Piloting our Business Partner Support Program

Supporting our business partners through various stages of their growth cycle is one way we will strengthen our relationships and achieve mutual success. We’re pleased with the feedback from a Business Partner Support Program focusing on our SME businesses.

Our Regional Manager Centre Experience, Lachlan Monfries said: “We’re looking at how we can add value to our businesses in the long-term and  how we can support them  as they pursue their customer strategy, particularly our SME retailers.

“An important element of how we are planning to do that is through a Business Partner Support Program. We know that the brands and businesses in retail that are continuing to win today are the ones who have invested in really good physical store networks and can amplify their ability to connect with customers physically as well as online. It’s not one or the other – it’s maximising the opportunity to connect with customers across all channels.

“Throughout 2021, government restrictions across Australia and New Zealand meant many of our SME business partners or ‘mum and dad’ retailers were temporarily closed, so providing support was more important than ever.”

To address the immediate issues of trading while in lockdown, our team partnered with Kelly Slessor, a digital retail expert, to tailor an online seminar for our business partners that focused on setting up a digital footprint and organising back-end technology for click and collect and online sales.

Over 100 people attended the free-of-charge seminar and feedback was positive.

To continue supporting our partners build their knowledge around online trading, we subsidised 50% of the cost of undertaking Kelly’s six-week Digital Growth Program for seminar attendees.
 

Lachlan continued: “In addition to positive feedback from those who continued to complete the Digital growth Program, a number of retailers have since committed to joining Westfield Direct to extend the reach of their businesses through our online aggregated click and collect service.

“Westfield Direct is an extension of our in-centre experience. Through Westfield Direct, our business partners can leverage their store networks to increase productivity and reduce the cost of fulfilment.

“Following the success of Kelly’s Digital Growth Seminar, we are assessing opportunities to develop an expanded seminar series with a range of content to inspire and grow the capability of our business partners.”