Ross Feeney, operations director at Club Green muses about empowerment, resilience and learning from mistakes.
How long have you been at Club Green?
I initially joined Club Green in 1997 as a university student looking for summer work. I was fortunate to work a number of holiday periods with the company before joining full-time in January 2000 as online and export sales manager. I left in May 2002 and spent 18 years working in events and marketing (including holding a number of c-level positions), before being invited to re-join Club Green in May 2021 as director of operations.
What is your greatest achievement at the company?
When I re-joined the company in 2021, we faced a number of significant challenges (that were a consequence of the pandemic, and certainly not unique to Club Green) around the consistency of our stock levels and the reliability of our supply chain. I’m sure many readers experienced the same issues. We spent a number of months reforecasting our orders with factories and we worked really hard with our suppliers to make sure we had the right stocks at the right time to fulfil all our deliveries.
That hard work in mid-2021 paid off, and throughout 2022 our stock levels were both reliable and consistent – providing our customers with the confidence they needed to not just stock our products but to increase the number of our ranges on their shelves.
Favourite part of your job?
I have always been a big believer in empowerment. If you give your team ownership of their targets, they will work hard to achieve them. We share information on business performance with the team at regular meetings, and set company targets for everyone to work towards.
We set company targets not sales targets, because there is no point making a sale if the products are not fit for purpose, or the stock is not there to sell. Every member of the team is responsible, in part, for a consignment or a pallet leaving the building and only once it has left do we add its value to the target number.
Weekly and monthly targets are set, and I really enjoy updating the numbers. There is a real buzz around the building when we hit the number, and a real drive and determination to do better when we don’t.
Who is the unsung hero of the company?
We are extremely fortunate to have a loyal and committed team, many of whom have been with us for over 10 years. We have always encouraged a positive team ethos – we succeed or fail as one team, so I’m not going to single out any one individual. Every member of the team plays their part, knows how they are part of our success, and is both passionate and committed to see the business remain sustainable and continue to grow.
What is the biggest change within the party industry that you have seen since you have worked in it?
I think we are seeing some seismic changes at the moment. Sky News recently reported that 50 retailers a day are closing, and many of those are inevitably going to be in our sector. That is a terrible loss for the business owners and their employees, and a real challenge for our sector. Hopefully the current economic slowdown will be shallow and swift and we see people back in our high streets in the spring.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
The first chief executive I worked for, David Main, had a huge amount of experience. He taught two valuable lessons that I have never forgotten. Firstly, he always encouraged me to believe in my own ability and to have the mindset that nothing wasn’t achievable if I worked hard enough.
Secondly, and arguably more importantly, he taught me to take ownership of my mistakes and to learn from them. He would always say that ‘a mistake is only a mistake once’, which is absolutely true. In business nothing stands still, everything is constantly changing and evolving so we must learn, adapt and move forward.
Biggest lesson you’ve taken away from the last year?
For me two words characterise 2022, ‘resilience’ and ‘confidence’. Resilience because 2022 was a year of the unexpected. The war in Ukraine, energy price hikes and high inflation all impacted on consumer confidence, and caused the whole sector to reforecast expectations for the year. We had to be extremely reactive to market changes and sufficiently fleet of foot not to get caught out. I think we achieved both, and we continued to deliver for our customers.
Confidence, because 2022 reminded us to be confident about our products and our customer service. Despite the economic challenges, our business remained strong and we have started 2023 with an increased customer base, eight new product ranges and over 200 new lines. Our good stock levels meant we could fulfil orders and meet client schedules throughout the year, and continued to grow our positive profile and reputation within the party sector.
If you could change one thing about the party industry, what would it be and why?
I’m a big fan of Christmas, it is a lovely time of year to spend with family, and I love seeing my children, Mia and Max, open their presents. They are still at the age where its magical. What’s not so much fun is then coming back to work in January and having to plan for the forthcoming Christmas – new products, new supplies, new orders etc. Sometimes it feels like Christmas never ends. For 2024 perhaps we could all agree to start planning in February instead of January, so we all get a break?
If you didn’t work in the party industry, what industry would you work in and why?
Having spent a lot of my career outside the industry, I feel I still have a lot to prove and a lot to achieve before thinking about anything else. This is a great industry with some fantastically passionate people working hard to deliver great products to their clients and I am thoroughly enjoying being part of it.
However, I have always been a huge F1 racing fan, and have always been fascinated by both the politics and economics of the sport. If I had the opportunity to be a racing driver, I would jump ship straight away. However, I think I’m probably too old now and would certainly need a diet first.
