385. Lessons from a young retail leader

And I've said it a million times over, people are the core of this industry. You know, we're creating the programs, we're creating the garments, we're creating the platforms, we're creating everything that the customer needs to, you know, the customer needs to. Yeah. And I've always said it, you know, technology is a great addition, but it's also not a fix. Welcome to Retail Gets Real, where we hear from retail's most fascinating leaders about the industry that impacts.

Thanks everyone, everywhere, every day. I'm Bill Thornton from the National Retail Federation, and on today's episode, we're talking to Gucci Team Manager Robert Davidson Long. We're going to talk to Robert about his journey in retail and hear his perspective as a young leader in this most fascinating industry. Robert Davison Law. My friend, welcome to Retail TV. Having me.

It's great that you were able to make the time and you've got some great stories to tell. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind. So we're gonna get right into it. And I just wanna know from the start, what was your first job in retail? My first job w in retail was I was a seasonal sales associate at Armani Exchange in Watertown, Chicago. many, many moons ago. And I remember giving up a bunch of my resumes and going to the different stores in Watertower and I did a large group interview.

at our money exchange and did really well and the store manager ended up contacting me maybe about a week and a half later to come in and do an interview specifically with him. and the retail director for the area. And I ended up getting the job and from there went on to be a key holder and went on from there to be a full-time key holder. And that was my first retail job.

That's pretty awesome. Be honest, Robert. You didn't wake up one day and say, I want to be in retail. You kind of planned for it, didn't you? Or did you? So I know for me specifically, retail was something that was important to me. I'm very customer focused and I love people. So any That's so weird. I could har hardly tell that.

You know, in the industry that allows me to work closely with people is something that I naturally gravitate towards. Fashion retail specifically is super important to me, you know, because I used to go shopping with my mom all of the time and the feeling that she would have when she would leave the stores, you know, about the experience that was created for her was something that I always wanted to be part of. And that was something that I kind of leaned into.

Fashion is super emotional. It communicates, it conveys a message, and that's something that I've leaned into. So in a way I planned it, but then once I got into the actual fashion retail of it, you know, that's where I kind of kept going. Now you had your start, but man, there's been a lot between your start and where you are today. So tell us about your current role and how you got there. I think you explained you just hinted at this, but why luxury?

So luxury to me is about creating an overall experience for the customer. And that's something that I lean into. I love to talk, I love romancing a product, I love creating, you know, a great feeling for the customer because again fashion yeah is emotional. Luxury retail is a really big part of that. It's not just

a bag on the wall. You know, there's history behind it. There's craftsmanship. There's the excitement of marrying the product to the actual person. And that is something that I love to do. I love to find out about product. I love learning about it. But then I also love

learning about the person that you know I'm communicating about you know, communicating the product about to. And so The luxury retail industry allows me to blend both my passion for people, but then also the passion for the craftsmanship and the items that I'm selling. And I went from our money exchange and then I went to the Fry Company, I went to Express, and I went to Coach. Coach was actually.

kind of my first job into the next actual line of retail. And it was also while I was competing for the NRF Foundation Next Gym Scholarship. Went through that and once I finished the program And ended up winning the scholarship, it kind of put me on this, like this national platform. So now I'm getting, you know, emails and DMs on LinkedIn from brands that.

I've always wanted to work at or have had some type of familiarity with, but never had the confidence and those skill set to really apply for. And so after, you know, competing. put me on this national platform and I was able to apply to different jobs that were normally out of my scope. So from there I went to Prada, I went to Burberry and now I'm at Tyson's Corner as the team leader for the Gucci location there. And it's been

For sure. So you just used a phrase I don't think I've ever heard before. Maybe I misheard it, but I hope I didn't. Did you say romancing a product? Yes. That is so awesome. Tell me what's behind romancing a product.

So romancing a product to me is you want to sell the product, but you also want to create the experience around the product. And romancing to me is more than just Here's this black bag, you need to have it. I need to be able to speak to, you know, its functionality, its key features. And also I need to be able to help you visualize yourself in this product. And that's where the excitement comes from, you know.

Bags come in so many different shapes and sizes and colors. And when people come into my sports store specifically, And Gucci, you know, they're coming for the brand. They're coming for the name. They're coming for the craftsmanship. So a lot of the times they already have a little bit of brand familiarity.

It's my job to take that next step and really creating the experience around, again, the history and the craftsmanship and the product details and all of that instead of me just saying, here's this black bag that you asked for. Here it is. Yeah, I have a feeling you romance just about everything. And that's a compliment. I'm that's not a that's not a dig. That is a compliment. I mean I I think you could get me to buy a lot.

Not just not just Gucci. Um when you start a job and you know, you've had a number of jobs, but you know, you're in this leadership position. What's something that surprised you or something that you had to learn really fast once you started your current role?

I had to learn that I can't fix all problems right away. I'm coming in with You know, specifically at this role, I'm coming in with fresh eyes, but they're also nascent. You know, I don't have the experience of knowing all the team dynamics and operations and things of that nature. And that's put any new role that I've had. I really had to surprise myself because I kind of have to sit on my hands.

and really listen and watch and observe, you know, where improvements could be made, where the opportunities are, what I would do differently. And something that surprised me is, you know, I'm very I'm very linear with my thinking, consingent upon what it is, and I've had to learn that people are really

They're complex, you know, they're fully realized human beings. And the thing that surprised me is the most with any new role is I've had to learn them as people within my store, but they're also individually outside of work. Because people bring themselves outside of work to work. And so

It surprised me how fast I needed to learn how to manage people. Because to manage a person, you have to manage them in totality. I can't just manage them in my story. You know, I have to take into account how they are and who they are as a whole person. Interesting. I guess what you're saying is that you have to Teach yourself to listen and to be patient, basically. A lot of patience, you know. You know, a lot of patience for sure.

So you're a young leader in this very competitive industry, but in one of the most, as I said, fascinating industries in the world. So what is your perspective as a young leader of the retail industry? Oh that is a wide question. Um It is. You can fly at seven forty seven. You can answer that any way you want. Um my perception of the industry is it's always changed.

There's always something that is new happening. There is always something that is exciting happening. There's always something that is dynamic that is happening. What I am noticing now is a lot of our industry is technology driven. You know, so we're bringing the AI into the stores, we're bringing platforms, we're bringing the apps, we're bringing, you know, the virtual trions. And that is something that is really big.

What I'm also noticing is that there's such a focus on this technology and driving this kind of experience is that we're getting away from the people. And people, and I've said it a million times over, people are the core of this industry. You know, we're creating the profans, we're creating the garments, we're creating the platforms, we're creating everything that the customer needs to, you know, the customer needs to use.

And I've always said it, you know, technology is a great addition, but it's also not a fix. Right. And so that's what I'm noticing right now in the industry. Yeah, it's not always the solution. Um we were just had a meeting this morning we were talking about AI and uh there's those that view AI as as a partner, um as a you know, an extension.

of their job and somebody that's going to help them to do their jobs better. We've had a lot of conversations about AI over the last year plus, probably. And I did mention to the team, I said there isn't a podcast that we've done probably in a couple of years where those two letters of the alphabet didn't come up and thank you for bringing it up. You keep the keep that chain alive. Yes. One of the things as a young leader and somebody, you know, that's doing what you do

others are doing, you know, whether they're your boss or colleagues, peers, and they have certain traits that you think maybe help them succeed and that you want to emulate. What are some of those? I mean, that you've wanted to really hone in on and be as good, if not better, than somebody else that you've seen do the exact same thing. Thank you for that.

Aspiring leaders to me have always been compassionate. You can make a schedule, expect them to come to work, perform, and then they go home. Things happen. Retail doesn't happen in a straight line. Life doesn't happen in a straight line. My most successful leaders and the ones that I've bonded them the best with. have been compassionate, have seen me do really great work. And they have also been able to be compassionate when I wasn't performing, performing my best. Transparency.

It's super important within leadership. I'm not what I like to call an ivory tower manager. You know, I give a directive or give a bunch of rules, run off a bunch of numbers, and then I go to the office. It is super important for me to be visible with my team. So they know that my presence is there, it's felt. But then also they know that they can lean on me, ask me questions.

and feel that I'm really a part of the larger team. I'm not afraid to be vulnerable. And I think that's super important. I don't know what I do not know. And specifically within newer roles, especially in this echelon of retail, you know, there's a lot to learn.

You know, I've been in this current role for a couple of months. I manage people on my team that have been in the business 20 years. And so coming in, you know, being able to build up that respect is something that I gravitate towards and being able to say to them, hey, I need your help with something.

Because, you know, I'd rather ask for the help and not be afraid to ask for the help, which I think is super important as opposed to me trying to take it on because of my leadership role in the store. And then I end up doing it wrong and creating this entire mess that doesn't have to, you know, that doesn't have to be. Also, I like managers that are That have emotion but are objective. You know, we're not dealing with robots. We're not dealing with

faces on a screen all the time. We're not dealing with programs. We're dealing with people. I think it's important to have emotion. I think it's important to wear applicable, show that emotion and show that compassion. I can't have an expectation of my team to really want to get to know their clients and their customers. to create an experience for them, but then I don't give that back to my workers that are working for me. That's that is a major disconnect.

Yeah. I think that uh the key takeaway from that answer, I believe, is that you have to have empathy, you have to have curiosity, and you have to have respect for those that you're working with. W both what they've done in the past and how you can work together moving forward. The other thing that I've always been I I tell people this all the time, is that the some of the best lessons you learn in managing people or just being a good manager

are those lessons you learn from people who aren't good managers, that you've worked for, you've observed and you've seen the results. And so your key takeaway there is I would never do Never. And that's um and I think that's that's important. I mean, it's important to look at what people do right and it's important to look at what people don't do right and learn from both of those instances. So it's a great lesson.

Robert, because the empathy is just so incredibly important and it really does build help to build a stronger bond between you and the people that work with you or for you. So I think it's that was a great answer. Thank you. Now you were recently featured in an NRF Foundation blog where you said and I'm quoting you, it is crucial for young professionals to see that despite road

With the right tools, heart, and support, they can succeed. So you use a couple of words there I want to dive a little bit deeper on. What are those tools that you're talking about? And what kind of support are you talking about? So to reflect back on your response to my last answer, you have to stay curious. You're consistently reading about the industry. You're consistently, you know.

Searching things out, figuring things out, making yourself knowledgeable because that's also what's going to help you to compete in this really vast industry. I would say. If you're in school partnering with your teachers that are in this industry, it helped me tremendously. You know, I had a great team of teachers and when I was at Columbia College in Chicago and

having meetings with them, having talks with them, asking questions about this industry and just staying curious, you know, around that. The tools that helped me specifically was getting my degree. I had You know, I have the people part of the retail jobs now, but what I didn't have was the business acumen to allow me to compete for the roles that I

did in the last couple of years. You have to learn how to run a effectively run a business. You have to be able to read numbers. You have to be able to read reports and merchandise and do all of those things. And that was the key

that I was missing. So if there's some way to get some type of formal educational training around that, I would definitely say do that. Also visit the stores that you want to work in. I have done that for years, which is why Gucci was so like I've been trying to get a job with them for the past.

maybe five or six years. So when I would travel, you know, I've been to the one in Rodale Drive. I've been to a couple in New York. You know, I've gone to the one in in Chicago and I've visited the one in DC. So that way you can familiarize yourself with product. The people, see how they move and see how they work. The robots that I had to overcome specifically for me was

thinking that I didn't have enough to offer. And that's more of a, you know, a personal thing. I have been out of school for well over a decade. And a lot of people don't know this bill, but when I applied to Columbia College in Chicago, I actually did not get in the first time. And so and so I remember getting the letter.

And after talking myself out of, you know, I don't need to go back to school. I've had a pretty great, you know, career. But always there was always that small piece in the back of my mind that was like, you know, Robert, you could be doing a little bit, you know, a little bit more. But I'm like, I'm doing okay. And so my partner at the time, because we weren't married, was working at the school and he got the letter. He was like, Well, are you comfortable with this aunt?

And I said no, but he said no buts. He said it's a yes or no, you know, it's a yes or no question. Ended up going back to the school. Talking to whoever he needed to talk to in admissions. I had to do a couple of things that I ended up getting in, which also goes back into

my first answer, having the right people you know around you that support you, that want to see you succeed, that want to see you take that leap forward, that want you to be the best that you can, be the best that you can be. Right. That's a pretty phenomenal story. It's the you know, get up and never give up. Um that's that's that's pretty awesome. So uh so your Gucci, what's your favorite product right now?

Oh, that's such a hard question. So so there's a product that they no longer make and I should have bought it when I saw it a couple of years ago. There's I'm really getting into mules right now. And so they have what's called a Princeton loafer. Now they have several different styles for women, but they stopped making it for men. And it's increasingly hard to find, you know, in my size. That's a really great product. We have what is called the Marmont bag and we just redid it. So now

instead of the traditional calf scan, which was a little bit, you know, a little bit stiffer. We now doing it in the lamb scan. It is super soft. We've changed the hardware. It is just a really great all around bag. So I'm actually kind of excited to see once I get to Italy, you know, where I can find myself one for a good price. What else do I like? Our fragrances are actually and I'm not really big on like floral based fragrances, but we have this entire floral line.

And it smells really, really good. So, you know, I often, you know, do a little dab, you know, just in the morning. And it also helps me, oh, what are you wearing? Oh, well, let me walk you over to the let me walk you over to the you know, to the uh to the fragrance wall. Cool. Well you've given folks a lot of reason to go check Gucci out. It sounds like you've got some great products online. So so Robert, one piece of advice.

that you would give to C suite leaders who are looking to better connect and manage with young leaders like yourself. Listening to the frontline. I spoke earlier about being, you know, an ivory tower manager where I'm hidden away and the only thing that I see is black and white reports and numbers.

The frontline workers are the ones that are in real time with the customer. So they're able to see their response to product. They're able to see what is working, what's not working, they're able to identify opportunities. for growth or maybe we need to pull back these scales and things a lot faster. Simplifying the strategy is another one, which is super important to me. There have been many times within my career where I have received a directive.

from a higher up and it looks like hieroglyphics because this part doesn't match this part. I can't understand this. And then you have to email four or five different people to get an answer. The actions that they need from us should be actionable and they should be simple. I should not have to decode them to figure out what it is that needs to be done. And I spoke on this earlier. Technology is a tool, it is not a thing.

If we put so much technology in the store, but it doesn't really elevate or create a more seamless experience for the customer, then it doesn't need to be there. Like if we want to do um self-checkouts, which is great. You know, but if the machines are constantly crashing, they don't take certain cards or it's cash only or card only, then it doesn't really help, you know, the overall experience for, you know, for the customer.

Invest in your people, not just the products. This is something that I lean heavily into and this is something that I would tell, you know, C suite leaders, you know, you guys aren't coming to the stores as, you know, as often. And so You have to really get to know your people on your teams and outside of the ones that are sitting in, you know, that are sitting in the boardroom.

Recognize the small wins. You know, I am very big on this, and I have this thing I do in my floor with like snaps. So if I see a really great interaction. And it doesn't have to be, you know, an interaction that ends with a purchase. But, you know, I saw that you hit all of the steps. I saw that you had a really great interaction. I saw that the seat was planted, you know.

Celebrate those, you know, those small wins. We may not have hit the goal for the month, but there was celebration along the way. Right. Another I'm sorry, I got a list because I'm like I'm always you know, I d I got one more. I got one more. Um Growth isn't just about

the expansion of the stores. It's also about the people. And again, we can have I would rather have three really great run stores that are sound operationally making great money that people taking care of, as opposed to having 10 stores. in an attempt to gain more revenue, but the stores have run poorly. There's no retention. You know, it's high turnover. So just really focus on what you have, build that out, and then expand where, you know, expand where necessary.

That's great. That's absolutely fantastic. So who inspires you?

Oh my God, that is uh that's you you you know I'm a crier, so I'm I'm like so if I I'm like so if I if I do this answer, I may start sniffling. Um So actually I will start with my younger brother, Franklin. He um Franklin's wanted to be a teacher since he was in diapers. And that's exactly what he is doing now. And he has not strayed from that path. And he recognized what it was that he wanted to do. Really early.

While I've always worked with people, you know, I've worked in a couple of different industries because I'm still figuring it out. Franklin knew from a very early age, and that is something that I've always admired about him. He's very wise. My mother obviously, you know. And my p my parents, you know, my mother and my stepfather, you know, they were the ones that pushed me, you need to go back to school. Ja.

Get back to school. Go, go, go, go, go. And when I was even competing for the scholarship in NRF, you know If I was studying or doing something at their house, you know, there was a meal ready. There was a quiet space for, you know, me to study and for me to take my calls. Um, my husband, you know, he pushes me in a way that

There's intent behind it. It's not just pushing me to just do and to just be. It's if this is something that you want, you need to go after it and I'm going to help you, you know, I'm going to help you get there. And he has been a boundless amount of support through my retail career, through me finishing school and You know me doing all the things that I do for NRF, for sure. Yeah. Robert.

Davison Long. It has been a pleasure talking with you. I've learned a lot and I'm old. Um and so I'm I'm I'm grateful for that. Always open to learn more and you definitely came through on that regard. Guard. And thank you all for listening to another episode of Retail Gets Real. Now you can find more information about this episode at retailgetsreal.com. I'm Bill Thorne. This is Retail Gets Real. Thanks for listening.