Just a quick update

Hi Friends. I'm so sorry I haven't written in a long time. This week was killer, several long days and I didn't feel well for most of it. I was very congested and stuffy from allergies. Not to fear, Jason saved the day with a decongestant and the local pharmacy gave me some good meds that took care of the rest. How are you?


Let's see, I don't have too many thrilling and exciting stories to share with you as it was a already status quo week. We planned on spending three days in the Red Sea Mall and two in the Mall of Arabia. As those at work in retail know, every time you Have a well thought out plan, when it comes time to execute said plan, something comes up. In this case, it's a executive visit!


Yes, friends....retail is retail all around the world! Monday we have a visit from the Alshaya (that's company that runs our franchises in the middle east) Vice President of the home furnishings division, as well as Director of Operations (much like a RVP). Due to this we had to switch our training plans and work more on visuals and store standards. In case I didn't let you know, our Red Sea Mall Pottery Barn store haste biggest opportunity...so we ended up spending most of the week trying to get it into shape.


Other than that dear friends, my work week was full of coaching conversations about opening on time or ensuring that all customers were engaged with while they were in the store. We participated in detailed store walk throughs with the DM and store teams that created action plans to get the stores ready. Sunday is the deadline for stores to be mostly done with their lists and we are touring all 4 stores to check for completion, and help with some of the finer detail points.


Yesterday and today are off days! Yesterday I barely left the room...went to breakfast and dinner and left the room only to drop off my laundry. It was so nice to decompress in solitude. It's a tough weekend for me as two of my closest friends are both turning 30 and I will not be there to celebrate with them. Happy Birthday to Bryan and Trey...we will celebrate all of our special days when I return.


Today we are going to Albalad, or old town. It's the oldest neighborhood in Jeddah and there are lots of great old world shops and things to see. So I'll report on that later today. What about you? BigSaturday or weekend plans for you? I want to hear from you, so email me at jayliffejessup@wsgc.com and let me know what is up with you!


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