Three Services. Three Scales. One Focus.
Each Ironwood Lai service addresses a specific retail challenge — from a single shop review through to a multi-store growth plan. Choose the one that fits where you are now.
← Back to HomeOur Advisory Methodology
Brief & Scope
We start with a short conversation to understand your shop, your situation, and what you want to address. From this we agree on the right service and produce a written scope before any work begins.
Engage & Observe
Depending on the service, we visit your shop in person, facilitate a workshop, or conduct a structured advisory programme across multiple sites. All work is guided by clear objectives agreed at the start.
Deliver & Clarify
You receive a written output — a review summary, a strategy document, or an operations playbook. We follow up to clarify any points in the document and ensure you can act on it without further translation.
Store Layout & Range Review
A practical on-site visit that looks at how your shop floor is arranged and how the range is set out — flow, signage, category placement, and the small decisions that either help customers find what they came for or cause them to give up. We share clear, workable ideas based on what we actually observe rather than what a template suggests.
This service is particularly useful for shops that feel a bit settled in their ways and want a fresh perspective — or for owners who sense something is not quite right but cannot pinpoint exactly what.
What is included:
- On-site visit to your shop (Penang area)
- Observation of floor flow, category placement, and signage
- Written summary with a short list of workable ideas
- Brief follow-up call to clarify the summary
Typical process:
- 01. Initial call to understand the shop and agree the visit date
- 02. Half-day on-site visit and observation
- 03. Written summary delivered within five working days
- 04. Follow-up call to discuss and answer questions
Retail Strategy Workshop
A focused engagement that helps a retailer think clearly through their positioning, range plan, and seasonal calendar. We facilitate the thinking — asking useful questions, introducing useful frames — and then write up the outcomes in a plain summary document. The goal is that by the end, you have a clearer plan for the year ahead than you had going in.
Suited to shops that have been running for a while but have never stepped back to think through their direction as a deliberate exercise.
What is included:
- Discovery call prior to the workshop
- Full-day facilitated strategy workshop
- Strategy summary document (positioning, range plan, seasonal calendar)
- One follow-up session to review the summary
Typical process:
- 01. Booking and discovery call (approx. 45 mins)
- 02. Full-day workshop at your location or ours
- 03. Strategy summary delivered within one week
- 04. Follow-up session to finalise and clarify
Multi-Store Growth Roadmap
A wider advisory programme for small retail chains — typically two to five outlets — that are thinking about how to grow in a way that holds together. We look at consistency across stores, the logic of the range at a chain level, and what a sensible rollout plan looks like. The output includes both a roadmap and an operations playbook.
Built for established retailers who want to expand with care rather than speed — and who want their individual stores to feel like a coherent chain rather than separate shops under one name.
What is included:
- Site visits to each current outlet
- Range logic and consistency review across stores
- Written growth roadmap document
- Operations playbook for store managers
- Closing presentation to owner/leadership team
Typical timeline:
- Wk 1–2. Initial call, briefing, and site visit scheduling
- Wk 3–5. Site visits and range review across outlets
- Wk 6–7. Roadmap and playbook drafting
- Wk 8. Presentation and handover
Which Service Is Right for You?
This quick comparison helps you identify which engagement makes most sense for your situation.
| What you need | Layout & Range RM 620 |
Strategy Workshop RM 2,650 |
Growth Roadmap RM 4,500+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A fresh look at my shop floor | |||
| A plan for the year ahead | |||
| Range planning and seasonal calendar | |||
| Multi-outlet consistency review | |||
| Operations playbook for store managers | |||
| Best for: single shop | |||
| Best for: small chain (2–5 outlets) |
How We Hold Ourselves to Account
Client Confidentiality
We do not share client specifics between engagements. What we learn about your shop stays between us.
Written Scope Agreement
Every engagement begins with a clear written brief so both sides know exactly what is included before work starts.
Delivery on Time
Written outputs are delivered within agreed timeframes. If something changes, we communicate early rather than letting deadlines pass quietly.
Post-Delivery Clarification
We include a follow-up session with every service to ensure you can interpret and act on what we have delivered.
Proportionate Advice
We calibrate suggestions to what is realistic for independent Malaysian retailers — not the kind of overhaul that would require a large capital outlay.
Data Handling
Any documents or data you share with us during an engagement are handled carefully and not retained beyond what is needed for the work.
Clear Fees for Each Service
All prices in Ringgit Malaysia. No hidden charges. Travel costs disclosed at the proposal stage where applicable.
Store Layout & Range Review
- On-site visit
- Written summary of ideas
- Follow-up clarification call
Retail Strategy Workshop
- Discovery call
- Full-day facilitated workshop
- Strategy summary document
- Follow-up review session
Multi-Store Growth Roadmap
- Multi-site visits
- Growth roadmap document
- Operations playbook
- Closing presentation
Not Sure Which Service Fits?
Get in touch and we will talk through your situation briefly — no commitment required. We will point you toward the right option or tell you honestly if none of our services is the right fit.
Have a Conversation