A few weeks ago we received a request from a retailer about our Retail Leadership programs.  We followed up as usual with the information requested.  This morning around 9:15am we got a call from this client.  He was calling from Cairo…Egypt not Indiana (where they pronounce it Kay-Roh).

We had a productive conversation about the importance of leadership and how he was very interested in providing his regionals and Store Managers additional development.  He really believed it could help his business grow and attract new customers.  We agreed to send him a proposal on how to best proceed.  Towards the end of the conversation I said that Egypt and Cairo in particular was always thought of as an exotic location that I’d like to visit.  I mentioned that the news lately in the US about Cairo showed a lot of change.  I asked how he was doing.  He said, “We’re trying to change some things and hide others” with a bit of a smile in his voice.  I asked about business.  “It’s tough” he said.

I thought about this VP of Retail and how his sole interest was just making sure he was able to give his managers some added skill advantage to motivate their teams.  Such a common retail theme these days.  But what a difference in environment.  He’s facing rioters in the streets, daily protests, armed vehicles, governmental uncertainty, and gun fire just to exist.  I had other calls today from other retailers who wanted to also strengthen their management talent.  They were mostly concerned about how the weather would be impacting business.

We’re a global retail community.  Share your thoughts here or @mohrretail.

Posted in Editorial
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About MOHR Retail

For more than 30 years, MOHR Retail has developed the critical people-to-people skills needed to create results in the retail industry—and we’re just getting started. Through innovative classroom and online learning methods, as well as our ongoing national retail research projects, we continue to stay on top of the trends so we can fuel the success of specialty stores, chain stores, outlets, catalogue retailers, department stores, and more. Nowhere does learning meet experience as it does in a MOHR Retail training program.