for an af!uent area in need of a health store, or with a health store that will consider selling. This is the Revital timeline: Willesden 1991 Victoria 1992 Ruilsip 2000 Beacons"eld 2003 Stratford 2003 Hounslow 2004 Cambridge 2005 Richmond 2005 Wigmore Street, London 2006* Hampstead 2007 Solihull 2008 Kings Road, Chelsea 2010 Windsor 2011 Worcester 2012 Guildford November 2012

The Revital stores

Revital Windsor

Revital Worcester

Always be open to change – for example, Revital’s customer demographic has changed from advice-seekers in 1991 to seekers of speci!c products in 2013.

* The Wigmore Street Revital store houses an education centre comprising two treatment rooms and seminar suite for professional education including staff training, product seminars and demonstrations and use by practitioners. This was the brainchild of Raj Vora’s daughter Astha.

28 BETTER RETAILING MAGAZINE

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

You can do it alone, but it’s better with support from family, staff and the industry

Your greatest asset is your staff Always be open to change – for

example, Revital’s customer demographic has changed from advice-seekers in 1991 to seekers of speci"c products in 2013

Keep your eye on the vision of success. Has Revital ever had to close a store? Raj Vora: “No!”

SUMMARY

and complementary specialists, attention that would soon lead Raj and his family to look beyond London to towns, cities and communities where the natural health gospel was catching on fast.

I asked Raj to list the changes within Revital since 1991. “Firstly, our customer service has improved and continues to improve,” he said. “Because we are a small chain, we are in a better position to always get the product the customer asks for. We never say no. We get it for them either from another branch (there are regular deliveries between branches) or posted to them free of charge. This builds customer loyalty.

“Our commitment to staff knowledge remains the same but that knowledge is always developing. Our staff are our major asset, and we are very proud of them – we now have 120 staff; most have remained with us over the years while those joining tend to stay with us. We have regular managers meetings and training programmes.”

INTERNET GROWTHLike most successful retail companies, Revital has embraced the opportunities offered in an online age.

“With the internet becoming increasingly popular over the years we launched our website in 2006,” said Raj. “It was a natural progression from our mail order catalogue business. This proved vital for our business. It still gives us great exposure and allows us to sell in areas and markets that were

previously unavailable to us. “In addition, contributions on the website

from health experts and practitioners give a good backing to our products. They give customers relevant information and we add various additional features to provide extra interest rather than just focusing on sales.” A look at the revital.co.uk home page in February showed several of these including special offers, Dale Pinnock’s recipe ideas, in store events and the extremely useful Healthnotes bolt-on service.

KEYS TO SUCCESSThere are obvious advantages to having a group of stores, not least being able to buy product as a group. All orders are carried out centrally by the purchasing team and is kept under control through the EPOS system. “With the click of a few buttons we can see what products are selling well in different areas,” said Raj.

Also, the group’s marketing is handled by the head of!ce in Ruislip, although each store also has local requirements.

“But the key to all our success is the unity within the team,” said Raj. “I am proud to say that the majority of my senior management team has been with me for over 20 years. Funnily enough, the majority of the industry knows and recognises my chief of operations, Sanjay Patel, more than me! The hard work, dedication and vision of this team have put Revital in its current position. With this in mind my greatest satisfaction is seeing

all that hard work and planning producing successful results.”

And are there any disappopintments? “Every organisation is expected to have good days and bad days. However my biggest disappointment is the lack of support from the Government and the banks.”

Rahil Vora joined the Revital team in 2011. “With his background in !nance, my son has been able to help speed up our growth plans,” concluded Raj. “By the end of 2014 we aim to have 30 stores and hope to increase the already expanding Internet business.

“And you never know, with his background in banking, Rahil might be able to restore my faith in the banks!”

“Our staff are our major asset, and we are very proud of them – we now have 120 staff; most have remained with us over the years while those joining tend to stay with us.”

The keys to successful expansion include negotiating a good lease. Landords are not reducing rents because there is demand, said Raj, and they are about to say ‘take it or leave it’. If you can "nd someone ready to negotiate in the right area it is a good time to open. “That is the biggest hurdle, and it is tough,” he said. “Have the vision and stick to your principles.”

Not surprisingly, Raj lists the banks as the main obstacle. “They don’t like the retail trade and I don’t blame them,” he said. “When we talk to them, they would rather look at retail in general rather than at our track record, at the history of retailing rather than our particular success story, and I do blame them for that. We are thriving, but the banks tend to be blinkered. This means you often have to build the business with your own money, or an alternative source, or rely on cash !ow which is very dif"cult.”

Obstacles and opportunities

World’s Leading Probiotics since 1979

1-800-422-3371 • www.uaslabs.com • info@uaslabs.com

!"#$%&'()*+&#,*##-.&)+#&/('#/&01($(2)##3&4#.)#-&'%&52-#6#2-#2)&/('7$()7$%&895//5:#$;

<72=-(5$%>&/(*)7.#&?$##>&0/1)#2&?$##>&@+#()&

(2-&272=ABC

D72)(52.&.16#$.)$(52&E3&(*5-76+5/1.&FF9G=H&'(*:#-&@5)+&7"#$&IJJ&.)1-5#.

K*5-&(2-&'5/#&$#.5.)(2)

L1M(2&5.7/()#.&)+()&(-(6)&@#//&)7&+1M(2&'7-%

!"#$%&'()*+,%&-'."'("+/'-%0123(4

56"*()*6*+)%&'()*+,&-'."'("+%/'-%0123(4

778%&-'."'("+4%6*1%89"-23"*6/'-%!)63($,%0#"*#

Why Millions of Consumers Prefer DDS ProbioticsWhy Millions of Consumers Prefer DDS Probiotics

:-"93);0+("'*%<'=)*>4!)6(3($%?'-=236

Also Available: Childrens’ Probiotics and Other Probiotic Formulas

®

®NEW!

!"#$#%$&'&#(#)&$%"'*#%)+&%,##)%#*'-.'&#/%,0%&"#%1++/%')/%23.4%5/(6)6$&3'&6+)7!"#$#%83+/.9&$%'3#%)+&%6)&#)/#/%&+%&3#'&:%9.3#:%83#*#)&%+3%(6&64'&#%')0%/6$#'$#7

5$%;6&"%'--%$.88-#(#)&$:%$##<%'/*69#%=3+(%'%8"0$696')%,#=+3#%.$6)4

DDS PROBIOTICS®

MADE IN THE USA

Follow us on FacebookFacebook.com/DDSprobiotics

V I S I T U S A TNATURAL & O R G A N I CPRODUC TSE U R O P EB O O T H3 0 6 4

D I S T R I B U T O R SW A N T E D