the BIG interview
“When the guys commission a job, or are doing a cinema room, and doing the job or the training, dealing with the customers who enjoy what we enjoy, it’s good fun.”
‘Staff are proud to bring customers here’ Having the capacity to do something on the scale of Avensys’ smart offering is not universal, but plenty can be done on a more traditional shop floor, Markus believes. He explains: “Because we’ve been doing
custom install since we started really, I’d got tired of standing in the shop saying, ‘Imagine this is your bedroom…’ I got so bored of that, I just wanted an area where I could demonstrate these products to customers, have a dedicated cinema room, also taking that commodity sale out of it, so really the model of TV isn’t so important, it’s, ‘I like that, I want it in my house’. “Previously, the way we did it in our old shop
where we couldn’t have the Smart Home, is to have one wall panel. You could put a TV bracket, some audio, put a fireplace underneath it, and you could demonstrate that as a solution at whatever price point. You can do it on a smaller footprint. I think now that’s becoming more mainstream, more manufacturers are coming up with smaller displays. “With the blinds we have in the smart home,
that’s battery then mains connected, but you can get versions that are purely battery powered and become a retro fit and you don’t need the mains connection, so if a customer wants remote control they can still have that. Four screws, done. There is a scalable difference in the smart home products you can sell. Even in the shop, you could put a couple of blinds in the windows and drop them down as a demo. “Custom installation has been growing in
recent years, so the retailers that have looked at it more have gained an advantage from that.” The move to the current site, two years ago, has also led to some unexpected benefits. “We used to have a Panasonic store, a multibrand store, a commercial unit, and a warehouse,” Markus says. “So it was spread out, stock was
Among the branded areas in the downstairs retail space is a functioning suite of Miele appliances, allowing cooking demonstrations to be held in store
stored in different places. The change was right. It’s a much better working environment now, being next to your colleagues, stock is all together, everyone can get together, the atmosphere and socialising is great. There’s really good team spirit. “It brought the company closer together.
Retail can talk to Commercial – it’s amazing how much business can go between them. And they’re proud to bring customers here, they’re excited to bring them here and show them the facilities. I wouldn’t have believed the uplift in staff morale and wanting to bring customers in would come from the building move.” He continues: “In this industry, you learn something new every day. I don’t care how experienced you are. Customers come in here and they notice the difference when they speak to one of the guys, compared to other retailers, national retailers, to get the truth told to them or an answer to a mounting solution. “Going into some shops, it’s no wonder
customers get so confused. Some of the big sheds, it’s just not good information or knowledge. “The challenge for any independent consumer
electronics retailer is how do you let people know you’re here. We still get customers coming
in saying, ‘Oh I didn’t realise you were here’. Sometimes it’s simple things, we occasionally get a Saturday boy just to wander down towards town with an A board on him, and you’ll get footfall from that. But it is a challenge.” The industry remains competitive, and the
impression is not of a business willing to rest on its laurels. “You still have to be competitive, and do deals,” Markus says. “You don’t get many customers who come in, you say, ‘That’s 30 grand,’ and they say ‘Great, can you start next week’. So you’ve still got to do deals, do good package prices. So good price, not the cheapest, not the most expensive, good value for money, good service, installation, handover training, and a happy customer at the end of it.” He adds: “We’ve invested a lot of money,
and it’s been a lot of hard work. But last year we grew the business, and this year we’re forecasting to grow again. In the two years of this site being operational, we’ll have just about doubled the size of the business.” The success is direct reward for the approach.
“You have to innovate, to do things differently,” Markus says. Looking at the Smart Home and the future plans for the company, it is very hard to disagree.
The Smart Home includes security and lighting products, as well as AV and appliances, to show consumers to what extent they can control their environmetnt 12 |
www.innovativeelectricalretailing.co.uk October 2016
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