Everyone wants to know what is going on in the market don’t they?
They all want to see how the industry is performing or the category? Everyone wants to know… but more often than not, they do not want to share. It is a Catch 22 situation.
Data always has and always will be a topic for discussion. Operators do not want to risk losing contracts and until the whole concession structure changes (don’t hold your breath) the retailers will be challenging of anyone who shares data.
There is a way for the whole industry to share data without giving away anything that will compromise retailers or impact a specific airport contract. Purely combining brands sku level data will lead to all sorts of troubles and if it is not done in just the right way, it could see brands being delisted from retailers.
It might seem a little unusual that a company that specialises in data, analysis and recommendations (that’s us) does not share any insights or findings. Some might think that we can’t be doing it right or that we only work with very small brands.
Well, we do work with some of the world’s biggest brands. The reasons we do not publish data insights are fairly straightforward.
1, The data belongs to the client, not us.
Whilst we receive, clean and beautify data for our clients, the data is not ours to use. It belongs to them. Period.
2, We have no right to use the data we manage.
The data does not belong to us so we do not use it for any reason other than what the client specifies. We might make suggestions on how the client can maximise their data from time to time but that is down to the client to decide. To be fair, we have never asked to use their data but that is not something I want to do.
3, We never combine data.
Each client’s data is kept separate and never combined. If multiple clients reached an agreement and told us to do so, that would be different.
4, We respect our clients.
This means that we do the right thing, always.
5, Did I mention? It isn’t our data.
It really isn’t. Our clients have full access to the original source data and full transparency of the output. It is theirs to do as they wish. This ensures that we always focus on adding value.
Now, I know to some the above may seem frustrating…. However, it forms part of our core values. Anyone who wants to work with us know that we keep to our word.
We do not share.
That said. Do we have a handle on what is going on across the globe. Yes. Do we discuss it externally? No.
Do we believe in the value of sharing data? Yes, of course. It would make a massive difference to our channel if done properly and in a way that considers the sensitivities. The biggest initial hurdle for most brands (excluding our clients) is to maximise the value of the data they have.
Internal benchmarking, efficient data management and sharing is clearly an easy win that many businesses do not take advantage of. Data is often left for account managers to process or even worse, it is given to interns to do. Account managers should not be spending their time trying to turn data into reports. They should be selling. Brands need to be working ‘So what do we do next?’ rather than ‘how do I sort this mess (excel file) out???’. That however is a discussion for another time.
So to sum up…. Why don’t we publish data insights? The data belongs to the client.
If you have any questions about the above, do feel free to drop me a line.
Have a great week.
Kevin
Founder & Managing Director
One Red Kite Limited
[email protected]
Author of “Travel Retail : The Insider’s Guide”
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