One thing Ottawa-based Lee Valley Tools has focused on over the years has been elevating the consumer experience.
It’s what the brand has become known for in the marketplace. And recently the retailer was recognized as the top retailer in Ontario with the annual WOW In-Store study, published by Leger.
Jason Tasse, President and Chief Operating Officer, said the company is exploring pop-up locations as well as a full store in Toronto as it expands its brand in Canada.
“The fact that little Lee Valley against 162 brands, I think 30 per cent on the list are billion dollar companies, came out number one, for us, that’s what’s spectacular how this little company was able to achieve such a wonderful recognition,” said Tasse.
Lee Valley Tools was founded in 1978 by Leonard and Lorraine Lee and today has 18 stores as well as one pop-up location in Saskatoon. There is also a satellite store in Almonte, Ontario called L.G. Lee and Sons. The company is from Victoria to Halifax.
The pop-up is in the Lawson Heights Mall in Saskatoon.
“It was a brand new initiative for us this year and it’s been a wild success,” said Tasse, adding more pop-ups are to come.
“We were going through our standard lease re-negotiation process with our landlord in Saskatoon and despite our best efforts, beginning the conversation typically a year before the lease ends, we were told with very short notice they weren’t renewing. I jumped on a plane, went to Saskatoon. We found a few locations and we really loved this location in Lawson Heights in one of the key malls there.
“But we had an extremely tight timeline. We had two months to fit up the store and move in. As a contingency plan, they had a pop-up initiative in the Lawson Heights Mall. So what we decided to do was as a contingency plan in case we couldn’t open for the holiday season, of at least a customer interface, a physical customer interface. And we’ve been talking about pop-ups for close to a decade. Let’s learn from it. Develop an internal capability. And what a wonderful way to capitalize on mall traffic because we’re a destination, specialty retailer to introduce our brand.”
No new stores opened in the past year but Lee Valley is actively looking and negotiating in the central Toronto area.
“We’re focusing on one right now,” said Tasse.
He said his primary objective is to “take this wonderful brand and help it reach its full potential.”
“Full potential yet to be defined. What I will tell you about Lee Valley being a family-run business, it’s not growth for growth’s sake or profit optimization. It’s growing responsibly in a way that we are able to preserve the brand, help it grow but not lose our way along the way.”
Tasse said the number one factor in the company’s success and in its Leger ranking is its people.
“They’re amazing. I visit our stores on a fairly regular basis and I say no matter what we do with technology and internal relevance and assortment, the conversation that you have with our customer by far will define the Lee Valley brand. Good days. Bad days. Up and down economies. A new person to hobbying craft or an experienced one. It is absolutely the personal interaction between our customer and our people that make the biggest difference,” he said.
“The second I would say . . . is we are really, really involved when it comes to the customer experience . . . We have heavy commitment from the most senior leadership and ownership in the organization to the store to the customer relationship and we are involved unlike I would say any other company I’m familiar with or have had feedback on.”
Tasse said the brand is also extremely passionate about its products with 355 retail employees across the company and 86 per cent of them identified as a subject matter expert in either gardening, woodworking, hardware, power tools.
“That means the chances of you walking into a Lee Valley store and talking to somebody who really knows what they’re talking about is like almost every visit. And for us as an organization, it’s strategically important. We’ve institutionalized the fact that we’re passionate about the tools and if you’re going to sell product, you better know your products.”
Tasse was appointed President of Lee Valley in January 2021.
“What’s really special about this reward is that it was pretty much the response of 12,000 consumers . . . This is Ontario population. Our buyers deciding. That makes it pretty special for us,” he said.
“Our staff is really proud of it. This is a testament to the care and attention and the passion our employees share with the brand.
“Everything we do. All conversations in the organization. All touchpoints are relative to the customer focus and that’s special to have it at all levels of the organization like that and to win something like this just validates everybody’s hard work and genuine care. I use the word care intentionally because that’s what sets us apart. You can’t buy that.”
Tasse said what the Leger award underscores is how important differentiating in today’s market is.
“Retail is ever-changing. Relevance is always being redefined. But boy, at a time when everybody’s really focused on channel integration and technology, what’s most important? The analog, human element. Of course, brand is important, the product and price, and all that academic stuff, but just surrounding yourself with incredible people, that’s really what matters the most.”
Tasse said customer expectations are higher today. Transparency today is greater than it has ever been.
“I would say there’s pressure on, if you’re faking it. But if you’re authentic, to the core, tell the world about it. We believe in that and it’s a good experience.”
He said the experience in-store is ever-changing and evolving. From entering the store, the idea is to grab the customer’s attention so they see it is unique in the marketplace.
“We’re always different. Our differentiation begins with physically how we show up and then of course there’s the importance of the product,” added Tasse. “We’re heavily involved right from ownership to senior management to all levels. It’s always on our strategic agenda to remain and to really focus on the experience. And we’ve done everything from in-depth understanding of our customer base through research, we’ve worked with KPMG in defining our value proposition so that’s codified so we can understand it. And we are constantly experimenting in the store.
