Giordano is one of the most widespread clothes retailers. It is based in Hong Kong and employs more than 8,000 staff in over 2,000 shops. But when it was founded, upmarket shops sold high-quality products and gave good service. Cheaper clothes were piled high and sold by sales assistants more concerned with taking the cash than smiling at customers. The company questioned why they could not offer value and service, together with low prices. To do this, they raised the wages of their salespeople by over 30 per cent, and gave all employees 60 hours of training. New staff were allocated a

‘big brother’ or ‘big sister’ from experienced staff to help them develop their service quality skills.

Even more startling by the standards of their competitors, they brought in a ‘no-questions asked’

exchange policy irrespective of how long ago the garment had been purchased. Staff were trained to talk to customers and seek their opinion on products and the type of service they would like. This was fed back to the company’s designers for incorporation into their new products. Their operating principles were summarised in its ‘QKISS’ list: Quality (do things right); Knowledge (keep experience up-to-date and share knowledge); Innovation (think ‘outside of the box’); Simplicity (less is more);

Service (exceed customers’ expectations).

(a) In what way did an appreciation of competitors affect the market position of the Giordano operation?

(b) What are the advantages of sales staff talking to the customers?