Robert Mettler, Chairman and CEO of Macy's West. Newest RMI Advisory Board member
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Robert Mettler, Chairman and CEO of Macy's West, is the newest business leader to become a member of the RMI Advisory Board. Mettler's fascination of retail began in 1962 during his first summer job, a retail position that made him realize he had the capability to "impact the business almost immediately". Perhaps this direct influence is what has kept Mettler deeply involved and active in the industry as a distinguished and respected leader in retail forty years later.
Born and raised in New Haven, Connecticut, Mettler received his undergraduate education at the University of Virginia with a degree in economics. Though he planned to go to Harvard to get his JD and MBA, he spent the next eighteen years in Boston working retail, following his brother's advice on taking his time to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. When the time was right, Mettler moved to Texas, where he was the CEO of a division of Joske's for twenty-five years. Mettler then became the CEO of Robinson's May Company in southern California, followed by a position at Sears, as President of Merchandising-Full-Line Stores for nine years. In 2000, Mettler left Sears and joined Macy's West, a division of Federated Department Stores, to serve as President and COO. In June 2002, he was promoted to his current position as CEO.
Macy's appeal for Mettler, accompanying the quality people, was its size and strong position in a highly competitive market. He felt Macy's could leverage its size and do things that a smaller business couldn't. Given such, Mettler sees Macy's as having enormous economies of scale. Mettler saw that with the right price points and mix of goods within the stores, Macy's was capable to go after the ever-changing fashion business. One of Mettler's mantras is "more new, more often." As a quality fashion store, the company can "entice customers to have a specific reason to shop with Macy's."
What is a typical day for a CEO? Mettler starts off his morning by thinking of the day and what he wants to accomplish. The first few hours of the day are allotted to himself, accomplishing tasks he deems most important, whether it is contacting the east coast, doing paperwork, or making phone calls; these few hours allow him the time to do what he needs to do. The rest of the day is made up of meetings. In a single day, Mettler can attend a handful of meetings dealing with sales projections, inventory levels, families of business, and more. Mettler spends an average of a day or two a week, visiting Macy's stores. With over 120 locations in the eight western states and Guam, Mettler clearly remains busy visiting store locations.
As for those interested in Mettler's industry, he feels strongly: "it's a fabulous career and it's multi-faceted." He noted that it is not a career based on a prescribed tenure and that individual abilities count. Although the rewards are great, Mettler also pointed out that it's a demanding career as he stressed that people should be careful in maintaining a balance of work and life. He believes that, in the American business society, it is difficult to walk away from a nine-to-five job because the work is all encompassing. When addressing students in particular, he stresses they be careful in not overwhelming themselves with work.
What is Mettler's vision for Macy's West? He believes that Macy's needs to "operate differently than we do today". He wants the company to change more rapidly at a pace with the consumer and to have a new way of thinking about the customer. Mettler would like Macy's to embrace the idea of selling a product that goes beyond just classification. His vision for Macy's: "more unique products that the customer can't find elsewhere" as well as "a staff that is so interested in serving the customer that a customer would have no reason to go anyplace else." Mettler realizes that one person's point of view can't drive a business, but that people need to think more cross functionally and realize that they are all there to support one another. Mettler stated "when people work towards the same goal, it is amazing what you can accomplish."
This awareness of the impact on the business is what embodies Mettler as an example of the type of passion, hard work, leadership and vision that create the retail industry. The Retail Management Institute is fortunate to have Robert Mettler be a part of the Advisory Board.
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