THE DETAIL OF RETAIL

Jonh O'Neil

In the hugely competitive retail sector often those with the deepest pockets win. But John O’Neill is an exception to that rule. Niamh MacSweeney discovers that this introspective business man has constantly innovated within the business and in doing so a native retail outlet has stood the test of time

Indigenous retailers have had a tough time of it recently with many being pushed out of the market by larger European and international outlets. Roches Stores is a perfect example of a long standing Irish retail outlet that was sensationally lost to the might of UK retailer Debenhams. While a number of Irish retailers have disappeared in the last twenty years, of the ones that have remained, there are still plenty of opportunities for sustainability, development and growth if Irish retailers are willing to step up to the mark.

One such entrepreneur, who has not shied away from the challenge of growing a successful retail outlet, is John O’Neill, Managing Director of Heatons. His valiant business acumen has secured him an even footing in the retail sector and his attempts, although not without years of labour, warrant a certain degree of respect.

According to O’Neill retailers in the past considered everything outside the island of Ireland as being bigger and better, but he says this does not have to be the case. However, in order to compete they must be sharp, innovative and have the best negotiation skills on offer. Heatons prides itself on having a very flat management structure, which O’Neill argues is crucial if decisions are to be made quickly and in order for the company to survive and blossom.

O’Neill has had many years previous experience working with Pennys, Dunne Stores and Tesco and since he was brought on board Heatons in 1986 he has strived to move the family business into the 21st century. He has initiated a number of changes, which can be attributed to the lasting success of Heatons.

INSTIGATING CHANGE

Initially O’Neill trimmed back the estate, disposing of three loss making stores. The next step was the centralisation of their buying operation, which previous to that had been done at individual store level. Heavy investment in their IT system was also necessary and having the means to collect sales information enabled the company to take a quick leap up the ladder.

The next phase saw the company re-fit all the existing stores to a new image and a new standard. However, O’Neill says this was a slow process because at that stage there wasn’t much money around. Clearly restricted and perhaps frustrated by the pace of change, O’Neill says, “coming from a multiple retail background I would have liked to have done things quicker, but what it taught me in the early days was the discipline of looking after money and making sure that we didn’t spend money that we didn’t have.”

COMPANY ETHOS

In an industry that undergoes continuous change O’Neill agrees that innovation and motivation are key. “We keep questioning ourselves and in the position I’m in I have to keep re-motivating myself on a regular basis,” he explains.

Finding new and better ways of doing things cannot be done by one man alone and O’Neill attributes the success of Heatons to the exceptional team behind the brand. “For a company that has been around as long as it has been, there is a young innovative team and that helps us to keep questioning, to innovate and change,” he says.

LEADERSHIP STYLE

Behind every good team there is a good leader and O’Neill is no exception in that regard. He admits that he has good, strong leadership skills and with an ongoing vision for the business he knows exactly where he would like to see it progress to in the future. Spending time with the team helping, showing and advising is important to O’Neill, yet he is not afraid to let them work on their own initiative. “One thing that I would always say to the team is that nothing is set in stone. I want them to be questioning my leadership and if they feel there is a better way to do something I want to know about it,” he admits.

Being a leader is not always easy but for O’Neill it is something he has excelled in. Taking the rough with the smooth he says, “there are a lot of people that would pay lip service to wanting to be a leader, but when it comes to doing it, they want the nice bits but they don’t want to have to deal with the tough jobs.”

SUVIVAL TECHNIQUES

For a business man who has been with the one company for more than 21 years we can only assume he has been through some pretty tough times. Even though he may be enjoying better times now he reveals that today’s good times have only come from hard work and putting strong foundations into the business from the start.

O’Neill also warns that it is important for him not to take his eye off the ball because retail is unpredictable and continuously changing. Highlighting the glitches that can occur, he points out, “this summer has been awful for most people that sell clothing. We are lucky in that we sell a wide range of products but who could have predicted that at the end of April this year it would literally rain since.”

MORAL FIBRE

An entrepreneur of forthright determination and with extensive experience in retail, O’Neill has successfully fine tuned his entrepreneurial staying power. Spurred on by the many changes in the sector in recent decades he has constantly innovated within the company and led a floundering family business to become one of the fastest growing retail outlets in the country. A man of foresight he admits, “I open my eyes a lot and listen and have a strong vision for things I would like to deliver on. I would have a vision from a product point of view and from a standards point of view. I am continually questioning myself all the time and try to constantly do things better,” O’Neill reveals.

Published in the October 2007 Issue of Irish Entrepreneur