Lee McKeown - Arcadia Design Store (Aug 2008)

Richard from Telmia carried out our store assessment in late July. Richard provides good practical advice; tips that don’t cost a lot of money but make impact, a very comprehensive report that staff were interested to read as well.  Back-up service an extra bonus and well worth doing.

09 411 8452
www.arcadia.co.nz

Baksho Craig - Born NZ Ltd (Aug 2008)

Richard carried out a store assessment at our Remuera store in July this year. We were about to move premises and wanted to make sure we were on track with our store and our branding. Richard’s assessment provided us with a comprehensive review of the business and gave us some great pointers for the future, both instore and for the business. Well worth the investment all round – I would recommend you do the same.

09 361 6112
www.born.co.nz

Helensville Business Association Inc
July 28th 2008

Dear Richard

On behalf of the Helensville District Business Association, I would like to thank you for the excellent presentation on Thursday night. It was great to get some insider hints and tips on how to make our business just a bit more inviting. I think everyone particularly enjoyed hearing about your walk around Helensville, and how our town looks to a potential customer! Again, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule. It was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Sincerely,
Carol Cameron
Secretary, HDBA
09 420 6049
www.myhelensville.co.nz

In February 2008 we commissioned Richard to help us set up the cafe in one of our retirement villages. We also engaged Richard to undertake a review of our current services offer and make recommendations to the executive team on future direction for our villages as we grow.

Richard presented back to our executive team his findings, of both cafe and village services.

We found Richard’s work to be insightful and of a high standard. He was in regular contact throughout the project whilst also using his initiative to achieve timeframes by working autonomously where required.

Richard’s quote was clear so we knew what we were getting and he made sure that if work went beyond that he let us know first.

I would recommend Richard Ellis from Telmia Ltd to any business needing a review of existing strategy to identify the systems and planning required to take a particular area of the business forward.

He has a clear and direct presentation style that would be comfortable in the boardroom or training frontline staff, his review was logical and concise.

Kind regards,
Tristan Saunders
GM Sales and Marketing
Summerset Retirement Villages
04 894 7320
www.summerset.co.nz

As a director of Saddlery Warehouse I was responsible for recruiting Richard into the role of General Manager.

The business had grown very quickly over the previous year and had no real systems in place to cope with the growth of a nationwide store network. We also had a call centre for mail order which was delivering average service and intermittent product supply.

Richard’s retail background brought a significant amount of shop floor and management experience to the business. He implemented sound systems that improved product availability and customer service levels for stores and mail order.

The retail stores lacked merchant mentality and Richard systematically changed the mind frame of the store people, who know horse gear only, to become real sales people who understood selling and merchandising.

Richard introduced a new point of sale system to the business which improved stock control and tightened front end control for better cash handling and customer service.
Richard also set the business on a new path with franchising setting up the systems and agreements to ensure the brand could grow with far less capital intensive methods which suited the business well. 

I would recommend Richard to any business that needs these kinds of skills to improve or set up systems and processes that will form a solid foundation for retail success.

Darren Wallbank
Director Saddlery Warehouse
Beach Ladd and Co.
09 414 4201
www.beachladd.co.nz

While I was General Manager of Ngai Tahu Seafood Ltd, Richard Ellis worked as our Auckland retail manager as we were embarking on a new phase for the business going into retailing our seafood within New Zealand.

Richard set up our flagship store, assisted with lease negotiations, oversaw construction & fit out of the store, hiring and training of the staff, creation of the retail brand and brand identities, through to setting up for launch day and an extensive promotional programme that told everyone where and who we were. Part of the project of setting up the new store was implementing a new point of sale system to ensure strong reporting and stock control systems. This required much planning, preparation and working with 3rd parties to ensure a smooth go live at the flagship store but also implementation at our other locations in Auckland.

Richard worked tirelessly to ensure every detail was covered in the set up of this new store as well as oversee the other stores that were already trading in the region.

Richard’s eye for detail, exacting standards and professionalism helped make the new store a success.

Richard also worked through a due diligence project as we were looking to buy other seafood businesses to expand our chain in the Auckland area.

I would recommend Richard to any business that needs assistance with general store performance issues, set ups, systems, or continuous improvement.”

Gavin Holley – Director & co owner, Festivé Ltd
021 289 8679

www.festive.co.nz

I have known Richard Ellis since 1998 when I met him in his role of Deputy Store Manager at Big Fresh. At the time I was the Regional General Manager for Woolworths (NZ) Ltd.

During his time at Big Fresh, Richard implemented sound systems to improve store profitability while controlling costs. These systems were rolled out into the whole region because of their success.

As a Store Manager Richard significantly improved his store’s profitability. This was achieved by implementing sound stock control systems and stocktaking procedures. I know that his first store improved profitability by nearly 50% on the previous year. This went some way to Richard being selected for the Senior Executive Assessment center with Woolworths (NZ) Ltd.

I always enjoyed working with Richard. He always had a focus on what was required to be done for both his store and the region. He is a very personable individual and has no problem working with a variety of people.

I have no hesitation in recommending Richard’s skills to any business that needs retail management systems implemented – he certainly has the experience and the understanding to be of great assistance.

Greg Paget
Managing Director
Redwood Enterprises Ltd t/a CleanTastic
021 727 353
www.cleantastic.co.nz