Embark on a riveting journey with our guest Daniel Astarita, Managing Director at Kesslers London, as he unveils the transformative tale of rebuilding a retail giant. From transparent communication to strategic risk-taking, Daniel's leadership principles breathe life into Kesslers' incredible resurgence—£0 to £15 million turnover in just 2.5 years!

Join us to explore the power of customer connections, agile adaptation and the delicate balance between efficiency and employee well-being. This episode is a masterclass in resilience, innovation and the unwavering pursuit of making UK retail the most exciting destination globally. Don't miss this dynamic conversation on the Ever-So-Lean Podcast!

🔗 Links to Daniel's resources:

Daniel's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-astarita/

Kesslers London - https://www.kesslers.com/

Key Takeaways:

1. The importance of honesty and integrity emerged as a crucial step in the turnaround process. Being transparent with stakeholders, including customers, about the challenges Kesslers faced helped to rebuild trust and credibility. Here Daniel really brought to the surface the power of great communication and transparency, and how they are foundational to building or rebuilding relationships and credibility during challenging times.
2. Actively engaging with customers, explaining the company's journey, and seeking their support played a vital role in Kessler rising from the ashes. Daniel and his team have built a connection with their customer base and shown how commitment to improvement has contributed to rebuilding relationships. For me, this is a class touch from Daniel, it clearly demonstrates how customer relationships are a valuable asset, and involving them in the company's journey can foster support and loyalty.
3. Daniel shared some of the strategic decisions that he’s had to make, such as negotiating with landlords, relocating to a cost-effective location, and how optimising space usage, proved essential in overcoming financial challenges. Daniel said it himself, it’s not always easy, and you cannot always be popular when making the right strategic decisions. But making tough calls, committing to and believing in your vision, is critical for navigating challenging periods and ensuring long-term sustainability.
4. Adopting a people-centric leadership approach, where regular interactions with employees and maintaining an open and friendly atmosphere are prioritised, contribute to the positive and motivated workplace that Daniel describes at Kesslers. Leaders who prioritise their team's well-being and maintain open communication foster a positive work culture, which carries with it lower attrition, loyalty and a comradery in pursuit of the North Star, all of which are essential for long term success.
5. The ability to be agile and adapt to challenges, such as the impact of COVID-19, showcased both Kesslers’ and Daniel’s agile mindset. Finding alternative revenue streams, like manufacturing COVID screens, demonstrated flexibility in responding to external factors.  Adaptability is a key trait for any successful business. Installing the right leadership values, values that are modelled behaviours throughout the organisation, contribute to a healthy culture. By being agile, Daniel and his team ensures they can pivot and find new opportunities – continuously improving and meeting their customer needs. Post COIVD, Daniel returned focus to core competencies and successful business practices from before the challenging periods. This allowed Kesslers to streamline operations and regain stability. By identifying and leveraging core strengths, Daniel has been able to deliver for his customers and for his team, helping the organisation to refocus and rebuild.
6. Embracing optimisation and lean practices, particularly when downsizing warehouse space, contributed to maximising efficiency and output with limited resources. Daniel explained how everyone around him was saying that downsizing by such a degree wouldn’t work, but by working smarter and not harder, Daniel was able to optimise the space available to maximise value add. The message here is that efficiency gains through optimisation and lean practices are valuable for maintaining productivity in resource-constrained situations. Even in environments where lean is new to an organisation, learning by doing is a win win scenario for all.
7. Clear and effective communication about Kessler's new direction, improvement plans and commitment to stakeholders played a significant role in building understanding and support. Underlining the fact that clear and well placed strategic communication is key during times of change, helping to align stakeholders, customers and employees.
8. It’s the age old risk vs reward scenario. Daniel’s willingness to take risks, such as buying Kesslers after it went bust, and during challenging times, demonstrated confidence in his vision and the ability to inspire confidence in others. This is brilliant leadership and testament to Daniel’s detailed analysis in order to take calculated risks, driven by confidence and a clear vision – this story is such a great example of how risk can lead to transformative outcomes.Achieving a balance between cost-effectiveness and retaining essential talent is crucial for sustainable operations in any organisation. It’s a strategic balancing act of operational costs with the need for skilled and reliable staff. But Daniel has played this well, he knows the value of his people in the success of Kesslers, he respects his people, and understands where he is competing in terms of working conditions and pay. Having this mindfulness, Daniel has been able to create a competitive package for his team, keep them motivated and retain talent.If I was to summarise Kesslers rebirth and success, I would say it’s down to a combination of strategic decision-making, financial management, people-centric leadership and a commitment to transparency and continuous improvement. The ability to adapt to challenges and focus on core strengths has undoubtably contributed to the Kesslers resilience and growth.

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