Kylie Quirke on building ReStore for the people who run retail

Ask Kylie Quirke what ReStore for Retail is for and she won’t start with the technology. She starts with people.

• Store teams who want to know what good looks like today.

• Area managers who need to trust what’s happening in stores they can’t visit.

• Executives who are tired of chasing five stores for an answer when sales dip.

A retailer first

Kylie leads the ReStore for Retail team, and the team shares a starting point. They’ve all worked in retail. They know what it feels like when a campaign lands in store and nobody’s sure who’s doing what.

Kylie has held senior roles at Australian and international retailers, including Head of Retail at Tigerlily and Oroton, General Manager at GAP and National Operations Manager at Glassons. She has also consulted to many other retailers and is a trusted retail expert. Kylie’s deep retail experience is why ReStore is distinct from our retail technology brands in its focus on supporting retailers to solve practical problems, rather than just releasing clever features.

Support for every level of retail

The mission Kylie brought to ReStore is simple. Support individuals at all levels of retail to be successful.

‘All levels’ is deliberate. A lot of retail software is aimed at the support office and leaves out the people serving customers. ReStore is built for both, and everyone in between.

For store teams, that means clear guidelines and a sense of being part of the wider business. They can see what other stores are doing and feel connected to the brand. At JD Sports, store teams like to get competitive on their scores.

For decision-makers, it means delegating accountability with confidence. When sales dip, a manager can pull up the weekly reports and the non-financial data behind the number. No SWAT team required.

“Great retail execution doesn’t happen from the support office alone. It happens when every person, from the shop floor to regional leaders and executives have the clarity, information and tools they need to do their job well. If we can make someone’s day easier, remove unnecessary work and give them more time to focus on the customer, then we’re doing our job.”

A teammate in your pocket

Kylie often describes ReStore as a teammate in your pocket.

Take two runners of equal speed. The one wearing spikes wins, because they have a tool backing them up. That’s the job ReStore does for a retail team. It doesn’t replace people. A human with the right tool beats either one alone.

Why the human side of retail still matters

Kylie believes the human experience is what sets great retail apart, and customers are craving it again. But a great store experience alone isn’t enough. Operations have to be tight and productive so teams can actually be on the floor with customers.

That’s where ReStore comes in. It takes on the admin, the chasing and the guesswork, so there’s more time for what retail teams do best and more selling.

Built around the retailer

ReStore isn’t an off-the-shelf product, and Kylie doesn’t want it to be. The team acts on client feedback, so the roadmap follows what retailers ask for. In fact, many of ReStore’s core use cases started as client requests.

Each brand’s own DNA is built into the platform, from its standards to its guidelines. That means the AI visual intelligence reads store photos against what good looks like for that brand, not a generic checklist. And it’s easy to pick up, so store teams need minimal training.

Retail realists with a positive outlook

The values Kylie sets for the team are empathetic, practical, consultative, collaborative and positive. The team understands because they’ve been there. They focus on solving real problems and share what they know openly.

They’re also retail realists. They balance innovation with operational reality and don’t sugarcoat the challenges. But they hold a firm belief that retail has a strong future, and they’re proud to be part of building it.

What’s next

Retail is moving beyond collecting data to using intelligence. The aim is to understand what’s happening, prioritise what matters and act faster. AI gives retailers the chance to remove administration, manage by exception and give teams more time for customers, people and commercial performance.

For ReStore, the future is pairing deep retail experience with intelligent technology. Through ReStore’s intelligent mobile retail execution app, R.ai, brands can see what’s happening across their stores, understand where attention is needed and know what to do next. Less chasing, more productive teams and more selling.