Page 17 - CW-MAY-JUNE-2020

ANGUS MCKAY 7-Eleven CEO What has been your greatest lesson to date, navigating through this pandemic? Moments like these require strong leadership and a team that’s able to adapt and operate under the most trying of circumstances. The 7-Eleven leaders, both support office and store leaders, have been brilliant. The entire organisation has rallied around the issues, and each other, to deal with every obstacle that’s been put in front of them. I’m incredibly proud of our people and how they’ve worked together to adapt to what’s needed to keep serving our customers safely. With all the challenges you’ve faced, what has been your proudest response? Keeping our people safe while they provide essential services to our community, and protecting our customers, has been our primary focus. The situation has been constantly changing, but despite that, the team are staying ahead of what’s needed. Whether that be funding special leave provisions across our corporate, support office and franchised network, or rolling out a new delivery option in only a few weeks, the team keep working to overcome the challenges we’re facing and I’m proud of the extraordinary team I lead. What extra measures have you needed to implement to provide a safe and highly productive environment for both your staff and your suppliers? Our environment is our staff (whole of network), our customers and our suppliers. Our store teams are working incredibly hard on increased cleaning routines and helping customers with the new social distancing requirements in-store. We’re limiting the number of people in-store to fit with the one-person-per-4sqm government guidance. Each store has a sign displayed on the front door indicating how many people are allowed in that store at one time. We have decals on the floors reminding people to keep 1.5m apart when getting their coffee or wanting to pay at the counter. We’ve implemented new cleaning regimes to ensure the store environment is safe for our customers and staff. Perspex shields have been installed at the counters as an extra precaution, we’re asking customers to pay with card where possible, and we’re installing hand sanitising units in stores for customers to use. Additionally, customers can use gloves we’re providing, when making coffee, pouring a Slurpee or handling tongs for unwrapped items such as Krispy Kreme Doughnuts or bakery items. We’ve also moved coffee and Slurpee cup lids, stirrers and condiments to behind the counter. Signage is on display in stores to advise customers of this new way of making their favourite 7-Eleven beverages. Human behaviour is never easy to navigate. What positives have you experienced from both consumers and suppliers? Our teams have been amazing, and while we’ve seen some instances of poor behaviour from a very small number of customers, overwhelmingly they’re very supportive of our teams. We’ve had customers drop off flowers, children make cards and letters for their local stores to say thanks, and it always brings such a smile to everyone’s faces to share those moments as a team. Our suppliers are working hard with our teams to support our network, continue to drive our strategic projects while making sure we have the right range of products on the shelf in the right quantities to ensure our customers can get the supplies they need in their local communities. On behalf of the entire business, I’d like to say a huge thank you to our suppliers for their efforts. Where does our industry still need help and what response do you need? The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted why the franchising sector needs to have the ability to work quickly in cooperation with franchisees to adapt to changed external conditions. This is not just trading conditions, but also how franchisees operate their businesses, such as cleaning schedules, heightened hygiene practices and food handling regimes. Each franchising model is different and each franchisor needs to work with its franchisees not only to help them survive in these times but also to provide resources, people and dollars to adapt to the ever-changing environment. If franchisors and franchisees are over-regulated, we may not have been able to respond as quickly as we have to provide the safest environment for our team members and customers. We can only achieve this by working cooperatively with our franchisees. How has your community interaction changed over the last couple of months? We’ve just launched 7-Eleven delivery in Melbourne, so for customers who can’t get to us, we can get to them. This new service is ideal for people unable to get out to get basic essentials or ready-to-eat foods, and need delivery within a shorter time frame. In some suburbs, there are within-the- hour delivery options, but for most suburbs, customers can order for next-day delivery. Our stores are open in line with their usual trading hours and provide a great alternative for essential-service workers and people going out for fuel, food and other staples. We’re committed to working with our franchisees, store leaders and store teams to provide essential services and supplies to our community. We’re here for you 24/seven. If you had a message or a call to arms to our entire industry, what would it be? As an industry, a lot has changed, and a lot is being asked of us, but collectively, I think we’re up to the challenge of providing consumers with the ability to get essential basics in smaller stores in their neighbourhoods. We’re committed to working with our franchisees, store leaders and store teams to provide essential services and supplies to our community. OUR RETAILERS MAY/JUN, 2020 CONVENIENCE WORLD 15