Endorsements

Brian’s impactful presentation style was well received by all AACS delegates. Brian’s in depth knowledge of retail & consumer trends on the future of retail & omni experiences left the audience thinking about where their business focus needs to be for continued success.

Theo Foukkare, CEO, Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS)

Brian delivered the update on the current retail space in Australia with the insightfulness and expertise that you would expect from a leading advisor in the industry. The audience of retailers absorbed all the information and are already talking about superimposing some of Brian’s recommendations over their current practices. Changing one’s behaviour is always a challenge but I believe the journey has started with many of the audience members.

Socrates Cromdos, National Sales & Marketing Manager

We are a community organisation in Ballarat running opportunity retail shops and we were in desperate need of retail expertise. Brian was referred to us by NACRO. It was a delight to work with Brian and his team at Retail Doctor Group. Brian was able to very gently but honestly help us and our stakeholders understand our critical business gaps and the opportunities we have to grow our retail business in the right direction. Fantastic strategic and practical operational insights to support and facilitate our retail growth across all channels. We look forward to continuing our retail revolution with the help of Retail Doctor Group!

Christina Arnold - Manager pf Strategy and Planning

Peter Sheppard, Head of Implementation at Retail Doctor Group, came to Kangaroo Valley to facilitate a community workshop for our bushfire affected retailers. He conducted workshops with great insight into the issues faced by retailers in a small country town. He worked through how they could improve their business and gave strategies that they could implement immediately. Peter’s knowledge of this sector is second to none and he imparts it in a way that is easily digestible. Our retailers left with a great sense of hope and direction.

Amanda Grace, Director of Kangaroo Valley Chamber of Tourism and Business

I had the pleasure of spending a day reviewing and analysing my omnichannel retail businesses with Brian in 2020. Brian’s insights have immediately added value, and his pragmatic and realistic approach is refreshing in a world where consultants can spend more time quoting McKinsey than adding value! I recommend Brian for both strategic and tactical insights into Australian Retail.

James Reeve, Founder & Owner, Sportspower Super Warehouse & FitOnline

Brian has presented at the NACRO Conference’s Retail Day for two years in a row, and his sessions are always highly engaging, interactive and convey the key insights our audiences need in an enjoyable context. I’m also appreciative of the bespoke work Brian does to tailor his sessions to the needs of our retail delegates, and his commitment and support of the charitable sector. He always scores highly in the delegate feedback surveys and again, got a mention as being one of the highlights of this year’s conference.

Omer Soker, Association Strategist, National Association of Charitable Recycling

In my past role as Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of St Vincent de Paul Society NSW and its related entities (Vinnies), I had oversight of coordination of 240 retail outlets throughout NSW. My relationship with Brian and the Retail Doctor Group began over 3 years ago when Vinnies required an independent assessment of its approach to market for its retail business information system. Brian’s advice, extensive industry experience and thorough understanding of Vinnies service offerings provided invaluable assistance throughout the procurement and then implementation phases. Due the high quality of advice received, Brian and the Retail Doctor Group then assisted Vinnies to kick off its retail strategy development by providing customer and trend insights within the domestic and global retail op-shop market segments, through to strategic development and prioritised implementation scheduling. This invaluable work has enabled Vinnies to now look at its business in a different, and better, manner and has created the platform for a very robust retail strategy. Up until my departure from Vinnies in August 2017 Brian continued to provide value-adding retail advice across strategic, operational and logistical areas of the business. I have no hesitation in recommending Brian and the Retail Doctor Group to businesses in the commercial and not-for-profit sectors to help shape strategy and implementation.

Tony Smith, Chief Financial Officer, Wentworth Community Housing

Brian is the exemplar sector consultant in the Australian consulting community … no other sector has such a leading light. Brian’s sector is insights-driven retail and he is the expert, the specialist, the game-changer. He’s the one with the solution for the retail problem you must fix or the retail opportunity you wish to realise. Brian is the proverbial doctor! Brian and his team at Retail Doctor Group have a client list to die for … proof that they can deliver time and time again. Brian’s keynote presentations are packed full of proven expertise and pragmatic insights, delivered in an engaging ‘must listen’ manner. The speakers’ profiles at his ‘Fit for Business’ events and CEO Breakfasts are of the highest order … a testament to the quality of his reputation in the retail sector. I don’t know another boutique consultant with the ‘pulling power’ that Brian and his team have. Their insights are up-to-date and forward-looking at the same time. There are very few boutique consulting business’s with just over ten good fruitful years under their belts, and Brian and Retail Doctor Group have accomplished that. They are an asset you must utilise.

John Groarke, Consultant Mentor

Brian and his team have a unique system for bringing powerful insights into your business that assist you in understanding the changing nature of both the retail environment and the psychological mindset of your customer. His ability to assess and guide you in recreating or changing your business strategy will help ensure your future success. Brian’s methods and coaching style are the advantage you are looking for over your competitors. When it comes to understanding the retail environment and creating growth for your business, Brian and his team are the experts. I highly recommend talking to them to see how they can help you.

Matthew Moser, Director of Sales

Retail Doctor Group is a dynamic professional team of retailing experts who have the uncanny skills and abilities to create business opportunities for their clients and are always way ahead of the game plan. As the founder of Retail Doctor Group, Brian Walker can blend visionary flair whilst maintaining strong leadership and operational excellence for growth and performance. Retail Doctor Group is consistently looking to identify gaps and deliver business fitness opportunities for their clients in markets no matter which business segment is being worked on. Their specialties are to help clients increase their bottom line results through increased customers, sales and profits not to mention the team has an immense capacity for commercial management. The team will also be able to give you an in-depth insight on trends, consumer insights and are also accomplished in implementing the right business strategy and operational execution to support your success. At Gloria Jean’s Coffees Australia, we utilised Retail Doctor Group services for several our corporate stores based on the “Business Fitness” Plan program which improved results immediately in many cases to double digit growth. The “Business Fitness” Plan program is about improving results not just for today but building the strong foundation for years to come. If you seeking to improve your business growth and performance than I encourage you to seek expert advice and support from Retail Doctor Group.

Daniel Isaac, Group General Manager, The Coffee Emporium

Webextreme was engaged to enhance the www online presence of the Retail Doctor™. The online solutions allow improving existing retail operations for Australian businesses with an emphasis on increasing productivity of processes and building of retail sales framework. During this time, we have had the great pleasure to work together with Brian Walker and his team of professional consultants. We highly recommend Brian Walker and the Retail Doctor™ services for both Australian and New Zealand businesses.

Tony Nikolovski, Project Manager

Brian recently hosted a keynote at my latest industry conference. Through the process, I have found Brian to be an absolute pleasure to work with and the consummate professional. He is insightful, knowledgeable and an expert in the retail field. He certainly is the ‘Retail Doctor’!

Jules E. Green

I’ve seen Brian speak on several occasions at various retail events. He knows his stuff! Anything to do with retail effectiveness, ask Brian. His information is always insightful and current. I also received glowing feedback about Brian from one of the big-four Australian banks which we had both done some work for, independently of each other.

Michelle Barraclough, Writer

Through the rapid and continued growth for the Total Tool network we have worked with The Retail Doctor Group to emphasise operational retail disciplines to improve our stores operating sales & profitability. As the Retail Doctor, Brian connected with our Franchise Owners and Support Office Staff and has shown his considerable retail experience working with our network to share his “Fit for Business” program. Brian’s targeted focus and easy delivery ensures communicating the message and solutions that lifts our sales, systems & profitability in a simple and straightforward manner. There’s no lost jargon and the message is clear and concise. Brian’s provided Total Tools with a valued message, vital to transforming our strategy into reality, and reinforced the priority for our operational effectiveness and delivery to improve store performance. We fully recommend and endorse the Retail Doctor as a valuable partner to increasing operating results.

Greg Heath, Franchisee, Total Tools Thebarton

Brian is hands-on! He knows how to get store owners and managers ‘fit’ for trading across the whole spectrum of retail. Somehow, he brings the passion and the process together – the perfect combination for coping with the tough times, and for capitalising on the good times … a wealth of experience on offer to retailers, big and small!

Keith Rowe, Writer

In July 2008, Australasian Surf Business Magazine (www.asbmag.com) commissioned Brian Walker to pen a series of six articles we subsequently titled ‘Surf Fit for Business’. Brian came with the strongest recommendation from many of our readers, and at a time when we were wanting to provide surf shop owners with practical, insightful and out of the box ideas into business ‘best practice’. The aim was to help surf retailers navigate out of an otherwise difficult retail cycle. With the full benefit of hindsight, the ‘Surf Fit for Business’ series has proven to be one of the most popular features in ASB magazine. In a nod to Brian’s work we modified our cover direction to reflect ‘The Retail Doctor’ series. I can thoroughly recommended Brian Walker as complete industry professional and a damn fine writer to book.

Keith Curtain, Publisher, Australasian Surf Business Magazine

A quick glance at Brian’s resume demonstrates his wealth of experience within several segments of the retail industry. The products and tools he has put together at The Retail Doctor Group further support his credentials to add value to retail, franchise and service companies who want to diagnose where their problems/challenges and opportunities are, and come up with and implement solutions to increase their success.

Garry Connell, Retail Lease Manager, Trak Recruiting

I would not hesitate in recommending Brian to come in to go through every aspect of a business, his experience with a variety of retail areas gives him the scoop on getting the details right. He made extraordinary efforts to understand our business from the inside out before offering advice that was specifically for us – not cookie cutter sales speak. His friendly, non-invasive manner gets the whole team on board with renewed vigour and excitement. Brain is a positive investment for anyone in retail planning to move their business forward.

Terri Winter, Founder, top3 by design

Brian Walker was the keynote speaker at the July 2019 IGC (Independent Garden Centres) Retail Conference. Brian incorporated current consumer behaviour in to his presentation that dealt with the importance of business fitness. Brian’s style captivated the delegates for an hour as he shared his in-depth knowledge of contemporary retail trends and recently acquired garden centre statistics, all the while weaving his way through the audience to build one-on-one rapport, and encouraging shop-owners to participate. Brian is a delight to work worth, and he delivers in spades! I thoroughly recommend any retail-orientated organisation to seriously consider Brian Walker as their go-to for conference key-note speaking and retail advice.

Evan Mueller, CEO

Congratulations on the single best industry presentation I have attended in years! Nicky is an amazing speaker and its testament to the high regard she obviously has for you that she has spoken at two of your events. The format and venue was excellent, as was the food. Once again, thank you for inviting me and it remains my great pleasure to be considered a friend of the Retail Doctor Group.

Mark Fletcher, Insights Manager, Power Retail

Retail Doctor Group CEO Breakfast Event

Brian Walker is a fabulous speaker. As context for a planning day, Brian came and presented a dynamic review of retail today – the recent evolution, current trends and potential future directions. He presented both potent data and illuminating examples which was informative and entertaining, however, he also wove a story that kept the entire group engaged and left the team inspired, ready to forge into a productive workshop.
Even after 30 years in this industry, I still learn something everytime I hear Brian speak.

Janet Bailey, Head of Retail Products and Experience, Qantas Loyalty

Brian Walker presented at a Waterco National Conference

BP Solar engaged the services of Retail Doctor Group to assist us in a strategic realignment of our distribution channel strategy as well as driving increased penetration vs. our competitors through the multi-brand retail network we sell to. We used the “Fit for Business” program coupled with a series of presentations and workshops with our senior team and key distributors and retailers.
Brian’s personal commitment to the project, along with a competent team, was impressive. I’m still amazed with how his initial diagnostic ‘nailed’ our challenges in such a short space of time, experience tells! What I found particularly useful was the insight and ideas the Retail Doctor team generated from the workshops with our distributors. Not only did we get a solid set of long-term strategies and solutions to improve the effectiveness of our existing channel, but the process involved and engaged our network, proving highly motivational and deepening loyalty to our brand.
His work culminated in double digit growth producing the most positive project ROI of any other consultant that I have worked with.
Brian’s personal delivery style was very adept at getting our retailers on side with the need for change and making them individually realise that they couldn’t, and shouldn’t, leave all the heavy lifting to us. Consistent use of industry benchmarking data was a very powerful and persuasive tool in this regard.
We also asked Brian to present the findings from the research and key findings to a room of 350 of our installer network at the annual conference – he had them captivated, engaged, thinking, enthused and in some cases embarrassed (and rightly so). Be warned, however, as he was a pretty hard act to follow!
We subsequently retained the Retail Doctor Group to work with us in an on-going capacity to develop our distributor and installer network. I can wholeheartedly recommend the Fit for Business process to anyone and, the larger and more diverse your business, the more important it becomes

Douglas Smith, Sales and Marketing Manager

Thanks all for today. As ever, a well-run and extremely insightful session. A very high ROI on time spent…

CEO, Trina Solar

Fit For Business Event

Retail Doctor Group are proud to be working with Carbetec, more details to follow shortly.

Tyres4U, Australia’s largest independent tyre wholesaler, identified they needed to broaden their distribution channel in order to maintain and grow their market share through a changing demographic of tyre retail outlets. In order to address this challenge, Tyres4U & Brian developed a strategy built around multi-channel-based retail supported by a network of independent tyre dealers brought together under the branding banner of Tyreright. Given Tyres4U’s expertise is in wholesale, we sought the expertise of Brian Walker and his Retail Doctor Group team to help us develop the platform on which to build and grow a retail tyre network. What was needed was a complete and detailed insight and understanding on how to start this from scratch understanding the challenges faced in order to compete with entrenched market brands. Once we had worked with his team to develop the concept, we then asked Brian to assist us in our presentation launch to the market knowing it was imperative to make an impact. Brian’s message to the participants attending that launch was insightful, very compelling and assisted us immensely in changing the thinking of most attendees in the room. Brian and his Retail Doctor Group team have been instrumental in assisting us bringing the Tyreright brand to market while at the same time working with our management team to continually review and refocus our strategy and implementation. For anyone seeking excellence in Brian’s field of expertise, we would thoroughly recommend him and his team to assist in order to maximise your potential outcomes.

Les DeCelis, CEO

Thanks for the journey you took us on last week, without doubt a success with our NZ dealers. Certainly, made them think again about themselves and what they are doing.

NZ National Sales Manager, Sheppard Cycles

Brian Walker of Retail Doctor Group held a strategy workshop with Sheppard Cycles, focusing on change management and re-branding.

Thanks so much for putting the seminar into my radar! It was well worth attending!

CEO, Fruit at Work

Fit For Business Event

The Retail Doctor didn’t just come up with a canned presentation for our people. He took the time to understand our stores and our industry and adapt his presentation so that it was meaningful to our stores. This degree of customisation makes the proposition by Brian quite unique and easy for our people to understand. The feedback from our team was very positive and the workshop aspects of the program meant that members could take away real objectives to apply to their business not just a good feeling that they then have difficulty converting to usable strategies. I would certainly recommend The Retail Doctor® to any organisation looking for a hands-on practical approach to solving business issues. If you want your attendees to be educated, excited and “Fit for Business™” then go no further than the Retail Doctor® for your next retail presentation

Gavin Ward, Executive Director Leading Edge Music Leading Edge Video

The Retail Doctor speaks as somebody whose skills have been honed on the coal face of retailing. Brian’s understanding and knowledge of retailing is second to none and has come from years of experience gained in some of Australia’s leading retailers as well as senior experience in the shopping centre and franchising sectors. The Retail Doctor is admirably qualified and delivers significant “how to implement” solutions that add considerable value to their client base. The Retail Doctor Business fitness programs are just what is needed by many retailers to survive the difficult economic climate that many are currently experiencing and to bounce back through the inevitable recovery. I would also heartily recommend Brian as an engaging and informative speaker on the topic of high performance retail

Michael Lonie, National State Director

Retail Doctor Group have partnered with the National Retail Association for many years and are pleased to continue to grow this relationship in 2016. This partnership involves the production of ‘Digital Business Kits’ for NRA retail members and providing an annual Retail Doctor Group Scholarship for the NRA Young Retailer of the Year Runner up.

Congratulations on such a great event, and it was wonderful to meet both yourself and the very inspiring Brian Walker- as well as listen to all of the insightful presentations!

CEO, Australian Retailers Association

Brian could be called Meccano in another life. He is “connected” and extremely well respected by all walks of business I have no hesitation in recommending Brian as a wonderful bouncing board for any commercial strategy – he has a wealth of knowledge and is a very clear thinker – not only his speciality in retail.

Neil Arrowsmith, Chairman

Brian Walker, CEO of Retail Doctor Group was recently invited to speak at the Green Cross Health National Conference in Fiji. Discussing the topic of Global Innovation and Trends in Pharmacy Retail, Brian wowed the audience with examples of best practice from around the world, and left the audience inspired with practical ‘Business Fitness’ tips for them to take away and implement in their own businesses.

Brian Walker is a well-known, well connected and highly respected professional within the Retail Industry in Australia & Asia. The key advantage of working with Brian is that he does have a set formula yet highly customised for reviewing businesses whilst giving his clients the direction & solutions they need to make their businesses healthy. I have had the pleasure of working with Brian, the Retail Doctor, for over 15 years. Where many would give up and put it in the “too hard basket” Brian has great vision, knowledge and connections to make it happen. I have personally witnessed him being actively leading the forefront of business change in Retail Industry many times over the years. In short if you are looking for actual results that last rather than change for change sake then Brian is the go to guy. He will get your business fit.

Gary Watkins, Managing Director

We were delighted to have Brian Walker presenting at our Bricks & Clicks Franchisor Forum as an invited expert. He blew participants away with his knowledge, real life case studies and his passion for omnichannel retailing.

Greg Nathan, Founder Franchise Relationships Institute

There are very few industry-specific consultants in Australia and Brian is one of those, as Australia’s leading retail specialist. Brian has the skills, knowledge and experience to make a highly valuable contribution to the sustainable and profitable ‘fortunes’ of his clients. He has well-crafted and proven methodologies to rapidly deliver implementable outcomes. And Brian has access to ground-breaking global retail insights which he successfully tailors to the specific needs of his clients, as he takes them from strategy through tactics to implementation. Brian has set the benchmark for boutique consultants in any discipline and developed one of those ‘to die for’ client lists. And the ability to couple proven methods with tailored insights has been key in building that list.

CEO Breakfast 2015

Retail Doctor Group are proud to be working with Intersport. More details to follow shortly.

The session was fantastic, I think the delegates received a lot of information which will improve their businesses. Thanks again for a great session.

Allie Vandenberg

After a period of re-structure, I was after a diagnostic and refreshing of our retail business, we searched for experts in this field and we opted for the best, Retail Doctor Group. Brian and his team immersed themselves into our business and very rapidly became an intrinsic part of our team. The work conducted was substantial on a number of fronts and the human factor quite unique, the skills required were a blend of empathy, being able to relate but also having control over the big picture. The delivery was impeccable and exactly what I was after. I have not worked prior with a more sophisticated, applied, diligent group of people who at heart have made our interests, their interests. Today, I consider Brian not only a pillar of my retail strategy going forward but also a mentor and confidant.

Nicolas Rayer, Managing Director ANZ at Verosol (Australia)

The Retail Doctor’s’ passion for retail was evident during his recent “Fit for Business” address at the 2009 Camping World conference. Brian engaged his audience of Camping World store owners with an informative, easy to understand presentation on the “Seven Steps to Retail Fitness”. Store owners had many take outs from the presentation that they could each apply to their own business situation. Conference participants were entertained, educated and challenged. I have no hesitation in recommending Brian Walker as a key note speaker.

Shona Luke, Group Marketing Officer

Thanks Brian! Your visit has really inspired me to get back to building the vision. Thank you for everything!

Lyle Henri, Camerich

Retail advisor Brian Walker conducted our Fit for Business program for luxury furniture retailer Camerich.

Bob Jane T-Marts engaged Retail Doctor Group to provide a Fit for Business Diagnostic program.

Retail Doctor Group provided an aligned Effective People program including Mystery Shopping and Training for Blue Spirit / Jewelbox

We’re getting fitter and fitter thanks to the work out prescribed by Brian Walker, the Retail Doctor and the medicine has been easy to take. The ‘fit for business’ program presented to our business, Oxfam Shop, has been spot on.
Brian understood our unique ‘gifts that give twice’ giftware business instantly with significant focus on the “how to “ implement this point of difference to achieve greater sales and profits.
The insights and information were clear, concise, and valuable with no punches pulled which was just what we needed.
Our prognosis is good…we’re happier, healthier and just getting stronger and stronger and we have a clear plan to move forward.
We would highly recommend Retail Doctor to any business looking to develop, evolve, review, and expand their retail strategy and ensure that their business is ‘fit for business’.
Now it’s down to implement just what the doctor ordered!

Robyn McCard, Oxfam Shop General Manager

Brian is an amazing professional with the highest of integrity, exceptional motivator, is solutions focused and his expertise and knowledge of the Retail Sector and business improvement is of the highest standard. I highly recommend Brian and the Retail Doctors services if you want sound professional outcomes.

Danielle Mackenzie, Lifeline General Manager Governance Risk and Compliance

We are proud to work with Lifeline on a series of programs to support the growth of the Lifeline retail network.

Katharina of Retail Doctor Group’s Insights team led and facilitated a 12-month transformation project for the Co-op to understand the emotional drivers behind our members behaviour in order to develop a more relevant value proposition and ultimately extend our member lifetime value. The process was the perfect marriage between data, creative as well as commercial and has culminated in a relaunch of our purpose, ambition, values and member value proposition which was extremely well received by our board, staff and customers equally.

Adam Jones, GM Merchandise, Marketing & Digital Co-op

The Collins Street Precinct Group are a not for profit association funded by the City of Melbourne and decided to book Brian Walker, The Retail Doctor to run the a series of 4 breakfast events based on “being Fit for Business”. The response to Brian’s presentations has been excellent with our attendees booking for the first breakfast and each breakfast thereafter. Our numbers at the breakfasts have grown to the point that individuals are now booking tables and bringing a lot more of their staff.
We would highly recommend Brian Walker, The Retail Doctor as he has certainly assisted many of our attendees to be “fit” in business with a fantastic and interactive presentation given them all something to take back to their businesses and implement.

Tracey Davis, Coordinator, Collins Street Precinct

Brian of the Retail Doctor Group is a subject matter expert and has a deep knowledge and understanding of the Retail Industry all the way from the high level strategic view right down to the tactical execution. The wealth of industry experience that Brian delivers will always save valuable time and money when you are trying to inject real substance into your business plan to achieve long-term measurable success

Tim Drew, National Retail Manager

In my dealings with Brian I have found him to be a natural retailer. He is able to display an empathy for retailing that leads to businesses seeking his advice and leadership. His viewpoint is unique and invaluable.

Brandt Callaghan, National Manager, Business Development at Visionstream Pty. Ltd.

In short, Brian (The Retail Doctor) KNOWS retail. He is the ‘go-to’ guy and subject matter expert on planning, implementing, managing and measuring a business’ retail strategy. His knowledge and know-how form the base of his expertise while his research and experience add currency to his insights. I would highly recommend Brian to any business looking to, develop, review, modify and expand their retail management strategy and ensure that their business is ‘Fit for Business’.

Iggy Pintado, • CEO Connect Gen • Head of Online Sales, Telstra Business at Telstra Corporation • Head of Channel Development, Telstra Business at Telstra • Head of Customer Operations at Telstra Business