Down-to-earth approach allows you to be flexible
For 36 years, Salomonsen A/S in Stavanger has been delivering strong results. Managing Director Henning Salomonsen thinks that this has been made possible by their consistently down-to-earth philosophy.
In 1988, the menswear shop Salomonsen opened its doors for the first time in the centre of Stavanger. Ever since then, they have been single-minded and structured in the way they have worked.
“It’s no mean feat to have survived for so many years. How have you managed it?”
“Customer service has always been our top priority – making sure that the customers feel listened to. We have had a down-to-earth approach to the way we’ve worked, and we have always been faithful to our concept. Our focus has been on timeless garments that appeal to everyone, from young men to the more mature gentleman,” says Henning Salomonsen.
“The grapevine is the most effective marketing tool.”
Henning Salomonsen
“What about online shopping?”
“Oh no, we don’t have an online store. It’s basically because we have more confidence in our physical store. You can provide an entirely different kind of customer service when you meet customers face-to-face in a shop.”
The grapevine is the most effective marketing tool
Salomonsen explains that they have had a lot of free marketing through the years, thanks to their town centre location:
“Because we’re right in the centre of town, we get plenty of passing trade. A lot of tourists pop in, and that’s something that’s never changed. And then of course we have built up a core of regular customers, who come back again and again. I think that’s partly because we’ve been in the same place for so many years.”
“How do you reach out to new customers?”
“Obviously we make sure that we have ads in the local newspaper. And we are on Facebook, but really our most effective marketing tool is the grapevine. All through the years, we’ve treated every single customer really well, and one of the results of that is that a lot of our customers recommend us to their friends.”
Strong bottom line every year
“What are the biggest challenges you’ve had to face?”
“Well, we’ve been through quite a few phases – the oil crisis, the financial crisis and the pandemic, and that’s just some of them. They were challenging, but we found a way to work through them. We had to close for an entire month during the pandemic, and that was tough. But things have generally been positive over the years, which is what has enabled us to stay in business for so long. We haven’t really had any bad years, and we’ve had a strong bottom line every year.”
“The Texcon partnership has been important, and they provide us with vital information about what’s going on in the world of fashion.”
Henning Salomonsen
“How have you achieved that?”
“Obviously, we’ve tried to stay relevant. The Texcon partnership has been important, and they provide us with vital information about what’s going on in the world of fashion. But we have always run a very tight ship and made sure we’re in total control of our finances and stock room. Those things are vital for a clothes shop, but it’s easy to overlook them when your priority is customer service. The important thing is to find the middle ground.
“We run our own race, and we don’t keep changing course, just to keep up with what all the other shops are doing,” Salomonsen concluded.