Podcast with head of profit protection13 Feb 2023 10:47
https://vimeo.com/797369311/3d01e86474
Profit protection means theft reduction. Dave Purdoe previously worked in the same role for Card Factory, joined The Works in December 2021. He is the only person working in profit protection, as the previous profit protection team was let go during the administration of 2008.
Some quotes:
On his role:
"I know from the Card Factory model and people listening to this will know full well some of the like for like that post well crafted interventions of an investigative nature I think will just blow us away. I will be personally disappointed in next 12 months if there's not a discernible difference on the balance sheet because of activity my function is driving. Somewhere, there'll be a set of financial accounts at Card Factory that actually said, you know, something's changed in the financials and we can only put it down for the approach the world in investigation and for me that you know, you going on telling stakeholders and shareholders out. That's a fantastic accolade. That's something that I want to repeat with The Works."
On trading:
"The store elements of the estate's traded really well had a decent Christmas to be honest. I'll break that down. So we've got some locations that probably given our time again, we wouldn't have opened but I think there's plenty of multisite retailers in that particular position. We've opened some cracking new locations and you walk in and are blown away like Leeds White Rose. It just looks fantastic and it's something that you've got a real pride in and your put your name by and walk around because you're proud to be part of that. So we've got locations that are performing fantastically. Like every multisite retailer we still have a number of locations that haven't come back post covid and I don't know what the future will be as regards where performance will lie with them.
The online piece still is not up to where it should be now, whether there's a naiveitate to imagine that lockdown online type frantic activity would continue once our freedom was given back to us. They don't know but it's certainly not where it needs to be. If that can come into line and I'm confident it will come into line it'll just be an amazing business. It really will be because as I said, we've got stores that just absolutely smash it.
Some of the the products we've been knocking out now and you know, we're getting branded Publishers who are coming to us now saying look got a book launch. Do you want to be involved or throw some markers in some PR your way. Historically that was like we're not we're not going to a discounter so we'll sell it anywhere else on the high streets at full price before we come to you. Complete change."
Sign In
Follow the stocks
