Some bold feng shui ideas to help
Rona Inc. to restructure its home improvement business in Canada among keen
competition from the major US companies like the Home Depot, Lowes and even
Wal-Mart
Based on an
article in the Toronto Star dated June 28, 2013, they are reporting that Rona
Inc. will close eleven (11) unprofitable stores in two provinces, both Ontario
and BC; and cut more than 325 administration jobs as part of its ongoing cost
cutting and restructuring efforts. It is come as no surprise to me because Rona
has been facing cut-throat competition from the major US home improvement
companies like the Home Depot and Lowes.
I believe in
order for Rona Inc. to survive in this market, they really have to think
outside the box in order to gain some advantages from both the Home Depot and
Lowes as they are almost operating identically both in the management style and
store layout; the only difference is the associates of these two companies are
wearing different colors aprons! So, here is some of my feng shui advice to
Robert Sawyer, Rona’s president and CEO of how to turn things around and right
the ship based on the Xuan Kong Flying Star feng shui ideas:
1. Change the color of the logo – For discussion purpose, I will use
the date: July 20, 1960 when the Rona name was adopted to calculate the
birth element using the Four Pillars Destiny or BaZi system. It turns out that
the birth element is yin earth, and the auspicious element is earth and
fire. Therefore, we can see that the current design of Rona’s logo which is
white letters on black or blue background is not auspicious in feng shui terms.
My suggestion is to change the logo to red letters and yellow or brown
background.
2. Go with the
“flow” – According to the Xuan Kong Flying Star feng shui, we are now in
Luck Period Eight (2004 – 2023) which is represents by the number 8 star and that
means the world is affected by the characteristics of this star. For example,
since the number 8 star is associated with the operating of our hands instead
of our month as in Luck Period Seven (1984 -2003), we can see the changing of
our behavior (customers) from talking on the cell phone to texting with the
smart phones and I-Pads. This really makes me wonder if Steve Jobs is a feng
shui follower! Anyway, I will list below some major trends and the profitable
types of business in Period Eight (2004-2023):
- Anti-traditional
innovative products; new scale business; emerging religious gathering ideas; green environment doctrine; new concepts or products that will reduce
the process of time and space;
stunts; house rental business; message and natural healings services; products
relate to the children; ceramics
products; pharmaceutical technology using natural materials and novel gene.
- Transportation; communication
equipment; timber business; building industry; aviation; paper
industry; cotton related business; landscaping;
building materials; marriage agency;
furniture shop, fast food.
From the above, I believe any
smart CEO of the home improvement business shall be able to pick up what is
important and decide on the strategy of how to turn their companies to be successful
in Luck Period Eight!
3. Redesign the layout of the store – In feng shui, we all understands the
importance of the five elements. If we want to achieve auspicious results both
in our home and business, it is vital that we have to achieve a balanced state of
the five elements. Simply put the five elements must be compliment to each
other (forming a generating cycle) instead of destroying each other (forming a
destructive cycle) within the walls of the building. This is very critical for
stores that are selling building improvement materials to have an auspicious
and profitable setting which contain all products that are associated with the
five elements. For example, the landscaping materials are related to the earth
element, the hardware products are related to the metal element and the
plumbing products are related to the water element etc. My suggestion is to
design the store based on the Later Heaven Ba Gua. For example, the center will be
fitted with earth element colors design and allocate specifically for the
management office and customer service area. Based on this idea, I have designed
the “ideal” layout for a big-box home improvement materials retail store and
will happy to share it with any CEO of the home improvement products companies
who is interested.
4.
Follow the trend (Luck Year Period in
feng shui) – In order for a business to be successful, the management must
have the ability to identify the places or market where its business can
flourish.
By applying the Xuan Kong Flying
Star feng shui’s “zhen shen”, “ling shen” and “zhao shen” concept, we
can actually identify the prosperous sectors based on the Luck Year Period. In
Period Eight (2004 -2023), the “zhen shen”
is located at the NE; the “ling shen”
is located at the SW and the “zhao shen”
is located at the west sector. In principle, it is good feng shui that the “ling shen” and “zhao shen” sector are
facing water. If we look at the map of Canada, we can see that Ontario has the
great lakes on the SW and British Columbia is facing the Pacific Ocean at the
west. That means if any business who want to be successful in Period Eight,
they shall concentrate on the market in Ontario and British Columbia. Therefore,
I believe it is not a good business decision for Rona to cut eleven (11) stores
both in Ontario and BC!
5.
Heaven Luck, Land Luck and Man Luck – Under
the authentic Chinese feng shui, in order for a business to be successful, it
must include three components, namely the Heaven Luck, Land Luck and the Man
Luck.
After decided on the way to
conduct its business, the layout of the store and identified the market trend
based on the above captioned; the company has basically grasp hold two of the
successful components in feng shui which are the Heaven Luck and Land Luck. The
last component which is also very important is the Man Luck which is the customers.
Just like any other retails business, in order to be successful, it is
important that the company must have well trained and experienced staffs,
excellent customer service and innovative products to satisfy the customer
needs.
6. Good feng shui of the head office – There are many big corporations in the past
have used feng shui to turn the business around. One of the most prominent examples
is Coca Cola Ltd. In 2000, they have appointed a famous feng shui master in
Hong Kong to improve the feng shui of their head office, and by following the
advice from the masters, they have turn their business around and become the
world number one brand in 2007. Therefore, I believe Rona shall also consider
hiring a capable and seasoned feng shui consultant who are specialized in
authentic Chinese feng shui to check the feng shui of the head office and make
sure everything are good for Luck Period Eight (2004 – 2023).
