Props and Frocks Alex Polizzi - The Fixer

'Family businesses make up a quarter of the British economy,

'and employ nearly ten million people,

'but a thousand small firms are going bust every single month.'

Sorry.

For God's sake, do something.

'For family firms, it's not just profits

'but relationships on the line.'

We have no life. I used to have one, apparently, but I can't remember it.

This isn't your life.

This is isn't your family.

This isn't your home.

I don't know if it's ever going to get better.

You must see some hope, otherwise let's not bother with this.

'I'm Alex Polizzi.

'I grew up in a family business that expanded from one small cafe

'to become an empire worth billions.

'Now I'm trying to bring six family firms...'

ALL: Hello.

'..back from the brink.'

He's just used to getting his own way. And I'm used to getting mine.

'This week, a dressing-up shop in Essex gets a dressing down...'

That's your fault. You lead by example.

'..as an obsessive mother...'

If you've got more affection for a costume than for your own family...

Got serious issues.

'..who refuses to let go, is forced to face the music...'

How many staff will I have at the end of next week?

I don't expect everyone to like it. You either get on with it or not.

If they don't like it, then there's not really much I can do about that.

'..before her costume dream turns into a costume drama.'

This really has been a disastrous day.

Oh, my God!

'I've been called to the rescue of Props 'n' Frocks...'

THEY GIGGLE

'..a family-run fancy-dress shop in Essex.'

My own experience of fancy-dress shops is Angels in London,

which is very smart, very well thought out, very well put together,

very well themed. Clothes are put together thematically very, um, succinctly.

I'm not quite expecting that.

I would expect something along those lines.

Well, we've got three monkeys in stock, and two gorillas.

'Props 'n' Frocks has become Adele Wiseman's life.'

Are you looking for Bo Peep, are you, or are you...?

I remember the first week we had four costumes out

on a Saturday night, and I was over the moon. I couldn't believe it.

And now, 13 years later, we've got over 6,500 hire costumes.

-Becca said I look like a gnome!

-We can probably find you something.

THEY CHUCKLE

'There are now three generations of Wisemans working for the business.'

So the family that works at Props 'n' Frocks is my mum...

Good evening, Joy speaking. How can I help?

I'm the noisy one.

-You? Oh, you're filthy!

-SHE CHUCKLES

I do like putting my view across.

-Then I've got my daughter Reese...

-Did you want a tutu to try with it?

..and my son Ellis.

He picked up. "Good morning, how can I help?"

It may be a family concern but, for Adele, it's become all-consuming.

This business means the world to me. I really love it.

In many respects it comes first,

and so I stress about trying to make sure it all goes properly.

She loves it, she loves it. It's her baby.

She lives and dies it.

But it's a business that's in trouble.

-Have you not got the invoices yet?

-No.

Oh, no!

Oh, dear.

The accounting side of the business is not my strong point.

Last year, I did over-order.

I was completely unaware of the overheads

that we were encountering every day.

It's a huge worry because you've got people depending on you to pay their mortgages.

I would hate to see it close, after 14 years of hard work.

'In truth, Adele came within four months of having to close for good.

'Forced to borrow £40,000,

'she now works seven days a week to keep the shop afloat.'

Sometimes, the hours that I work,

I do think, "Oh, my lord. Is it worth it?"

My mum works every hour under the sun for not much gain out of it,

but I get paid more than my mum.

My mum works very hard. She finds it very difficult to take a back seat.

-I can't always do it instantly.

-Why? It takes 30 seconds.

-If I'm in the middle of doing something, I can't just stop.

-But it's 30 seconds.

'I do worry about Adele's health.'

She's on tablets and she...

She shouldn't work so hard.

'Adele's work-life balance is terrible.

'She clearly can't let go.

'It's crucial I change this in the two months that I have here.

'I just hope fixing the business isn't going to be as hard as finding it.'

We're driving in what I would call...

I mean, it's countryside.

It's not exactly what I would expect when going to a fancy-dress shop.

Not at all.

"Props 'n' Frocks. Quality fancy-dress hire."

Well, the state of the sign belies the words somewhat, doesn't it?

It's very tired and wobbly, not even straight,

so, all in all, I have to say this is not a great first impression.

'And, sadly, the sign is a sign of things to come.'

I mean, it's very underwhelming.

The effect when you arrive

is not one to make you spring out of your car in excitement,

and looking through the windows, what you see is the very basic,

er, props for fancy dress.

There doesn't seem to be any real shop front and, er,

you'd really have to seek this place out to find it.

-Hello.

-Hello.

Adele? I'm Alex.

-Hi, Alex, how are you?

-Really nice to meet you.

-And nice to meet you, too.

-I'm dying to have a look round.

-Brilliant.

'Recently, fancy-dress shops have started to face stiff competition from supermarket chains,

'who cash in on selling cheap costumes at Halloween and Christmas,

'key seasons in this market.'

Hire costumes are all down here.

Yeah. Gosh!

'So, independent businesses like this one

'need to be at the top of their game.'

Tudor, medieval-type room. It's also got religion in here.

Western. Superheroes here, pirates.

And this is the Halloween room.

This is a part of it.

-Fangs.

-THEY CHUCKLE

-Yeah. You name it, we have it.

-Fake blood.

This is what we call our decades room,

and we go round '20s, round to the '50s,

and all the way round '60s, and '70s and '80s.

'There's an awful lot of stock. There's no getting round it.'

Just in this section here, I have Frenchie The Maid,

French Maid, and...

ah, French Maid Set.

We've got a nun. Three different nun costumes,

and the possibility to be a pregnant nun.

If you came here without any idea about what you wanted to be,

I think you would leave none the wiser. There's just too much choice.

'And the problem isn't confined to the shop.'

My goodness! So this is wigs.

This is just all specs.

'There are warehouses. FIVE warehouses.'

OK.

'All in all, there are 13,500 items of stock.

'Even Argos only has 20,000 stock lines,

and they turn over £4 billion a year.'

ALEX SIGHS

'No wonder Adele has money problems. This lot must have cost a bomb.

'With this much stock to shift,

'the Wiseman family really need to be natural born sellers.'

-I've got that.

-Yeah, I like it.

We're not salespeople - we'd rather people ask us for things.

I'm slightly shocked about that because, obviously, you know...

-The thing is...

-A large part of this business is sale.

It is, but we feel with the customers we like to try and make them really welcome,

and, you know, really give them a good service.

I'd hate anyone to think, "Don't go in there. They're too pushy."

'Adele may think she's welcoming, but the signs tell a different story.'

My goodness! Do you think you make the point often enough?

I know, I know.

We are aware of this. I know.

-This is really off-putting.

-I know.

Because, you know, how do you know that you want to buy it until you try it on?

'Fancy dress is supposed to be all about fun.

'But the only joy in this place is Adele's mother...'

-I'm Joy.

-I'm Alex.

'..who seems to be spearheading the campaign to put customers off.'

I get cross when people don't respect it. Do you know what I mean?

You know, people come in and disrespect the place

and I don't like that.

I know, darling, but unfortunately that is what the customers are like.

They want to come in and touch it and feel it

and crumple it and shove it on their heads

and try it on their faces and... That's what a shop's about.

It is hard. It is hard when money's hard to come by.

-Yeah.

-And you work, you know, all the hours that God gives you,

-and we do.

-Yeah, yeah.

And then you see someone destroying it, but then listening to what you say...

JOY MUTTERS MENACINGLY

'But Joy's not alone. Adele's son...'

-Ellis. Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

'..who's in charge of controlling stock, is also allergic to the public.'

I can't stand talking to customers.

I have a thing about talking to customers,

so I love being in my own office in a corner.

My perfect day is just sitting here.

I'd love to be able to lock the door so nobody else could come in and disturb me.

'Not everyone needs to be front of house,

'but the anti-customer feeling has to go, and ditto the off-putting signs.

'And we have to reduce the stock mountain that's suffocating the shop floor.'

I wonder if they say, every four weeks,

"Well, we haven't sold any of these. Let's get rid of them."

Do they actually analyse what sells and what doesn't?

'I'm going to put that to the test.'

I'd like to see how well you know your shop -

what sells, what doesn't, what your customers like -

so I'm challenging you.

There's a couple of rails over there and a few tables, and I would like each of you

to pick out what you think your ten best sellers were in August.

THEY GROAN

-Ellis has an advantage here.

-Yeah, he has.

Well, he might do but does he ever look at it?

THEY CHUCKLE

-Off you go.

-OK, I'm going this way.

-I'm going this way.

'As well as needing to keep some perennial favourites,

'demand for fancy dress is driven by the latest trends and movies.

'Costume stock needs to be constantly updated to move with the times.'

Er...

'Keeping on top of what people want is crucial to the success of this firm.'

Oh there's so much to choose from - this is the trouble.

-Looking a bit nervous.

-No, not at all.

I'm lost.

-Confident?

-Yeah, yeah.

No.

So you do not, at the end of every month, see what has sold incredibly well,

and what has not sold one sausage?

No, that's why we've got so much stock.

Bingo.

Pirates - they're always popular.

I'm ruined.

I don't even know where I work or who I am any more.

I can't see any correlation in what anyone's choosing.

I'm going to be right on one of them! Ha.

But they do seem quite definite about their choices.

All right, so let's see what each of you has picked

as their number one. What have you got as yours, darling?

-My number one is these.

-Yeah, all right. What's your number one?

-ELLIS:

-It's a cigarette holder.

Right, yours?

-Yeah.

-Deluxe garlands.

And number one. And your number twos?

Number two? Oh, that's... Mine's a wig.

Well, interestingly enough, you're all way, way out.

THEY CHUCKLE

Honestly, shocking!

Because the top three were the satin star bowler hat...

-OK.

-Oh, that's cos we had...

..the silver ball head boppers,

and the cigarette holder, so at least you got one of them.

'I'm astounded. Not only do all their choices differ,

'but Reese and Joy didn't get a single best seller right.

'Adele scored a paltry one out of ten,

'and even Ellis, who is supposedly in charge of ordering stock, only got two.

'In fact, the only thing they are any good at

'is not having a clue what's selling in their own shop.'

You're buying too much and you're not clear about what's working

and what's not, and you need to start.

There's so much stock in here.

To start shedding, you need to start knowing what sells.

And, actually just as much, what doesn't.

So I think what you have to get into the habit of doing -

every single month, you must sit down and analyse the figures!

We should have known. It was embarrassing.

We didn't even know what the best bloomin' ten sellers was.

God! You know, that's knocked me for six.

'From having my own business,

'I know how easy it is to become all consumed by work, and Adele is no different.'

So, have you done seven days a week for the last 13 years?

More or less, yeah. I have the odd week holiday here and there,

but before that, I was a riding instructor and I also worked seven days a week then.

So I've worked seven days a week since I've left school.

Do you think that the whole thing would collapse if you weren't here to keep it going?

I am quite a perfectionist. I do like things done, everything followed through,

-and I can't help but being busy. I have to check that everyone's doing it properly.

-Yeah.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the conductor trying to keep them all going,

but I also play all the instruments, as well.

Do you think that's healthy for the furtherance of the business, though?

No, not at all.

Because I think, you know, admirable as it is that you work so hard in the business,

you must separate out your professional life and your personal life.

Do you know what? That is the...

The worst thing I think - that this family business has actually,

in many respects, ruined our family feeling, as such,

because we're always in each other's pockets all the time.

Ellis, the other day, said to me, "I don't come over the weekends unless I'm working,

"cos I know that as soon as I do turn up, I am expected to work."

-Yeah.

-And he says, "I don't want to become like you."

OK.

'Having worked with my family all my life,

'I know how emotional it can be.

'Relationships can become strained to breaking point.

'I want to help Adele get her business and her family life back.

'To save this shop, the Wisemans really need to take back control

'and impose some kind of order.

'I need to give it to them straight.'

I think something you often lose, when you've been working so long and so hard at a business,

is the initial impression customers have when they arrive.

Yours is a destination fancy-dress shop.

People drive to find you, yeah?

That means they need to be knocked off their feet

as they walk in that door.

You've got some lovely, lovely things in there.

I don't you're doing them justice.

Because you've got such a volcanic eruption of stuff

that you don't really know where to look.

I think it's a big problem that you all spend so much time at work together.

It's an enormous shame you don't spend any time out of work together,

and I think that's your fault, because you lead by example.

All of you have too little time as a family

and too much time as business colleagues.

So, something that I'd like to ask the two of you about is...

I think you both need to step up - be made to step up and be professional.

You being around all the time is kind of exacerbating the situation,

because they never need to really...

-No.

-..be sure about anything, cos you're always bloody there.

Yeah, yeah.

-I think the staffing is another issue entirely.

-Saturday...people.

Saturdays and Sundays is a nightmare.

Is it? Why?

We get young girls coming in for Saturday and Sunday jobs.

-Why don't you have your regular staff working at the busiest times of the week?

-A lot of them won't.

None of us bloody like working a Sunday. It's shift work,

it's rotaed, so you can plan your life around it.

Could we not do that? Do it on a rota?

Do you not do that?!

They have set hours, yeah.

OK, well, this is DEFINITELY something we're going to tackle,

because I'm all for never asking your staff to do something you wouldn't do yourself,

but you're going the completely opposite extreme.

You know, so you're prepared to work it but you can't ask your staff to? For goodness' sake.

Well, we have asked but they won't change.

They won't change? Well, all right. Unfortunately, there may be some natural wastage

but I tell you what - you'll have one person leave and it'll stop.

'It's a harsh message,

'but one that really needs to sink in with the family.

'Next day, and I want to move on to more pressing matters.

'The shop is in the middle of nowhere.

'With no passing trade, the people of Essex need to know they exist

'if their sales figures are going to improve.'

Today, we're going to do some market research.

I want to ask them - have they heard of Props 'n' Frocks?

Have they been to a fancy-dress party in the last year and if they have, what did they dress up as?

Are they planning on going to a fancy-dress party, and what would they like to dress up as?

'This is also a great marketing opportunity,

'and there's no better way to draw attention to the business than going out in their own fancy dress.

'But choosing an outfit from the thousands on offer will not be easy.'

Or...

I'm finding it very difficult. So much choice.

Which I'm sure the customers get, as well.

# Round and round

# And round it goes

# Where it stops, nobody knows... #

Looking good.

-No.

-No, not that either.

-I'd used to be a stripper.

-Does this look good or does it...?

-No.

I think it is too tight round there.

Best six-pack I've ever had.

Happy.

-Let's go, come on.

-Let's go.

With Batman and his merry band, we are making a beeline for Basildon.

It's the closest town to the shop and should be their biggest market,

but is it?

-Have you heard of Props 'n' Frocks fancy dress shop?

-No.

-No.

-No.

-Do you know who Props 'n' Frocks are? No.

-Sorry, what?

-Props 'n' Frocks fancy-dress shop.

-No, never heard of it.

-OK.

-Is that around here?

-No.

-No, where's that one?

I'm sure they're slightly stunned, shocked by the results.

I mean, this is right on their doorstep.

-No.

-No.

-The one on Southend?

-No.

I'm having a bad afternoon.

-Yes...

-Not that one.

-Oh, sorry.

-No.

There hasn't been one person that's actually known about the shop,

which is pretty dire, I have to say,

considering that Basildon is really a main town very near to us,

so I am not impressed at the moment.

What did you go as last time?

-Er...gimp, weren't it? Gimp.

-Oh, suit you down to the ground.

-There's a fancy-dress shop down there.

-It's not that one.

No one knows us.

Do you know, I always thought that a lot of people come from Basildon

to my shop, but obviously they aren't

and I'm really shocked. Really shocked.

How many yeses? How many did you get?

-Two.

-You?

-11.

-God!

One man asked me what bust size I was.

THEY LAUGH

Isn't that just the pleasure of the talking to the general public?

-I've got five.

-And I've got four.

-..Plus 11, plus 4, yes, plus...

I've got four.

22, 26. Out of 163 people, only 26 had heard of Props 'n' Frocks.

-It's horrendous.

-Does that shock you?

That's terrible.

Just five minutes down the road, I thought there'd be more yeses.

-It's unbelievable.

-Unbelievable.

What was more worrying was the amount of people that hadn't heard of us

that had been to a fancy dress party in the last year

and were going to go again in the next six months,

so that's even more worrying because that's all lost business.

It also shows that a simple way to make sure your business increases

is to make sure that more people bloody know you're there, isn't it?

It's been a rather sobering morning, hasn't it?

It really has, yes. Another one.

A week later and I'm back to start addressing the sizeable stock issue.

Last year, Props 'n' Frocks came within months of going under

because Adele spent £80,000 on stock just as the recession hit.

Instead of the upturn in business she'd gambled on,

demand dropped off a cliff

but it appears that didn't teach her a lesson.

Tell me what all this is on the table.

This is what we have in daily.

This is a large order today. It's not usually as big as this.

It just seems to me that after

our conversations over the last couple of days,

everyone's in agreement that we have to somehow cut the stock down

to be able to display things differently, one,

to be able to make sure you sell every item that you stock, two,

and to finally make sure that you're more profitable,

-which means making more than you spend.

-Yeah.

Who decides that you need three of these pirate beards,

rather than two, or that you need five of these old English king's crowns?

-That's down to Ellis.

-That's down to Ellis, OK.

'I'm not convinced Ellis is the problem.

'He might have set up the reordering system,

'but I don't believe he's the stockaholic in this business.'

-Hello.

-Hello.

So, I have just seen a whole table full of stuff that has just come in,

new stock for the shop.

One of the things we have to do is try and condense your stock lines.

You've got to decide that if something has only sold

so many pieces in the last six months,

then that's a line that you're going to drop.

The other day we wanted to increase all the stock levels.

But the one I was talking about turns out to be our top-selling costume

that I did say we need to have a higher reorder level.

In the last eight months...it's only gone out of stock once.

THEY LAUGH

That's a good thing to know.

I think that somehow, I don't know how you can do this,

but we're going to have to hog tie your mum and stop her ordering staff.

So how are we going to get the stock down?

-Let's decide what we need to offload and then work out how we do it.

-Yes.

I love these!

With Halloween just weeks away,

I need this shop on top form ready for their busiest time of the year.

Adele has been hoarding stock for ages,

but her obsession with the costumes is just cluttering the place up.

If she can't see the problem inside the shop,

then maybe taking it outside will shed some light on it.

It is making me feel a bit sick, yes, I have to say.

I've discovered from Ellis that 500 of their lines

are so out of date they've been discontinued

and another thousand sold less than ten units last year.

Give or take, £8,500 worth...

in this list alone.

What does that tell you about ordering?

That I need to be put in one of my own straitjackets, I think.

-It's time for a cull.

-That has got to go.

-What have we got in there?

-I've got some gorilla costumes.

-Gorilla costumes Ellis said is one of our best sellers.

-I know,

-but as I've just been pointed out, do we need 156 of them?

-No.

LAUGHTER

Look at it. It is quite sad seeing it all sat there,

-all homeless and unloved.

-Can you admit now that you have a problem?

When I bought them, yes, there was obviously a problem because I'd say...

honestly, the majority of this stock is absolutely fine.

-There is nothing wrong with it.

-There's just a lot of it.

There's just a lot of it and it has not sold.

I am sad when I see some really good costumes here,

but I have to recognise that I do have a problem,

a bit like an alcoholic, I have a problem.

I knew it was going to be incredibly difficult for Adele,

but it really did work because actually confronted with the enormity

of the stockpile she's created,

she had to realise that her ways have to be mended

and also that stockpile has got to be tackled.

To be honest, what shocks me is that my over-ordering

could have closed this business and that would've been really sad.

It has to go. Oh!

It's like, I feel like...

Well, I've never had a kid that goes off to university

but I actually feel that this is what it would be like.

Yeah.

Adele might not have seen her kids go to university,

but that's precisely where her stock is going.

-What's...?

-We're going to give them away.

£1 a jacket, or £2 a jacket.

Chuck them on, chuck them on, we'll get rid of them.

Van's loaded, we're going to sell loads today. I hope.

We are off to the University of Essex, Colchester campus for a sale.

the biggest growth area in fancy dress hire in the UK

is in university towns.

We've got to sell up, get the prices on and sell, sell, sell!

There is nothing students love more than slapping on something silly

and stepping out for a night on the town,

and with over 11,000 students,

Essex uni should be packed with potential punters.

Hiya. We've got special prices today for fancy dress.

We're pricing up really cheaply,

literally more or less cast a couple of quid on each item,

so we're getting rid of stuff which is awesome.

Well, we've got rid of one thing so far.

But the costumes are not leaping off the racks.

Drastic action is required.

Great, huh? You too could look like this.

LAUGHTER

What do you mean, "What is it?"

Hi, we're doing fancy dress today, 50% off for students.

-Fancy dress?

-Halloween stock! For Halloween!

-Fancy dress!

-Loads of different reactions from different people,

-they just don't seem to be coming to the stall very much.

-Fancy dress?

No one is buying anything.

Shall we just try and sell them off even cheaper,

just to get rid of the bloody things?

-It's for free. It's for free!

-I know, but...

-OK.

He didn't want it, not even for free.

-People aren't interested.

-They really aren't, it is amazing.

That would look good on you.

You don't need a wig, do you?

-Alex couldn't work her charms?

-Not even Alex could win this crowd over.

What are we going to do?

And I'm just pricing things down and down and down.

-Shall we cut our losses and go home?

-Shall we?

I'm trying to be positive but this really has been a disastrous day.

I suppose the only positive we can draw from this

is that you handed out a lot of leaflets.

We tried. That is all we can do, isn't it?

Clearly students are more frugal than they were in my day.

With barely any stock shifted, it has been a real blow to us all.

I'm going to have to cajole my brain still further

and I think clearly it is essential that I open them to new markets.

They have to keep on trying alternative routes,

they have to keep on bringing new clients into this shop.

They can't just depend on their old pool of regular customers.

But with a new day comes a new idea.

I think a designated clearance area in the shop

is needed to tackle the stock mountain.

-Hello, hello.

-Hi.

-Nice to see you again.

-And you.

'I've asked retail designer Karl McKeever,

'who's worked with brands like M & S and Disney,

'to help me make this happen.'

-Come in and meet the family.

-Hiya.

-Joy, Adele, this is Karl.

-Hi. Great to see you.

-Hi, I'm Adele.

-Hi, Adele.

-How are you?

-Very well.

-Found us OK?

-Yes, eventually.

So, Karl, do you want to tell them what your first impressions were?

I think for me this is such an interesting shop

because from the outside you have no idea at all what's really inside.

If you weren't sure, you'd think you've driven up to a sex shop

because there's boobs and bums in the window!

-You know that private shops thing?

-The black-fronted...

-With the red lettering and things. Crikey!

-Oh my goodness!

I hadn't thought of that!

-Oh, my goodness!

-It might get more people in.

-That's another room you're not showing us, isn't it?

-Yes.

I'm going to get you guys to take us around so that Karl gets

the full glory of the plethora of stock that you have.

-One row of changing rooms there.

-OK, sure.

-How many costumes have you got here?

-Hire costumes we've probably got about 4,000.

-Wow! That is a vast choice, massive.

-Again, more costumes everywhere.

This one has already been dropped.

I was going to say, as we've been going around,

I noticed you hiding that. I can see another one here.

Oh, no! Do you know, I've been everywhere!

This whole environment says, "Touch me, play with me."

-I know.

-"Interact with me,"

but there's a lot of, "Don't touch, don't do this, don't do this."

Because we are in here so much, it is a bit like our home

and so it is like somebody coming in, picking up your ornament,

breaking it and it is that feeling of thinking, "Bloody cheek!

"What are they doing that for?" And to take that step back

-is very difficult, isn't it?

-Oh, hard.

It is a problem. It's that fine line between giving people service

and looking over their shoulder. There's nothing worse

than having someone hovering,

which is not what we want to do at all, is it?

The shop will need a huge overhaul

but so will Adele and Joy's attitude to customers.

By stopping them from handling the goods,

they are definitely hurting sales.

I need to show them what good customer service looks like.

-Hello!

-Hi, Alex!

Well, we have been allowed access into this store

because I would like you to see how brilliantly they achieve

their levels of customer service

and I think there is a lot of lessons from this place that we can

take back and apply to your shop.

Uniqlo is part of the third-largest fashion retailer on the planet.

It has done this by building the business around a simple idea that the customer is king.

Hello, good morning, good afternoon. This is Uniqlo Regent Street. How can I help?

-ALL:

-Hello, good morning, good afternoon. This is Uniqlo Regent Street. How can I help?

Please let me know if you need any help.

Like many big retail businesses, the shopping experience here

is deliberately designed to get the customer to touch and try on clothes.

All the evidence shows that touching leads to buying.

In fact, 65% of men buy what they try.

You are all going to follow someone,

so you're not going to be chucked into this, but you can see that

they've got this enormous emphasis

on how they communicate with the customer,

which I think is very important, a huge emphasis on smiling

on not having... Yes, no cross arms!

The important thing is we have got to break this idea of yours that

the goods in your shop are somehow

an extension of your own personal stuff. It's not, it's merchandise.

Merchandise that customers need to interact with to be tempted to buy

and what I want to do is break that idea that you have

of your shop is an extension of your home.

-What you do, put your hand under it...

-You see a messed up jumper...

..now you need to hold that with the palm of your hand.

-You don't mind when they make a mess?

-No. it's our job.

She has got a shop and she doesn't like people touching her stuff and making a mess of it.

-How is that aspect of things going?

-Some of these are just thrown.

It is good that you are just getting used to the fact that this is just what it is.

-This is what you've got to do.

-You've got to do it, that's it.

It really matters to me what my shop looks like

and I hate it being untidy.

It is so nice and refreshing to see people taking this pride

in keeping it all looking absolutely immaculate. You know,

we've always done the best for our customers but not always with a smile on our face.

As well as encouraging Adele and her mother to let customers try clothes on,

this visit has also forced Ellis, who spends all his time hiding away,

onto the shop floor.

Next customer, please. Really loud and clear.

Focus a lot on eye contact while greeting customers and doing the transaction.

However much he thinks he's going to be a back office boy,

in a business their size, everyone needs to get mixed into the customer service.

Next customer, please! I'm shaking.

I'm not good dealing with customers.

-Hello, madam.

-In common with all the family,

Ellis takes things too personally.

Next customer, please.

They take people fiddling with the product very personally,

he takes how customers react to him very personally and actually it is just a job.

We're going to find you a customer, approach them and say,

"Hi there, is there anything I can help you with?" You're going to smile.

-The lady in the purple jacket.

-Can I help you at all?

-I'm just looking, thank you.

-OK. Can I help you at all?

Still struggling a little bit with the contacting customers,

I freeze up a little bit, but I'm getting better, I think.

-Cashmere is actually on offer at the moment.

-OK.

The men's is 69.90 and the women's are over there at 49.90.

-If you need any help, come and give us a shout.

-Thank you.

I think the whole family are going to go away from here having learnt so much.

It is full on! This is full on!

And my girls think they work hard sometimes.

They are very insular, they don't get out of their own environment enough

and they've forgotten what the real world is like.

I mean, there are so many people coming through this store

and yet they still keep a happy, smiling face on the whole time.

I just think it has been brilliant.

Seeing how successful retail works

has shown Adele that when the shop is at its busiest,

she needs all her key staff to be working

even at the weekends.

I think Adele, in a completely bonkers way,

has been running the whole business

in a way that is comfortable for the staff rather than in a way that is good for the business.

-Have you got Bo Peep?

-We do have Bo Peep.

Right. So if I have a look at Bo people and the Penguin.

Of course you should have your best staff working when it is busiest.

The fact that she hasn't imposed that on them is obviously something I need to tackle.

Her family have got to somehow regain some personal time and that

will be much aided by the fact that they don't all have to be there all the time

covering all the shifts and all of them always

having to work the weekend. It is just silly.

Joy, are you there?

Are you able to come over?

I need Adele to confront her staff

and put in place a whole new way of working.

Without this, the business and, more importantly, Adele herself will suffer.

Now, if you want this to be a lean, mean fighting machine

you are going to have to change a few of your working practices.

I personally do not think I should be involved in that at all

because it will cause much more resentment.

Everyone loves and trusts you, which is why they work for you.

So it has to come from you,

but you understand that there is good business reasons

that I've given you for why you need to make changes. Yes?

That this isn't a knee-jerk reaction,

it's not from looking at a list of people

and saying, "There's too many people for that number of hours," none of that.

-I'm just saying to you that you've, you know, come on. Yeah?

-Hmm.

'I know it's not going to be popular,

'and I'm not feeling particularly good at the moment.'

And I know this is going to be a bitter pill from this afternoon so,

yeah, not looking forward to it.

As you are all aware, there have been loads and loads of challenges

for Props 'n' Frocks.

If you look at our business UK-wide, we already know that there are

many shops that are closing down or have downsized all over the country.

I need to push the company forward and in a really good direction.

Changes are never easy, and sometimes they can be painful.

The shop is open seven days a week,

and we need professional, experienced staff

to help us cover those seven days a week.

Now, I am expecting people to work one weekend in four...

..with two days off in the week, in lieu.

I know it's not going to be popular,

but by looking after a few of you

it's put an additional workload on to others.

Has anyone got any questions?

No?

OK, I'm going to put you on the spot, guys. Do you need to think about it?

I'll do it.

Thank you, Chris, thank you.

Aye, if it means keeping our job I suppose we'll have to.

This really is a massive step forwards.

I know the staff will find it difficult at first, but it IS for the greater good.

It's going to be really hard for me,

but to give up my weekends it'll be really hard.

I don't know how I'm going to sort it out really, but...we'll just see.

Think she needs us to support her as much as we can, which...

I've only worked here a few years but I love my job, so...

How painful is all the change that's afoot here?

I think it was a big thing was the Sunday,

it's just if there's a rota and you really need that Sunday off

and you just can't swap it with anybody and then you just think,

and I know I will think, "Is this worth it?"

Everyone has shift patterns, whether you're working in a supermarket

or whether you're working you know, Harrods. I don't expect everyone to like it,

I just expect you either to get on with it or not.

She's not doing this as a personal attack, she's doing this to make sure the business survives.

'I think the girls took it reasonably well.

'I was looking at their faces and it was...'

They all looked quite sad and very serious.

And I wasn't expecting to get a yes.

-Thanks a lot.

-Thanks, bye.

I'm not going to be sitting there thinking, "How many staff will I have at the end of next week?"

Because I don't think that is the case.

Asking the staff to work shifts is only the first stage in getting Adele to step back.

Now she needs to make time for herself,

so I've insisted that she doesn't come into work for a few days.

I know she'll struggle with it, but it's time for Reese and Ellis to show they can manage.

-I've just broke my nail.

-Oh, no.

-Yeah.

Well, that's next week's day off sorted.

With Adele out of the way, Reese and Ellis are heading to London

for a business opportunity they think could be too good to miss.

-We must be nearly there now, mustn't we?

-Well, no.

The Great Gorilla Run is an annual event frequented by thousands of people who love dressing up.

So it's a brilliant chance to do some targeted marketing.

I'm the fairy gorilla.

-Mr Gorilla!

-It's great, isn't it?

Do you want to take a cape to wear?

You wear it, for you to wear. OK?

Excuse me, want a cape?

The capes are going down really well.

As well as potential customers,

Reese and Ellis are following up on a tip-off they've had

which could lead to a big order.

-Hiya.

-Hi.

-Hello, are you Gillian?

-Yes, I am.

Hello, I'm Reese, this is Ellis. We're from Props 'n' Frocks - it's a fancy-dress shop in Essex.

Yeah, I've seen these red capes around. People are wearing them.

That's us. We've been handing them out. We've heard that you're looking

-for a new supplier of the gorilla costumes.

-Right.

Could arrange to come and see you and tell you

-what we could do for you?

-Well, I'm in Primrose Hill in north London.

-OK, so not too far away.

-Speak to you soon.

Having been allowed to step out from their mother's shadow,

the siblings have really performed.

I think it shows they have the ambition the business needs.

The capes were amazing. We could not have imagined the impact that they had.

People were saying, "Oh, can I have one, can I have one?"

Eventually I think we had about 50, 60 out there.

There's about 50, 60 people now that know about us that didn't know about us before

so, potentially, that's 50 new customers.

Are you really struggling?

You are, aren't you?

I normally would have some communication.

I think time off is incredibly important

because when you have a little bit of distance,

you get clarity, and if you're always right up here to the problem,

then it's very hard to make sense of it.

I mean, it sounds like she's worked seven days a week since she was about 16.

It's been great spending a bit of time with Mike, my partner.

We never ever see each other. I mean, we might say hello in the morning.

By the time I get home it's dark, have a shower, go to bed,

so this has been lovely.

I think that I have looked upon the business as another child,

and other parts of my life

have definitely taken a bit of a knock because of that.

'The temptation to pick the phone up has been rather strong.

'I appreciate I need to take a step back.

'I've got to give the kids a chance to be their own boss, to make decisions.'

-So, the same time next week, then?

-SHE LAUGHS

And after some time away, has the place fallen to pieces?

Well, I'm back!

What's happened?

'My first impressions, everything looks tidy, having a wander,

'nothing that is out of place.'

First of all, I'm actually going to see if everyone read the notes that I left.

And, actually, they have.

Looking at the book, the world did not collapse without Adele. Which is brilliant.

Not only have they followed instructions,

but in Adele's absence, the kids have also made a bit of a dent in the stock problem.

So, Reese, what happened at the front?

Cos it looked to me like it was quite a busy day in the shop yesterday.

It was, it was busy in the shop.

We had a customer come in for ex-hire,

and she bought 11 ex-hire costumes,

which were a lot of the Victorian costumes that are quite bulky

and take up a lot of space, and we had checked, and they've not been out for two years.

-So...

-And it was double of what it was to hire, and it's not been out, so it's gone.

Taking a deep breath, and trying to think for the greater good.

It's all good.

As hard as that is, because I love all my costumes and I've got a story

about every single one of them,

-so not even to be able to say goodbye to them.

-Oh, my God!

-That is ridiculous!

-I know.

If you've got more affection towards a costume

than you've got for your own family, then you've got serious issues.

-I have got serious issues.

-Your friends are your costumes.

Yeah, but she's got 5,000 members of family!

With Halloween fast approaching, Karl and his team are back to overhaul this scatterbrain space.

New signage, new layout,

and, of course, a better way to display the stock.

It's a great way to present clearance products in a way

which is easy for the customer to shop.

And there's no reason why the displays shouldn't be the same high quality as in a boutique.

Just cos it's fancy dress doesn't mean the customer wants to look

less convincing when they're wearing the outfit for themselves.

'But bringing the shop up to scratch won't be enough on its own.

'I need the family to put all their efforts into how we fill it with new customers, too.'

We're going to put on a big event, with people who may be able to use you,

so I'm thinking nightclub owners, party...

People who hold parties, anyone who you could market to.

I'd like to get them into the shop

and then have you guys show your expertise at what you do so well,

which is dress them up.

Could we do a catwalk?

I love that idea, I really do. So all up for this one final push?

-One final push, yeah!

-It's going to be the biggest push.

-Good.

-Yeah.

But as the big day gets closer, so the stress levels go up.

There's a lot of stress going on, I feel sick

that it's all going to go tits up and it'll all backfire and no one will turn up.

Right, OK, we've been trying to do this meeting for about two hours.

Because really I've got to get... I am losing the will to live here.

Oh, my God.

Need to think about the leaflets handing out, the games that we could do and music -

they're the key things.

We've put 110% into it, so if it does fail

it's going to be a bit of a kick in the teeth.

My poor brain can't take any more.

This is not a woman in control of anything at the moment.

This all has to be done today.

-ALL:

-Oh, no!

'After a monumental week for the Wisemans,

'I'm back to see just how much they've managed to dress this business up.'

A-ha! The first sign of the changes

that I'm expecting to find inside.

It looks great - really bright, really appealing.

A fancy-dress shop.

I think Alex is going to be amazed by the transformation,

and I can imagine what she's going to say in my head.

So much better. It's immediately obvious where you have to go.

I think she's going to be wowed over by it. I hope she is, anyway.

Oh, look at this! Gosh, that's fab, mannequins.

'The vibrant signage leads the customer to the shop front,

'which now has an exciting and enticing window display.'

I love being able to see into the store,

I think it makes a huge difference.

It makes you very excited about walking in, and, um,

already looking forward to spending some money.

'Thankfully, it no longer looks like a sex shop in Amsterdam.

'A bright new logo has brought the front to life.'

Hello!

Oh, my goodness!

MUSIC: "Thriller" by Michael Jackson

'The whole shop has been transformed -

'where once there was clutter, now colour-coded themed rooms make things clear for the customers.'

-It does feel less overwhelming.

-Definitely.

'Instead of over-stocked shelves, stock has been pared back

'and displays have been used to really sell the costumes.'

It does make a huge difference seeing them out of a packet, doesn't it, actually?

-We sold, didn't we, one costume that we hadn't sold for two years and we sold three in one day.

-No!

'New changing rooms have been fitted

'to encourage customers to try things on. This is, after all, a dressing-up business.'

Oh, my goodness, it looks fantastic!

-It's so inviting, carpet.

-Don't I love it!

'And there's a large clearance area to allow the family to sell the unwanted stock off cheaply.'

It's surprising how people can go straight in and focus on that area.

-Yeah.

-And it's made, I think, people's choices so much easier, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

'On the whole, it feels fun and full of character.'

Chief merchandiser now is Ellis, who...

-If you'd ever believe it.

-Darling!

I done all this, if you can believe it.

-I know. I can't believe it, actually.

-LAUGHTER

-He's changed, hasn't he? He actually approaches customers now.

-Yeah.

We actually think he's been taken away by aliens and replaced.

Tonight, the shop will be full of guests invited to mark the relaunch of the business,

which gives all of us a chance to road-test the new changing rooms.

The best changing rooms in Essex. Yeah!

Oh, God. Makes my eyes water!

Ta-da!

Joining the family for the relaunch is a guest list

of Essex party people -

everyone from venue managers, party planners, event coordinators and theatre groups,

the great and the good who might want to bring their business here.

I would like to say, first of all, thank you to every single person

that has bent over backwards through this last couple of weeks of complete chaos.

We couldn't have done it without you,

and I cannot thank you all enough for that so thank you very, very much.

Thank you ever so much for coming, everybody. I declare the new Props 'n' Frocks open.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

With press and photographers here too, I'm in no doubt it'll hugely up the shop's profile.

Now the family need to get their business heads on.

Big smiles, really loads of fun. We're going to get some music playing.

They've organised a catwalk show to really bring their stock to life.

The invited party professionals seem to be impressed.

-Do you like our changing rooms?

-Yeah, really good.

-They look good, eh?

It's modern and really nice.

And I think it looks really great.

There aren't many fancy-dress shops in the area that have such a fantastic selection of stock,

so I'll definitely be using the shop in the future.

The atmosphere's quite warm and the decor, as well,

with the way the costumes have been presented, it's quite lovely.

Do you like the shop reorganisation?

It's beautiful, yeah. It's lovely, nice.

It's more spacious. Yeah, there's... It looks like there's more in it.

Obviously a great opportunity to see what's available,

but I think from a promotional point of view, I think they've done really well.

The event has given the business a strong local presence.

I feel like I'm leaving them in a much better state than I found them.

They just need to stick to the lessons they've learnt along the way.

-The important things are, you've got to keep your stock buying under control.

-Yes.

Make sure you have some time off, allow your kids some room to breath and develop.

-Yes.

-Because they are so bloody good already -

imagine what they will be when they're forced to take on more responsibility.

Yeah, definitely.

We can't thank you enough, can we? No.

There's been a couple of things that have been difficult to take,

but we have taken them on board and we've dealt with them and I think

we're still learning. Not everything's fixed just like that.

We are definitely going along the right road

and I'm so pleased that the whole family are going along the same road together

which is, for once, you know, it's just fantastic.

Two-and-a-half months later, how IS Props 'n' Frocks faring?

I think I'm three-quarters of the way to being cured.

She'll never be cured thoroughly.

I might not be completely cured, I'm 100% better than I was.

The family now keep £30,000 less stock than they did,

which is a huge step forwards.

As I could see how things have more space, they're displayed better,

we actually sell more stuff - that's the lesson, isn't it?

And Adele has managed to find time for herself away from the business.

When I'm not working in the shop, I actually do feel that you two can get on and cope with most problems.

I don't... I don't feel now that I need to be here.

Adele's a lot more chilled now at work,

so we can spend more time with her as my mum, not just a boss.

I think having some time for me

has made me a better person, a better mum, a better daughter,

a better grandparent, because now I actually have some time and I've got some time to be...

You know, I can play with my grandkids, I can go out shopping with my daughter,

and I don't feel that I can't do that cos I'm working.

It is having, like, a second chance of doing all the bonding again,

and it's special.

Got her back.

It's giving me my life back, which has been fantastic,

I really have to say. And hopefully it's given me...

It's given my family ME back,

rather than me being so engrossed in this shop the whole time.

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