Retail store owner with team

Published on March 15, 2024

Doubling revenue in a stagnant retail market

A family-owned Perth retailer had flatlined for three years. A fresh look at their sales approach changed everything.

Client

Perth Retail Business

Service Area

Sales & Marketing

Industry

Retail

Outcome

Revenue doubled in 18 months

Result

Revenue doubled within 18 months. The business expanded to a second location and the owners built a sales team that didn't rely on them being present for every transaction.

Category

Sales & Marketing

Meet the advisors

Advisors on this engagement

Every engagement is led by one or both of our founding directors. You work directly with experienced advisors — not juniors — from the first conversation to the last.

Jon Elbery portrait

Jon Elbery

Director & Senior Business Advisor

Perth, Western Australia

Direction & MotivationCash Flow ManagementBusiness Planning
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Client Testimonial

"Jon helped us see that we weren't a retail business that happened to do sales — we were a sales business that happened to have a shop. That shift in thinking made all the difference."

— Owner, Perth Retail Business

The Situation

A second-generation family retail business in Perth had been trading successfully for over 20 years — but for the past three, revenue had flatlined. The owners had tried a new website, social media, and a loyalty program, none of which had made a meaningful difference.

They were beginning to wonder if the market had simply moved on.

What We Found

The business had excellent product knowledge and loyal customers, but almost no proactive sales activity. Staff were trained to serve customers who came in — not to find new ones or maximise the value of existing relationships.

There was also no clear understanding of who their most profitable customers were, or what those customers had in common. Marketing spend was spread across too many channels with no way to measure what was working.

What We Did Together

Jon worked with the owners over a six-month engagement to:

  • Map their customer base and identify their top 20% by revenue and margin
  • Build a simple outreach program targeting lapsed customers and referral sources
  • Train staff in consultative selling — shifting the conversation from product to outcome
  • Consolidate marketing to two channels they could execute well
  • Introduce a sales review in the weekly team meeting

The owners also made a structural change: one of them moved out of day-to-day operations to focus entirely on sales and business development for three days a week.

The Result

Revenue doubled within 18 months. Average transaction value increased by 40% as staff became more confident guiding customers to the right solution. Customer referrals, previously incidental, became a reliable source of new business.

The business opened a second location 14 months after the engagement started. The owners now have a sales team that operates independently, giving them time to focus on growth rather than the day-to-day.