In an interview with Footwear News last month, Sir Paul Smith said that he still works at his Mayfair store in London every Saturday.
Is he sitting in the back of the store looking at spreadsheets?
Absolutely not.
He is out there with customers. Talking to them, helping them, learning from them.
In his own words: you learn so much in just one afternoon.
Retail executives, take note, this is how you get close to the customer. Data, AI and other tech tools are not a replacement for the human touch.