Leveling Up: How Rania Masri Is Ushering In A New Era at Level Shoes
Chalhoub Group’s Chief Transformation Officer shares how the region’s leading footwear retailer plans to stay at the forefront of the industry within the years to come
Change is never easy, but the rewards are well worth the challenges faced on the path to innovation and excellence – especially when the result is happy employees, satisfied customers and a community of shoppers looking forward to the next exciting experience, both in-store and online.
And Level Shoes certainly isn’t afraid of overcoming obstacles in order to keep its position as a leading retailer within the region.
“Transitioning the team towards an omnichannel mindset has been a challenge. E-commerce was viewed as a separate entity, a rival channel unconnected to the in-store experience. We started to explore technology to bridge that gap, ensuring that it played a significant role in improving the employee experience as well as that of the customer,” notes Fleur Rush, Level Shoes’ Retail Manager.
“The floor-team played a significant role in humanising the online experience… A mindset shift took place almost overnight.”
So, how exactly did the retailer do it?
Bazaar speaks to Rania Masri, Chief Transformation Officer at Chalhoub Group, who oversaw the implementation of the digital new strategy at Level Shoes – one which took place throughout a period of 900 days (yes, you read that correctly!) as the brand worked to harmoniously incorporate the exceptional service its well known for across its new digital platform and, of course, within the store at Dubai Mall.
Harper’s Bazaar Arabia (HBA): We know you’ve been working at implementing some very exciting changes recently. How has Level Shoes evolved as a retailer throughout the past few years?
Rania Masri (RM): Level Shoes was basically at the forefront of our vision as Chalhoub Group. Our vision of transformation was to move from traditional retail model to one where customer is at the heart of everything that we do; it doesn’t mean that the customer wasn’t at the heart before, but the evolution of [their behaviors] has forced us to look at our operations and the way that we engage with them.
If we were to talk about Level Shoes in 2012, when e-commerce wasn’t as developed and social media was just starting out – and I’m speaking about Instagram, which was not shoppable at the time – you really didn’t engage much in shopping behavior online. Today, the customer is at so many different touchpoints [and platforms]; it’s very important that Level Shoes as a brand be available on all these touchpoints as well, but that’s easier said than done.
The customer shouldn’t notice what we’re going through in order to engineer that and to ensure that we have… the right technology to best serve him or her; the right processes, to make sure that we as a team are supporting all their needs from 360-degree point of view; and the right people that know how to use all of these different touchpoints.
HBA: Level Shoes is known for its exceptional client service. How will the brand ensure a harmonious shopping experience – similar to one customers would experience in the brick-and-mortar store – within its new digital advances?
RM: Today, the penetration of mobile consumers in the region is over 100% and many individuals have two devices. Sales on mobiles are extremely high, at least 60%, and a lot of them are done within apps.
What we wanted to do first is to make sure that we embrace and understand who our customer is. With that being said, obviously, we need technology – but we can’t do it without a human touch. We took our time when it came to developing the Level Shoes app in order to launch it at the right moment.
We have our brick-and-mortar store which plays the role of fun and discovery . . . and creating that real human connection . . . [Prior to COVID-19] it was a very social place for our community. We still want to bring people to the store, and the role of digital doesn’t replace it; browsing online is not going to be the same as if you had come with your girlfriends. Therefore, we needed to simplify the act of buying within our app, while still keeping a connection with the store.
We have a new technology called Hero which has created a link between the online shopper and the frontline sales team. So if you’re online, a function within the app will say, “Hi. We have someone to help you if you need anything.” And then the customer can communicate with that individual on the shop floor. They’re able to share videos, take pictures and add things to your cart for you; we saw that [conversions and satisfaction] were much higher than if you were browsing ‘alone’ online.
HBA: Level Shoes has always prioritized its clients’ experiences, but the experience of its employees and their happiness is also very integral to the brand. Why is this also a priority for the brand and as a whole for Chalhoub Group?
RM: Happy employees are definitely going to be more passionate, more engaging, and really work towards [a broader] goal.
Now, a lot of people talk about the customer experience, which is the biggest word that’s being used in retail, but not enough people talk about the employee experience. What we’re doing as a group is mapping exactly the way that we map the customer experience and his or her journey across all the different touch points; we do the same with our employees.
We don’t want to call customers ‘customers ‘anymore; we want to call them guests. And we don’t want to call our associates ‘sales people’ anymore; we want to call them hosts. Changing terminologies will allow people to start thinking of our brand as a hospitality brand, more so than a platform that sells shoes.
If you speak to the people that work at Level Shoes, especially on the shop floor, they’re really lucky because they get to interact with our guests and feed off their energy. We have a very, very engaged and passionate team on the shop floor, which I’m very proud of.
HBA: How does Level Shoes determine which brands are the right fit for partnership, whether that’s executing a retail concept or a pop-up?
RM: Storytelling – which is something we have been talking about for years – is very important; we can’t tell our story without our partners, and our partners could be anybody from Dior to an up-and-coming designer. . . our story is [often told] through the eyes of the brands.
For example, we’ll soon be launching Private Collection’s pop up for their first women’s collection. They’re the first Emirati brand to have a full-on boutique within a department store . . . They proposed the pop up to us and our marketing team then worked with them, giving them the platform to express themselves, and supports them with reaching out and bringing in the community to the store.
HBA: What can customers look forward to seeing from Level Shoes in the near future?
sneaker reseller
RM: Next month we’re opening a concept with PresentedBy — a sneaker reseller boutique — that is going to be anchoring our sneaker destination within the store.
We completely connected with the founders of PresentedBy. They really have the same values as we do when it comes to employee and customer experience; it’s really very genuine and authentic. Our marketing team is really doing a fantastic job with the [launch event] and it’s going to be very unique.
Images Supplied.