What a roller coaster of a year it was in retail! While some retailers experienced record-breaking sales in 2008, others got badly singed by the flames of the world-wide financial meltdown. In such an unpredictable market, it pays to explore every avenue possible to both save money and keep customers coming back.

“We’re off to a great start in 2009,” says Carlos Ruzza, Systems and Facilities Manager for Wear Else, a women’s clothing retailer with four retail stores, a head office and a warehouse in Vancouver, “but in this economic climate it only makes sense to save money everywhere you can. For us, that meant really looking at our facilities and seeing what we could change to make them run more efficiently – and, of course, cost less.”

Established in 1977 and now a Vancouver fashion institution, Wear Else was bought by Zahra Mamdani and her family in October 2007. With new owners came a new commitment to environmental sustainability and the company even wrote the idea of conserving energy – as well as reducing waste and encouraging sustainable packaging – into its corporate mission. “We wanted to bring new vitality to the brand,” says Zahra, “to make our stores hipper and fresher, and although it was rocky for a while, we are now bringing in a demographic that Wear Else had lost over time. But in addition to thinking about our brand, we’ve also taken some time to look at our values and how environmentally conscious we are. It’s not just about the bottom line.”

Until the company signed up for a free BC Hydro energy walkthrough last fall, however, no-one there had calculated exactly how much good doing the right thing for the environment could also do for the profit margin – and ultimately better customer service.

“I really was absolutely shocked by the numbers the BC Hydro representative gave me,” says Carlos. “After he and I spent a day walking through all of our buildings, he gave me an estimate that showed we could save $9,100 a year at our 4th Street store alone, just through lighting upgrades and a few other projects.”

The total estimated savings for all four Wear Else retail stores, plus the head office and warehouse, is a substantial $17,850 a year – and that does not include further long-term operational savings that will result from installing energy-efficient products that last far longer and require less maintenance. “It really was a day well spent,” says Carlos.

“I think people today are looking for value,” says Zahra, “and we need to deliver exceptional value to keep our customers coming back. It’s all about finding new ways to bring down the cost of service, so we can pass on what we save to our customers in some way. For us, that means providing extra perks like complimentary alterations and now our new complimentary stylist service where we help our customers put together complete looks, in their own homes. If your overall costs are too high, you just can’t do that.”

“Retail stores, especially clothing stores, offer some unique challenges,” says Christy Intihar, a program manager with BC Hydro’s Power Smart Program. “Good lighting is crucial: the merchandise has to look good and the customers have to be able to see the true colours of the clothes. Fortunately, the new energy-efficient lights available today are terrific – customers love them and retailers love them, because everything looks great. Our rep was able to show Carlos, in concrete terms, how much energy Wear Else could save, without sacrificing any of their ambiance.”

Now, Carlos is planning to follow up on BC Hydro’s recommendations, while also taking advantage of its Product Incentive Program (PIP) to help pay for the cost of the upgrades.  “I’m a computer systems guy really,” says Carlos, “not an expert in energy efficiency, so it was great to have access to BC Hydro’s kind of expertise. Their expert looked at our lighting, our heating, our thermostats, our doors – even our power bars – and showed me ways to save on energy that I had never even thought of. And he told us how we can reduce our upfront costs to upgrade or replace our existing equipment.”

Through PIP, BC Hydro business customers receive rebates for replacing non-energy efficient technologies with energy-efficient products. For retail stores like Wear Else, these products might include:

• Compact fluorescent light bulbs to replace old-fashioned incandescents.

CFLs might cost a little more upfront, but they use 75 per cent less energy and last up to 10 times longer – which means a single CFL can save up to $30 over its lifespan.

• Halogen infrareds or LEDs to replace traditional halogen track lights.

The new halogens and LEDs offer the same warm and attractive sparkle as traditional halogen track lights, but use far less power – 50 per cent less power with halogen infrareds and a phenomenal 90 per cent less power with LEDs (LEDs are, however, more expensive upfront.) Both also generate less heat than either incandescent or standard halogen lighting, which may help cut down on air conditioning costs.

• LED exit signs to replace exit signs with incandescents.

Most traditional exit signs are lit by two incandescent bulbs that draw 24 to 40 watts of power. LED exit signs, on the other hand, use just 1 to 3 watts of power, and they last much longer. Because exit signs have to be on all the time, traditional incandescents burn out extremely fast (in about 8,000 hours) – so most retailers are buying new bulbs and up on a ladder again in less than a year. LED exit signs last 100,000 hours, or more than 11 years.

Also eligible for BC Hydro’s PIP rebates are a range of non-lighting products, such as occupancy sensors to automatically turn off lights when washrooms are empty; programmable thermostats to make sure heating and air conditioning are automatically adjusted when the store is closed; and energy-efficient doors and windows to help keep out the cold in winter or heat in summer.

Many of these “are simple and inexpensive fixes,” says BC Hydro’s Christy Intihar, “but they really pay off in the long term. And with the PIP incentives, we’re helping to pay a part of your upfront costs, so your payback time for the initial investment is significantly reduced. And don’t forget, because energy-saving technologies like CFLs and LEDs last much longer than conventional technologies, your replacement and maintenance costs will also go down and you’ll continue to save money year after year.”

Wear Else’s Carlos Ruzza says he is certainly sold on the benefits of saving energy: “I even went home and changed to CFLs in my living room! We want to do well in business, but we know we have a responsibility to give back to the community as well – and that includes our environment. If everyone does a little bit, it’s good for us all.”

Go to Going Green for more information on sustainable retail