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JOE JACKMAN, FOUNDER AND CEO,
JACKMAN REINVENTION
it’s in the stores. On
radio, most recently
in support of our new
direction, we’ve had a
tremendous amount
of impressions
created for our
“Any time, any day”
no-appointment lu
campaign across
the country. In
conjunction with the
launch of “Be.better”
we had a signiicant
amount of radio
supporting that.
How many new stores will
you open?
When we look at
reinventing ourselves
at retail…those
things take time, but
our nine stores act
as centres of gravity
and creativity for
bringing products
and services to life.
So, all of the
stores we’ll open in
the future will look
like these new ones
and so will the ones
we renovate.
The products
and services and
in-store components
of marketing and
signage, brand voice,
private brands –
those permeate the
entire company.
We can leapfrog
what takes more
time, in this case the
construction, and get
that enthusiasm in
our business.
How do you approach reinvention?
Phase one is developing a fact foundation, moving through strategic questions and getting
answers that both ourselves and the management team are aligned to. Then we can start
to craft strategy and make it something tangible.
We’re believers that strategy should be done by people with hands on levers: the CEO
and his or her leadership team. If I’m an architect of strategy I know why things got built
and I’m more likely to support those things because I was part of the process.
So you continue working with brands as the strategic changes are rolled out?
We do not see Rexall or our other engagement partners as clients, that implies a service
business. [We don’t say,] “Hey, we’re going to do a bunch of stuff for you and then carry on
our way.” We structure our deals so that we are partners. We have a vested interest in the
outcome. We don’t go away once the strategy is deined, which is more of a conventional
consulting model. [There is no,] “Here’s the binder, it’s got a lot of stuff in it. Good luck with
that.” Because we’re in the reinvention business, we’re very practiced at all the moving parts
that have to get aligned. It’s heavy lifting. Our partners would say we have experienced
people that have been down this road before. We help save time in that manner.
What opportunities did you find for Rexall to differentiate itself?
Generally, retailers aren’t keeping pace with the desire Canadians have to learn more
about how to lead happy, healthy, fulilled lives. There are lots of sources for them to buy
a lot of stuff and get information, but there are opportunities for retailers to add value in
areas of healthful living and well-being. It’s a big need and therefore a big opportunity.
What customer profile is typical of the new Rexall?
Canadians are on a journey to more fully engage with their health and [how they] care for
themselves and their families. For those who want to make changes in their lives, [Rexall]
will be an increasingly valuable partner as they move along the journey. It’s not always
massive changes, more often small changes lead to bigger shifts.
What’s the biggest challenge moving forward now?
There’s a great expression, “If we don’t like change we’ll like irrelevance even less.”
The greatest challenge is moving away from what was done in the past and getting to
new ways of doing things. That is the work of reinvention. All the other stuff is pretty
straightforward. Getting people to lean into it and compress the time to do it is dificult.
Time is not on our side in any retail reinvention.
March 2013
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