With his team, he’s worked to help shake the brand's ‘cheap goods’ reputation and position it as a trusted shopping destination for everyone.
To mark the 10-year career milestone, Lennett answers 10 questions about his time at The Crazy Store. Here’s what he had to say:
Yes, it’s part of my work DNA to commit to a business for the long term. I spent 20 years at my previous company, Sportsmans Warehouse.
Coming from a bigger format retailer, it was a pleasant surprise as to how exciting it is to work with multiple smaller stores with a wide range of products offering so many growth opportunities.
Initially it was a case of immersing myself in the detail of the business and making changes where appropriate. This meant lots of direct involvement at all levels and micromanagement. Subsequently this has naturally evolved to interpreting customer needs and finding ways to delight them, and to ensure we remain relevant to our customer.
We have a Family culture. Despite our prolific growth we have remained true to our core values, with the ideas and thoughts of all staff always taken into consideration. Our amazing staff display a constant culture of friendliness and compassion.
Engage with your teams, listen to their ideas and concerns. Work with them, have fun with them, laugh with them! Celebrate victories whenever you can and find ways to fix problems as quickly as possible. Be honest, even if at times its uncomfortable and awkward for people to hear what you think.
Acknowledge success and initiative. Recognise when things are being done right and thank them for their effort and commitment. Encourage decision making and allow honest mistakes to be made.
Each day brings new opportunity and new ideas. With over 440 stores and growing, there is always something exciting happening and opportunities to be taken advantage of. The wide product range makes life interesting, from buying and testing our products myself, to tracking sales and finding winner products.
We have matured and grown into a well-versed retailer, customer centric and providing good quality products backed up by our Product Quality Promise, which undertakes to ensure our customers always have product satisfaction.
The goal 10 years ago was:
1. Enhance the credibility of The Crazy Store.
2. Make The Crazy Store a smart place to shop and attract new customers.
3. Show the broad range of product we stock.
4. Make The Crazy Store a trustworthy brand.
5. Eliminate negative perceptions.
To my mind we have achieved all those objectives and have truly become a trustworthy national brand, well-loved and supported by our customers.
Continued growth heading toward 800 stores. A constantly evolving product range supported by fantastic staff, providing continued 5-star service.