Introduction

A Standard Operating Procedure is a set of written instructions that document a routine or

repetitive activity followed by an organisation. The development and use of SOPs are an
integral part of a successful quality system as it provides individuals with the information to
perform a job properly, and facilitates consistency in the quality and integrity of a product or
end-result.
SOPs describe both technical and fundamental programmatic operational elements of an
organisation.

Opening and Closing

Opening and closing times are considered high risk periods for robberies. Store staffing and
customer traffic are generally low, creating less risk for the criminals. At the same time, most
breaking and entering crimes naturally occur while businesses are empty.

 Opening team: A team of 4-5 employees must be present to open the facility. The team
should arrive 1 hour prior to opening to allow enough time to prepare for the start of
the day.

 Closing team: A team of 4-5 employees must be present to close the store. The
management should ensure that this team doesn’t include any female employees
because of late night hours and safety issues. Only the closing team should be present
while closing the store.

 Both opening and closing team will be changed on weekly rotation basis. Therefore all
the employees have to be trained with all the activities of opening and closing the store.

 Both the teams need to follow respective checklists every day.

Daily store opening Checklist

Initial Preparation: 1 hour prior to opening

 Arrive early- Reach by 9:00 am.

 If there is any tampering inside or outside the store, do not enter – remain where you
are and call the police.

 Relock the entry door after entering.

 Turn the lights on

 Disable the burglar alarm

 Do a visual check of door, windows, and aisles to be sure nothing was disturbed.

 Make sure the outside sign says “ WE ARE CLOSED”

Store Preparation: 30 minutes prior to opening

 Walk the floor- After the initial setup, walk around the store floor once to begin
housekeeping duties by 9:30am.

 Supervise the housekeeping staff.

 Rearrange tags- Make sure the merchandise tags are arranged correctly.

 Sales tags
 Price tags
 Promotion tags
 Size tags

 Check Cash Registers- Check if the cash registers are ready to go and have sufficient
funds in them.

 Clear any unwanted documents from the cash counters.

 Turn on electronic systems

 Computers
 Music system
 TV screens
 Working Displays
 Swiping machines

 Activate air conditioning- Set the correct temperature.

Final Checks

 Conduct staff meeting- Assign cleaning/restocking/merchandising duties. Let the staff

know what their targets are.

 Ask staff to have one last check of the store.

 Change the outside sign to “WE ARE OPEN”

 Open the store at 10:00 am- Enable the customers to enter and shop.

Daily store closing Checklist

Initial Requisites

 Do not extinguish or dim any lights until all customers have left the store.

 Do not close the last register until after scheduled closing and all customers have exited
the store.
Requisites: 1 hour prior to closing

 Ensure all customers have left the store by 10:00pm

 Make sure only the closing team members are present in the store.

 Change the outside sign to “WE ARE CLOSED”

 Assign closing and cleaning duties.

 Return all non-defective returned merchandise to stock.

 Move all defective returned merchandise to the back room for processing.

 Count and update inventory

 Verify the deposits and set up cash registers.

 Place the cash tills in a safe.

Requisites: 30 minutes prior to closing

 Clear the aisles of any merchandise, carts, etc.

 Turn off electronic systems

 Computers
 Music system
 TV screens
 Working Displays
 Swiping machines

 Switch off air conditioning.

 Leave closing notes for opening manager and include daily totals, merchandising info
and any employee updates.

 Ensure lighting, surveillance cameras and alarm systems are working.

 Empty all trash receptacles and place the trash bags near the back door of the mall for
removal to the dumpster the following morning.

Final Checks

 Activate burglar alarm system and know the duress code.

 Switch of all the lights except the security light.

  Exit the front of the store and lock the doors at 11:00pm. All the team members should
be present while locking the door.

 Double check that the door is securely locked.

Housekeeping
Store cleanliness is an important part of retail. Customers want to shop in a clean, well-lighted
store so they have confidence that the merchandise purchased there is also clean and of good
quality. Dirt and trash have no place on the sales floor, and grimy windows and grubby walls
and counters detract from this perception. Housekeeping is an ongoing task.

Housekeeping Process:
Brand can get its own housekeeping staff or hire a third-party housekeeping agency. Manpower
in uniform is provided in shifts with a supervisor. All the housekeeping staffs and supervisor
are supposed to report at 9:30am for regular cleaning of the store and make sure all the cleaning
processes are performed (as mentioned below) before store opens for customer i.e. at 10 am.
Staffs are provided cleaning aids like brooms, brushes, dusters and other cleaning agents.

 Once the cleaning has been performed by the staffs, supervisor should inspect the entire area
as per the checklist to make sure proper cleaning has been done.

 Detailed housekeeping checklist is maintained.

 There must be a designated area for dustbins and necessary communication should also be
placed near same.

 For wet garbage, bins must have cover lids to prevent any foul smell.

Windows and Doors

 Windows and doors must be clean and in good working condition.

 Glass doors, façade and partitions must be cleaned at regular intervals using glass
cleaners.

 Hand marks and fingerprints must be wiped and removed.

Floors

 Floor condition must be stable and clean as customers walk on same with eyes focussed
on the products.

 Floors must be swept clean to remove any dust dirt.

  Floors must also be wet mopped remove any stains and give a neat and tidy look. Put
up "Wet Floor" sign hen mopping work is on to avoid any accidental slip by customers
or staff.

Walls, Ceiling and Appliances

 Like doors and floors, the walls, ceiling and appliances must also be maintained spic
and span.

 Walls and ceiling must be kept clean of stains, marks and cobwebs.

 Walls must be kept free of any wanted posters or stickers and the residual stains.

 Fans, lights and exhaust fans must be cleaned during the linear part of the month and
day.

Trial room maintenance

 To be free of dust and clutter at all times.

 Proper seating arrangement to be present.

 Dustbin covered with black polybag to be placed.

 Potpourri to be present inside the trial room.

 Room freshener to be sprayed in every one hour.

 Mirror to be spotlessly clean.

 Proper lighting to be made available inside the trial room.

 Lock to be in proper condition. If required need to be oiled periodically.

 To be cleared of merchandise and packing material after every customer usage.

Trolleys and Baskets

 These are handled by customers and remain with them throughout their presence in
store.

 It is very necessary to maintain these clean.

 Trolleys & baskets must be washed once a week on rotation as per schedule.
  The balance trolleys and baskets that are not under wash for the day must be cleaned
with a cloth before store opening.

Store Fixtures

 Bays and shelves must be cleaned daily in off-peak hours on a rotational basis so that
every bay gets cleaned at least once in a week.

 The shelves must be emptied and then cleaned with a wet cloth. Cleaning must always
be from top to bottom.

Drinking Water

 Each retail store has a drinking water facility for customers with a cooler or a bottle
dispenser installed at appropriate place in the store.

 RO system must be serviced as per AMC and filters replaced in time.

 Water tank must be cleaned at least once in a month.

 The water-cooling system must be checked so that proper cold water is dispensed.

 Disposable glasses must be placed in adequate quantity.

 Dustbin with a plastic bag must be placed to throw the used glasses.

Store Experience
Consumer Experience
Effectiveness of an efficient customer engagement programme in a retail store operation
reflects in a positive customer experience, sale and higher customer retention. The same is
dependent on four basic parameters which a store focuses on:

The same has been detailed in the subsequent processes below:

Preparation for the Day

 Designated staff’s / Housekeeping & Security staff to report at the store an hour prior
to the store opening for customer entry.

 Store Opening checklist to be followed to ensure due completion of tasks.

 Daily briefing to be conducted by the Store Manager – Premises Supervisor review of

last day / Target for the day / Customer Requirement/ Grooming check / Transaction
 and other work backlog of the previous day to be reviewed and discussed /Action point
to do.

 Saturday breakfast meeting to be conducted on a weekly basis – Team Building and

skill enhancement exercises / Competition analysis / Inventory feedback / KYBC
(Know Your Big Customers)

 Store’s Notice board and Productivity board needs to be checked and updated.

 Notice Board
 Duty Roaster
 Statutory documents
 Store’s sales performance

Consumer Engagement
Customer entry Process

 Objective: To facilitate and make the entry of customer comfortable in the store, so the
customer feels that the store is

“Comfortable, It’s Magical and it’s My Store”

 Process

 The guard present at the entrance will greet the customer.

 The guard at the entrance will then ask if there are belongings to be submitted
or exchange that are to be made.

 If customer has a belonging, the guard will direct the customer to the belonging
counter.

 Belonging have to be compulsory deposited at counter except ladies handbags,

baby bags (only if accompanied by a baby), cameras, money bags and laptops.

 Customer is issued a belonging token

 If customer has come to exchange merchandise, the guard at belonging counter

would guide the same to the nearest CA.

 The guard punches the counter to register customer entry

 All individuals walking in would be counted as “walk-in” (except kids up to the

age group of 12 years)

 Standard behaviour for all security guards

 Guards at the entrance/ exit (front and rear as provided)

 Should be neatly turned out

  Guard greets with a smile

 Verbal Greeting (English) Example- Good Morning Sir/Ma’am

 Open the door in a smooth movement

 Informs customers about depositing belongings

Customer Buying Process: From the time the customer enters the store till the time he/she
exits the premises

Objective- To ensure customer experience is comfortable, in terms of easing the buying

process and in turn making him/her feel “It’s My Store”

Process

 The customer walks into the store and might look for assistance

 The Customer Associate (CA) has to acknowledge the customer within 30

seconds of walking into store by a smile and verbal greeting.

 The CA gets involved in the selling process as detailed in the Retail Selling
Skills Module.

 In case the customer does not find the merchandise that he/she is looking for
then the CA should note down the requirements in the “CA-Customer Request
Handbook” and call up the customer within 24 hours, on the order status.

 The Sales Manager(SM) has to ensure that the retail selling standards are
followed by the CA.

 The SM and CA have to ensure that the sections are reset at periodic intervals

 In the evening the SM has to check that outside store lights, neon lights and
show window lights are on.

 The CA also has to constantly replace the floor with the merchandise that has
been sold, from the back stock for that section. – Sale report of previous day to
be used for replenishment from the backroom

 Every 30 min to 1 hour (based on customer entry) the CA has to clear the trial
rooms allocated to them.

 The CA must constantly refold the merchandise cleared from trial rooms and
display area which have been picked up by customer and not purchased.

 Trial rooms can NOT be used for storage of stocks (whether fresh or DOR)

 The CA has to keep segregating the merchandise without price tag.

 It is mandatory to ensure that no merchandise on the floor is without price tag.

 Once the sale is closed the customer walks up to the cash counter.
  The customer can get gift wrapping done if required

 Customer can get alteration done if required post purchase. Standard time for
the service guarantee is 30 minutes except during EOSS.

 At the time of the customer exiting the store, in case of Tag beep:

The security guard will approach the customer at a slow unhurried pace and request the
customer to allow them to remove the security tag left on the merchandise by the cashier and
at the same time politely ask for the sales invoice.

Cashiering Process

 Objective- To ensure customer experience is quick and efficient at the time of

cashiering.

 Process

 Once the customer hands over merchandise, the Cashier will ask the customer ‘May
I have your loyalty card (if any), Sir / Ma’am?’ or 'Are you our Loyalty card
member?

 If the customer is a member, he would give the card or else the cashier will do the
enrolment process.

 Cashier swipes the card and recognizes the customer by name till the end of the
transaction

 Cashier will pick up the merchandise one by one and look for the security tag.

 After locating the security tag, the cashier would remove the soft tag with scissors
or use the de-tagger to remove the hard tag.

 Then cashier would look for the price tag.

 On locating the price tag, he would reach for the scanner and scan it. If the tag does
not get scanned, he would manually enter the SKU no.

 Cashier would verify the price on tag and (Point of Sale) POS machine.

 The Cashier would repeat the process for all merchandise.

 Cashier will tell the customer the amount and ask for the mode of payment.

 Payment can be either by cash / credit card / debit card / GV / discount coupons /
credit notes

 Cashier will receive the payment from customer. Care should be taken to record
tenders correctly

 If it is cash, cashier would count the cash and confirm the amount received

 If it is card, then he will swipe the card and wait for authorization
  In case of the card being declined/approval not received, the Cashier should politely
inform the customer to pay by some other means.

 Once the payment has been confirmed, cashier should print the cash memo

 The cashier then should hand over the cash memo / credit card / loyalty card (if any)
/ balance cash in the customer’s hand

 In case of payment by cash, the smallest currency should be handed first and the
cashier should count back the change given to the customer. The cashier will count
back the cash and confirm the customer the cash return value.

 Cashier sizes up the customer purchases, in order to decide on the correct carry bag
and loading pattern

 Footwear will be segregated from garments.

 Footwear will be put at the bottom and garments on top or heavy items at the bottom
and fragile items on top.

 Cashier will hand over the carry bags to customer.

 After packing if cashier realizes that the merchandise is too much for a single
customer to carry, he would ask a CA to help the customer carry the bags to the
parking area or store exit.

 The cashier thanks him for shopping with brand “It was a pleasure serving you Sir
/ Ma’am. Thank you. Please visit us again”.

 During the course of cashiering, cashier needs to request the customer to provide
valuable suggestion / feedback through the VOC form. Total VOC forms filled
during a day should be at least 20% of the total invoices generated.

Customer Returns

 The customer should be asked politely if he/ she wish to exchange the item and facilitate
such exchange.

 In case of all such customer returns, a “sale return invoice” shall be made in billing
machine and will be given to the customer

 In the event the value of returned item exceeds the value of exchanged item the CA
shall issue a Store Credit Voucher (SCV).

 In the event of customer demanding cash back in lieu of exchange the CA will return
cash to the consumer after generating a sales return invoice. Signature of the consumer
and store manager to be taken on cash receipt book.

 All “sale return invoices” should be signed by the SM at the end of the day.
  The stores need to identify the customer returns merchandise, mention the reason for
returns on the tags already there at the stores

 In case identification is not possible, it can be identified as men/women and top/bottom

and entered in the data accordingly.

 The merchandise needs to be sent back to the warehouse from the stores on monthly
basis in poly bags, with return tags indicating the reason of return, the packing will
contain no other material.

Retail Selling Skills

Skill Sets to be exhibited by a Customer Associate:

 Displaying a positive body language and being confident

 Ability to handle multiple customers

 Grievance handling

 Suggestive selling – suggesting trials and alternatives

 Being adept at Cross selling & up selling techniques

Selling Process

 Opening the sale

 Consumer to be greeted by the security guard, and all CAs

 Eye contact to be made by the CAs while greeting – inviting the consumer to walk
in

 Mode of greeting should be formal – e.g. “Good morning sir / madam”

 It is recommended that wherever possible the greeting can be punctuated with a

non-business-related line – e.g. “Hello Sir, what a pleasant weather today, would
you like to have glass of water?”

 Probing and Demonstration

Engagement process to be crafted in the training process with the following handles:

 Consumer should always be invited by CAs – overtly and in a sophisticated manner,

to experience our range

 CA to sell the range with the product stories, visual aids that are present in the store.

 Touch and feel to be incorporated in the process –by placing the products in the
hands of the customer

 Training process in stores to have detailed role plays on engagement process –

categorized according to different consumer segments
  Add Ons

 CA’s to adopt the Friedman philosophy of “SHOW SHOW AND SHOW, UNTIL
THEY SAY NO”, for adding on sales, thus increasing the basket size

 Suggestive selling and trial of garments to be monitored by SM’s at all times

 Handling Objection

 CA’s to exhibit “Listening” skills while handling objections

 Closing the Sale.

 CA’s to ensure smooth and fast billing at the cash desk,

 Enrolling eligible consumers for the loyalty program

 Each and every consumer to be “thanked” for shopping with us with an oral
invitation to be extended for the next visit.

 After Sales Contact

 Tele-calling from store to be done only 4 times a year to a particular customer

during new season launch and communicating about EOSS. (Standard script for
these tele calls will be provided by Client Relationship Manager).

 No tele-calling to be done from store to wish customers during birthdays/

anniversaries. - In case a store does want to wish a particular customer the same
can be done with prior approval of the RM and information to the CRM team.

Loss Prevention and Shrinkage

Anti-Shoplifting Methods- Checklist

 CCTV- A two-man teams are to be assigned in which one person uses the CCTV
camera system to detect shoplifters and a floor man follows the suspect and apprehends
them. CCTV cameras are strategically positioned, in line with operational
requirements, both inside and outside the retail premises. The positioning of cameras at
all public entrance(s), with captured images of persons to recognition standard, as this
will be an important factor in post incident analysis and the investigation of crime. The
safe custody, control and storage of all captured images will determine their subsequent
value for evidential purposes.

 Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS)- Hard tags are placed on items throughout the
store and are disabled at cashier by either removing the hard tag using a detacher or by
scanning label tags over a magnetized strip or label deactivator.
  Point of Sale- All the brands are already practicing this method of Point of sales. It is
the time and place where retail transaction is completed. This system has assisted
investigators in closing employee embezzlement cases pertaining to merchandise
passing, merchandise voiding, and discount fraud.

Security and Control systems:

Employee theft –

 Store employees will enter & leave the store at designated entrances.

 Randomly search containers such as trash bins where stolen merchandise can be
stored.

 Assign salespeople to specific POS terminals and require all transactions to be

handled through those terminals

 Restrict employee purchases to working hours

 Have all refunds, returns, and discounts co-signed by a department or store manager.

 Change locks periodically and issue keys to authorized personnel only.

 Have a locker room where all employee handbags, purses, packages, and coats must
be checked.

Customer Theft-

 While entering the store:

 If customer has belonging, the guard will direct the customer to the belonging
counter.

 Belonging have to be compulsory deposited at counter except ladies handbags,

baby bags (only if accompanied by a baby), cameras, money bags and laptops.

 Inside the store

 Store employees and security are trained to spot loiterers, and alert to potential
shoplifting situations. Any suspicious activity should immediately be brought
to a concerned authority.

 Store detectives are appointed in stores to spot shoplifters.

 Fitting room- An employee will be assigned near the fitting room to ensure
customers are handed with the tokens equals the amount of clothes to be tried by
them. The token has to be returned to the employee, and the employee has to keep a
track of the same.

 While exiting the store

  The security guard will approach the customer at a slow unhurried pace and
request the customer to allow them to remove the security tag left on the
merchandise by the cashier and at the same time politely ask for the sales
invoice.

Cash Management
Store Managers are required to deposit cash sales every day without fail and no exceptions on
the same. Only for Saturday and Sunday cash should be deposited together on Monday.

 Cash tally to be done by the cashier only and details to be noted in the Cash Book.

 End of day cash to be tallied and kept in a sealed envelope in the safe.

 Only the SM and the cashier should know the password of the safe.

 Cash to be tallied at the following intervals of the day by the cashier: 1:00p.m.,
5:00p.m., end of day.

 Credit card to be tallied with x-out report and batch close statement.

 Remarks to be written on cash closing sheet for any differences/excess in credit

card/cash of the day.

 Check identification of cash pick up personnel. Pay in slip should be made in

triplicate. One copy of signed pay in slip should be taken from the cash pick up agent
and this counterfoil should be destroyed only after obtaining the pay in slip duly
received and acknowledged by the bank (must have bank seal and date of deposit).

 Any short banking or non-banking has to be approved by GM- Retail Operations

Petty Cash Management

Basic Guidelines regarding petty cash

 Store Manager is responsible for the imprest given to the store for day to day
operations.

 Statement for expenditure incurred shall be made on a weekly basis and sent for
reimbursement HO.

 Cash Vouchers cannot be used for expenses more than Rs.5000/-

 All bills and statement to be signed by the SM.

  Any expense above 5000, purchase order needs to be raised.

 SM to revert to finance resource immediately regarding any queries raised on petty

cash settlement or sale deposits.

 SM to maintain a separate account for imprest to be opened by the RO finance

 All bills for expenses incurred are to be attached with the expense statement.

Stock Management

Good stock management is critical for customer satisfaction.

 Analyse Trends at the store and fix base stock levels for all products on a seasonal
basis.

 Ensure that stocks are maintained at the base stock levels fixed through appropriate
monitoring of the Automated Replenishment System (ARS) and manual intervention
when necessary

 Track availability of stocks and fulfilment of orders raised by the store

 Maintain accurate and prompt documentation of stock movement into and out of the
store, from / to the warehouse as well of returns to the customers

 Excess inventory/cut sizes/worst sellers to be sent back periodically and to be

documented

 Ensuring movement of stocks from the backroom to the store on a continuous basis.

 The team should continuously monitor for sufficient stock and range on the shelves
and hangers

 If a replenishment is required, CA to make a list of all items in a replenishment sheet

that must be replenished and take it to the back room.

 If the stocks are available in the backroom, the same shall be brought out to the floor
and arranged as per norms

 Every Customer associate will be assigned different areas in the shop floor so that the
respective person ensures 100% replenishment is done in their prescribed area
throughout the day. The store manager should cross check the activity continuously.

 It is to be ensured that each garment has the product tag and the RFID tag attached to
it. If either is missing, make sure that it is attached before being put back on the shelf
again
Stock Audit

As a control measure, all stock lying at the store is counted on a monthly basis. The stocks
counted physically are checked against the stocks appearing on the system, to see if there are
any discrepancies.

 Once every month, a physical verification of inventories lying at the store must be
done (random selection basis).

 Half yearly stock audit shall be carried out at stores by external audit team.

Visual Merchandising
Store to be maintained as per international standards with executing VM plans of the season
as per set guidelines from HO and maintaining the same during day to day operations.

 A story should clearly be coming out from each fixture portraying either the colour
/mood/style/co-ordinate of the season

 All shirts/tops should be ironed first and then hung

 All shirts should be stacked with packing material.

 All knits and trousers should be stacked in a straight alignment

 All merchandise should be stacked/hung size wise in ascending order.

 All mannequins should be wearing shoes.

 Window display should have a cluster of mannequins and the theme blending with the
marketing campaign of the season.

 Ensuring impactful execution of plan – building continual freshness through regular

change of garments on display – Colour wise story for women