There is no time frame mentioned for this anecdote but Spinneys Group CEO, Michael Wright, brought it up in an interview with Arabian Business:
It’s three o’clock in the morning, and a freak rainstorm is in danger of washing a Beirut supermarket — and its contents — down the street and into the Mediterranean. Flood water is overwhelming the pumps, and in a matter of minutes the basement level of the store will be more akin to a reservoir than a retail outlet. Panicked staff and watchmen agree on one thing: it’s time to call the boss.
“I got a call and rushed down; it was chaos,” recalls Michael Wright, smiling at the memory. “The whole store was in danger of floating down the street if we didn’t get another pump working. I took a jackhammer, and smashed straight though the floor in the middle of the store, to make a hole so we could put an extra pump in. I guess you could call it micromanaging, but then who else but the boss would be prepared to jackhammer through the middle of a $12m shop?”
Who knew? Thankfully, that has not discouraged Spinneys from further investments in the country:
…further down the line, the retailer is examining the feasibility of offering online shopping in Lebanon.
“So many have tried around the world, and so many have failed,” Wright cautions. “You have to be very specific and you can only manage it in small communities where it can be really worthwhile.
“We believe we can do it when we have a few more stores in certain areas — Beirut, for example – but it’s probably two years down the road,” he continues. “It will be very localised, and taken store by store.”
But of course, there is the well-known and publicized problem in Lebanon:
According to Wright the relatively slow speed of the internet in Lebanon, coupled with the fact that “trying to find a house in the first place can be a nightmare in this part of the world”, means online shopping will never form a significant component of the Spinneys Group business model.
Nice to see a CEO that is willing to get his hands dirty with a little DIY work, though.
Arabian Business: The market forces behind Spinneys Group
Now that is crisis management! Way to go..
Online shopping in Lebanon? I agree, finding the location would be a nightmare. I remember when we used to have our local grocery store deliver to our home a couple of years ago (this was back in the states mind you). For some reason or another, the service was cancelled, likely due to high delivery and running costs.
If it didn’t work in the states, where people will find any reason to make things easier and more convenient, I highly doubt that it will work in Lebanon..where the people, women especially, love to get dressed up and go out. Even if its to the grocery store..what do you think?
I have to agree – primarily the infrastructure (Internet and address system) is not available to handle online purchases. Even if Spinneys offers the service within a very specific locale, I for one would dread spending time typing my home address:
And, as you mentioned, putting items into your shopping cart is only half the fun while shopping – being seen is definitely the number one reason.