Saturday, April 14, 2012

Behind The Beautiful Forever


Work Tales – my team & I have already finished our Subang store Planograming. We were in the store for the whole week and we are really drop dead tired. For me, it was all a chore and a duty. I didn’t have a good time. The truth is that there are several moments in a day where I really feel like throwing in the towel and give everything up. There's nearly no time to breathe! But I really thank GOD for both William & Henry, the 2 helpers and the other helpers from the other stores who came to help to chip in occasionally. I think William & Henry will be able to man this ship sooner than later. I am very proud of them. Both of them have demonstrated their independence, reliability, responsibility and confidence. I am so grateful to have such a killer team to work with.

I think the planogram is completed…however I have brief my team that as long as Juan Carlos have not validated these planograms…there will be changes until Juan Carlos are finally satisfied with them. I am not sure whether we did a good job or not…because towards the end, I just feel so exhausted that I want to quickly finish the whole set-up. And I know that as long as there is no validation, my stocks will continue to flood the CEVA warehouse because these imports new arrival are only release for both of the Subang & Mid Valley stores only. Now everyone in the Logistics Department is complaining of my department overstocks. Stewart also mention that we may need to work on the Tropicana store as well…I want to pengsan already. Aargh…enough is enough. I am beginning to wear off. I am also absolutely very tired in chasing & doing something that have no solutions & conclusions in sight.

My rift and disputes with Juan Carlos have also continue to be deepened & widened lately :) Juan Carlos told me that one of my priorities when I come back to D33 is to fix the department and to get back the suppliers confidence. And then, out of the blue, our CEO decides to cancel off the Outdoor & Luggage Fair in May, and replacing it with a Clearance Fair instead. I know that I have reacted very angrily. I am not angry. I am very upset. I am disappointed. And it’s very pity that when we have a nice collections of new camping items and luggages, we were not given the exposure to showcase them to our customers and to highlight them to our competitors and most importantly to shout out to the market that we are back in business. I am not so sure how the sales will be like and I dare not commit & over-promise that we can get extra RM100k each from both of the fairs, but I know for sure that it will be able to help LFL progression for that week. And the worst part is that we have make quantity bookings & commitment with our local suppliers. How are we going to explain & inform them that both of the fairs have been cancel. Our credibility is already very shitty in the market at the moment and with such cancelations…the supplier for sure will no longer have the confidence and assurance with us. We are contradicting ourselves. My team has been working our socks off to help to fix D33 and we were not given the necessary resources & tools to do it…and in the end everybody only knows how to point their fingers at us; saying that we are not doing a good job, we have not proved anything and we certainly have not achieved anything. Screw expectations. Its like Juan Carlos is giving us rotten apples to sell in the market. The Luggage Fair can be extended to another date but not for the Outdoor Fair. May is the school mid-term holidays, the peak season and if we do it at a later date, it doesn’t serve the purpose anymore because all of the customers have already bought the necessities from our competitors already. Juan Carlos promised to fight for it. Promises are very different from setting goals, voicing out your intent, and trying your best. Promises have a different weight and effect on those who make them, and those who believe in them.

Next are the GSA repeat orders. We have a problem here. We are not growing. We are not opening new stores. Our newly open stores have become sick stores. It is overcrowded. I have consolidated all of the suppliers and it’s still overcrowded. Having another player makes its worst. I am not rejecting the GSA altogether but finding the right mix of balance between GSA and local suppliers. For the football category, let GSA handle the color assortments and the local suppliers can do the basic range. Same concept for the basketball portfolio. Not all things can use the GSA platform. Only certain categories will benefit from it. For example, the household items, chairs, stationeries etc. D33 is a Leisure category, we are a Need Department not a Want Department. Our items rotation is not that fast, thus it is not necessary to keep unnecessary stocks in our warehouse. If we want to go all the way with GSA, it’s also not a problem but the local suppliers trading terms have to be converted to percentage base and a reduction in the fixed guarantee which is something that cannot be amended. I am very fed-up and sien already. I am not afraid to walk this path alone. Sometimes, the greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do :) 

Nonetheless, me being me…I will still work and collect my paycheque every month. I need to be in gainful employment if I am to be able to do my duty for my family. I admit that I have this sudden urge & conclusion to quit because I just FELT in my heart that this is something that I wanted and needed to do for myself. Yes, it’s a career but at the end of the day, it is also only just a job, a work, a task…it is the life that I am leading that gives me a sense of life and priorities. It didn’t change me as an employee but probably as an individual. As a matter of fact, I am more relaxed than before, previously, I would burst, now I look at things differently…with more distance…seeing the positive than the negative. In work, you win sometimes and you lose sometimes – but at the end of the day, it’s still work…so it’s important to respect it and enjoy it. I will always be thankful for Juan Carlos for the opportunities and this French platform – it is here where I was made, where my character was forged and where I learnt a lot about the business & its technicality.

This weekend, I just want to stretch my legs, try to get some good rest during the day and some stillness. Every new day is another chance to change your life. The biggest lesson I’ve learnt in my 20s is appreciating the small doses of happy moments in my life and magnifying them. It’s why I write this blog. I jot down every good moments, experiences and loving thoughts. Of course, the once-in-a-while rant too. I try to brush aside the unhappiness, frustrations and struggles in life. In the process, I can feel contented, fulfilled and grateful. And years from now, when I read my blog, I will remember that I was happy. And not angry, bitter, sour and sore :)

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