RETAILING


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“The Smarter Living brochure has seen phenomenal results,” says Andr ew . “It looks like it has taken lots of market share for us.”


The brochure, which focused on the four pillars of smart living: security management, lighting control, power saving, and energy consumption, had an introductory money-offoff r, , which then linked back to online, as Andr ew confirms that 80% of sales for smart home pr oducts ar e made on the internet. “We have a scr een in the of fice showing the top selle rs on the website and it was in the top 15,” he says. “One of the highest T


ffer, which the We st Twitter Tw “We werWe


responses we’ve ever had was a competition for that brochur e.” Although this was a new category for Dyas, Andr ew says the r etailer was alr eady ahead of the curve when it came to security and safety e one of the first retailers to


nd safety


“We like to think of ourselves as a really responsible retailer . W


sell a gas alarm,” he explains. We


e like to think of ourse Weof fer We


a good, sensible range of safety products, including things like escape ladders. W e also work really closely with Spr ue’s Project Shout campaign for Carbon Monoxide.”


We e also wo


Creating a destination for shoppers


Another new addition is the Home Edit brochur e, which has seen the intr oduction of furniture and bedding ranges, as well as other decorative accessories. “W gap in our of r,ff


We saw a We fer,” Andrew explains.


The brochure, naturally,, hiy , highlights promotions and of fers on these ranges but, Andrew says this does not detract fr om the pr oposition, and the keen pricing is simply to get customers’ attention and of fer them an af fordable solution, rather than slashing prices for the sake of it. “Customers want deals – they’r e not silly but they want to feel they ar e getting value,” he says.


Explaining the continued diversification of Dyas’ offer Andr ew


continues: “W


constantly looking for new products and gaps in the market… W


We We


for a pr oduct or solution. We differ ent to the sheds – we create a different environment instore.” And, whilst new ranges onl y serve to enhance Dyas’ proposition, the 94-strong chain’s high str eet locations and small footprint mean that space is at a pr emium and every square metre has to work har d for We ar e really good at


list when they ar e lookin g We are


the group. “We


product densities because we don’t have a lot of space to play with”,


www.diyweek.net r,,


We are We want


to be a destination retailer for customers and we want to be on their


y..


says Andrew We.“ eWe planogram every stor e and nothing can go in unless it has a location.”


Wi ith that in mind and, considering the tech-savvy nature of customers looking for smart home solutions, Dyas took the decision to retail its ranges online only but makes great use of the rest of the store network in the retail group to get products out to customers. e hav“We have had trial stores with the smart home pr oducts in but, on the whole, we sell those ranges online,” Andrew explains. “W don’t want to disappoint anyone if they ar e looking for the product and we don’t have it in stock. W


With that in mind ith that in mind We explains. “We We


multi-channel shopping with click & collect across the entireRyman network. Customers can have items delivered to their home, a Dyas store of their choice, or any of the R stores, and that really works for us.” Dipping a toe into any new sector can be a risk but Andrew takes his buying r esponsibilities very seriously and


n stock. We ferofWe ff Ry


any of the Ryman Ry always takes a measured


appr oach when it comes to selecting new products acr oss all nine of the categories he manages. And, it seems to be a strategy that has paid dividends so far


r..


“I am very conscious products I buy,” h


of the y,,” he says. “It’s the


reputation of Dyas, as well as my own r eputation on the line, and I take pride in what I sell. I have r ejected a lot and some people might think I am being r eally picky but it’s important to me. I like to test products and give feedback. Sometimes I get people in the office, who are maybe more tech- minded than me, to take things home and try them too. I like to make sure these products are tested as if being used by a consumer


ff mer r,, without any


prior knowledge, and then I tell them to come back and tell me how they would improve it.”


9 FEBRUARY 2018 DIY WEEK 15


But, he loved being thrown in at the deep end and it’s a prime example of how the str ucture of Andr ew’s role at Dyas means he now has far greater control over the categories he manages and allows him to be more reactive and make decisions uickly. “I’m much more hands on here, which I like, and we move y.. I could meet a supplier


quickly y, y.


very quickly today


ery quickly. I could meet a supp oday, get it set up tomorrow and get it out in stores. The dynamic is ou get on with


completely dif ferent.You get on w it and make decisions here.” That’s


Yo That s not to say y y,, every product


Building consumer trust Andrew clearly likes


Andr ew lists turns out to be an instant winner but it is then about how the situation is handled fr om that point forward and making the time to r e-visit how the item was mer chandised, the timing of the launch or the price point it was r etailed at.


to do his


homework before listing products and is keen to build and uphold the view customers have of Dyas as a r eliable sour ce for quality and innovative products. He wants to offer UK consumers something new and dif fer ent but is also conscious that any bad product experience can damage the reputation of the Dyas brand. “Y


Yo


“If you’ve done your due diligence and you think it should sell but it doesn’t work, then you get rid of the stock and move on,” says Andrew. “You learn fr om it. I would look at r educing the price and also look at the copy that was used to sell the pr oduct to the customer . Does it need video information to communicate the benefits?”


Yo You have to bear in mind


that just because a customer hasn’t r eturned something, doesn’t mean they haven’t chucked it in the bin and will never walk into your stor e again. e’We’ve got to be careful.” Whilst he has plenty of experience in other categories, the jump into smart home took Andr ew out of his comfort zone and meant he had to swot up to ensur e he was making the right decisions.


We


“My background wasn’t smart tech, so I was learning when I took on this category first and I had to learn fast!”


The r elocation of Dyas’ head office from Leatherhead in Surrey to Wimbledon to join the otherWiimbledon to join the ot businesses within the r etail group has also pr oved beneficial to the teams working on site. In particular Andrew enjoys the open-plan of fice, which enables him to work closely with the other departments and plan the journey of his products and exactly how they will be pr esented in marketing material, as well as online. “The way the of fice is set up here is great. Everything is her e – the marketing and design team are just acr oss from me, so we can all work together. That’s what I love.”


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