Hear from Sophie Wong on how she left Corporate to start up her own Retail Loss Prevention Consultancy

Starting a retail loss prevention consultancy demands the same qualities that make a good loss prevention leader: curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to solve complex problems.

In this episode of the Sell More and Lose Less podcast, Colin Peacock speaks with Sophie Wong, who spent years leading loss prevention at Coles in Australia before launching Positively Powered, a consultancy focused on helping retailers transform loss into profit.

Sophie shares what drove the decision, what the first year has taught her, and what she would tell her former corporate self. The conversation explores why loss prevention teams cannot solve shrink alone and why the issue belongs on the C-suite agenda. Sophie argues that cross-functional collaboration across technology, operations, HR, supply chain, and merchandise is the only way to tackle what is an increasingly complex set of challenges.

As ECR research into the habits of low-shrink retailers has consistently shown, senior management commitment is a prerequisite for meaningful results. Sophie also offers a practical guide for anyone considering going independent: defining a unique selling proposition, managing finances, building a network, and staying current with fast-moving retail technology.

Starting a retail loss prevention consultancy: lessons from going solo

Introduction

COLIN:

Hello and welcome to the ECR Retail Loss Sell More and Lose Less podcast series. My name is Colin Peacock. I’ve worked in the retail and FMCG business for more than 40 years, working on the dark side of retail, on retail loss at every point in the supply chain. Let me first of all say hello, Sophie.

SOPHIE:

Hi, Colin. How are you?

COLIN:

Very good. I think it’s our winter and your summer down there in Australia right now. We’ve known each other for quite a while, and recently you’ve taken a huge move. You’ve gone out of corporate and set up on your own. Huge move. Tell me a bit about it. What were the reasons you made that decision?

Why leave corporate?

SOPHIE:

I think it’s fair to say that 2025 will be a year I’m not going to forget in a hurry. I left corporate in January of this year, and when it came to deciding what to do next, obviously I could have continued on the corporate path. But I thought, what the heck, I’m going to bet on myself.

I figured if Coles, which was my last place of corporate employment, had a problem with loss, there was a good chance that other retailers might too. From my perspective, in this industry you have to love loss and be really curious about it, and enjoy solving complex problems. Luckily for me, I enjoy doing both.

I believed I could make a difference and help others. So in October I started a business called Positively Powered. It’s a retail loss consultancy all about helping retailers transform loss into profit. We also do a lot of work with leaders who work in loss prevention, as that’s a real passion of mine. It’s a very challenging role, as you know.

The good, the bad, and the ugly

COLIN:

I’ve seen that work firsthand, and it’s excellent guidance you offer. But stepping away from corporate life is really tough. I’m sure there are some good bits, but also some bad and some ugly. Can you take us through it?

SOPHIE:

I think the good is that when you go out on your own, you are so much more agile. I’ve enjoyed the liberties and freedoms that come with not being tied to a corporation. That ability to think more creatively has really been unleashed, which is positive. I’ve loved all the experiences I’ve been lucky enough to have over the last nine or ten months, and in particular being able to meet new people and immerse myself in different retail organisations I knew nothing about. For me, that’s a great thing because I love to learn.

The bad? There really hasn’t been any bad as such. It’s all been a learning curve.

The ugly would be that it doesn’t matter how many times I hear it or which retailer it’s coming from, it’s always painful when you hear how directly related loss and threatening situations are. When I hear stories about machete attacks or a team member being spat on or physically abused, it still hurts. That’s the ugly side of loss that all of us who work in this industry are desperate to address.

Building a consultancy from scratch

COLIN:

In terms of setting up, perhaps I could ask about building your own business. You’ve put together a website, newsletters, I see you on LinkedIn all the time. It can’t all be great. What are some of the watch-outs that other people might need to think about?

SOPHIE:

Definitely understand what your approach is. That starts with knowing your unique selling proposition. Once you know that, crafting the messaging and the structure behind it is really important.

For me, it was about helping retailers and leaders transform loss, but doing it through positive empowerment. In the world we work in, it can be negative. We deal with fraud and risk. But I wanted to highlight that we can also do it through empowering teams. It doesn’t mean we shy away from the hard conversations, but I wanted to focus on positivity and working hard, then using the results and performance of those programmes to shine a light on the good work teams are doing and generate momentum.

Once I had that proposition, it was about understanding where I fit in the market. Having a really clear strategy on who you are, what you’re famous for, and who your target market is. Once you’ve identified those things, it’s about how you reach those people.

For me, it actually started before digital. It was through networking and word of mouth. You’ve been a fantastic friend and colleague, introducing me to people I didn’t know, giving me access to your website and blog. LinkedIn is great for people in our world because almost everyone’s on it. And then the website was critical because that’s where you’re legitimised. Where people go to understand what kind of work you do, what services you offer, and who you’ve worked with.

COLIN:

It’s a scary place to be. Going out on your own. The consultants say you eat what you kill, which is a pretty crude way of saying it, but if you don’t get any gigs, it’s tough.

SOPHIE:

That would probably be the bad. Unlike a job where you know where your next paycheck is coming from, when you’re on your own you have to fend for yourself. You have to be the fisher because no one is going to feed you. But for me, it’s what drives me. That hunger, that passion, and it’s linked to purpose. What’s that saying? If you enjoy what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.

Lessons from corporate: what would you tell your old self?

COLIN:

You spent a lot of time in corporate. Now you’ve been outside for a while, are there things you’d take back to your old self? When you were sat in those big corporate roles leading huge teams, are there things you’d say do differently?

SOPHIE:

I’ve reflected on that a lot. My answer is really simple, and I should have known it at the time. The beauty of hindsight.

Never assume that people outside your direct loss team understand the context of the problems we’re trying to solve and the alignment and support required to help solve them. Loss is an ever-increasingly complex issue, and the loss team on their own cannot solve it.

In retail, we need the support of all functions: technology, human resources, safety, operations, innovation, corporate risk and compliance, merchandise, supply chain. Basically the whole organisation. If I had my time again, I would not assume everyone knew what the problem was or how big it was to solve. And then I’d align around a collective plan.

When I say collective, it’s for two reasons. One, we have to spread the love. We can’t solve packaging on our own or supply chain on our own. We need our colleagues in those teams to lean in and support us. Gathering everyone around is really important.

The second reason is that loss is everyone’s responsibility. We need to take it away from being just the loss team’s or operations team’s responsibility. A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article on LinkedIn about why I believe loss should be on the table at the C-suite, and I mean it. Some recent stories highlight that if you don’t get loss under control, it can get the attention of the public, particularly if you’re a publicly listed company. All of us having a vested interest in solving this is really important.

COLIN:

That aligns very much with our research on the habits of low-shrink retailers. We discovered that senior management commitment had to be there, otherwise the choices the business makes can be counterproductive to a good shrink result.

Top tips for going independent

COLIN:

Just closing out, if I can. There are many others looking to take the plunge and start out on their own, who genuinely have new things to offer. What would be some top tips or advice, other than to reach out to you?

SOPHIE:

More than happy to talk to anyone. That would be my number one top tip. If you’re considering doing this, reach out and don’t be afraid to ask for advice. I’d never been a consultant before, so I made sure I spoke to consultants who did something similar and asked for three pearls of wisdom I could benefit from.

Then it’s about broadening that learning curve to all aspects of being a founder. Technology has moved a long way, and there’s a lot at our disposal that can really help, but you’ve got to understand how to harness it.

Learn about what’s relevant in the market right now. I learned very quickly that everything I did at Coles, whilst important and valuable, loss and in particular technology moves so rapidly that if you’re not keeping up with the latest trends and insights, how can you offer value? It’s learning constantly.

My other tips: really be sure this is what you want to do. It’s a big decision. Align it to your purpose and your values. If you wake up every day in corporate and don’t enjoy what you’re doing, it probably isn’t going to be for you. Whereas if you love solving complex problems and loss fascinates you, going out on your own could be a great way to extend your knowledge and experiences.

Make sure you’re considering your personal financial situation. Walking away from a steady paycheck is a big decision. Forecast for it. Understand how long you can go before you need to start earning income. What are the necessary costs to start up? Whether it’s your business name, tax and company setup, marketing costs. Run as lean as you can, but equally you have to invest so people know who you are and what you can do.

And my last point: be really crystal clear on your service offering or product. There are a lot of people out there who can help in this space. Be clear on your unique selling proposition, how you differentiate yourself, and how you talk about it in a way that gets cut-through and drives a call to action for your target market to want to reach out.

Outro

COLIN:

That’s a step-by-step guide. Fantastic. Really helpful. Thank you so much for taking the time to share that. Long may your success carry on with Positively Powered. I’m sure people will look you up on LinkedIn at Sophie Wong. I look forward to seeing you next time you’re over here in the UK. Thank you very much and enjoy the rest of the day.

SOPHIE:

Thanks, Colin.

COLIN:

Well, that’s all we have time for this week. Thank you for joining us and thanks to all the ECR Retail Loss community for the sharing of their knowledge, their research, and latest learnings that ensure that we become truly a global platform for learning.

My name is Colin Peacock. This is the Sell More and Lose Less podcast. If you liked it, please subscribe so you automatically get all future episodes. And if you think your colleagues and friends might also like it, please ask them to follow ECR Retail Loss on LinkedIn and tune in to our next podcasts. If you didn’t like it, then let us know and we’ll try and fix it. Either way, see you next time. Thank you again.