CIH/EURONICS: PAUL TYLER THE ERT INTERVIEW


The Andover warehouse and offices


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be a perfect fit for our members as computing products are a great incremental sale. But are Euronics dealers seen as a destination for a laptop? It certainly suits some retailers more than others, but we are trying different things in order to grow. I think we are much clearer now on what we want to be for our members, while at the same time respecting their individuality. If you look back at how some of these businesses started out they would look nothing like they do today, and that’s testament to how they keep their ear to the ground and evolve to remain relevant. All I want to do is accelerate that. I work on behalf of all our members and, having been selling to them for 30 years, I now feel very proud to represent them as a collective.


Q: What else is new in the past year or so? PT: We have just finished a trial of electronic price tickets in 20 stores and we’ve got another 54 that are taking them on. They are much more efficient – putting data from here into the EPOS systems and in turn updating the prices in real time in members’ showrooms. Last year we also introduced our own waste electrical disposal scheme. This evolved from a trial last January involving just a handful of members to a fully inclusive nationwide scheme. We take our sustainability obligations seriously as a buying group and we can now offer a comprehensive takeback scheme backed by a responsible compliance partner. The launch of our Evolution online marketplace


has probably been our biggest achievement within the last year. It’s a real game-changer for our members, giving them a real presence within their communities. Customers can go online and shop with their local Euronics dealer and get their item delivered the next day or, in some cases, the same day. We had a reliable website before with 650- 700 products but now we have well over 2,500. Since launch we’ve seen an increase in revenue on the website of 33 per cent, and not only that but it’s helping to generate footfall as well, which shows how Euronics is becoming a true omnichannel retailer. Our teams are doing a fantastic job behind the scenes to make the website the best it can be. All of our hard work is really coming together and starting to be recognised, like with the Which? award – we are extremely proud


The market is tough at the moment. I don’t know how an independent retailer survives on their own today not needing the support and security of a buying group.


of that. Then on top of that Feefo endorsed Euronics with its Gold Trusted Service Award, recognising our members’ customer ratings of 97 per cent. This is a huge sign of how our members are trusted by the consumer.


Q: You mentioned omnichannel retail – how does the success of the website also help to drive consumers onto the high street and into Euronics stores? PT: The website is also about research and gaining an understanding about the kind of product they are after. Where possible we would always encourage them into the store to make their final commitments, and as such we support our members with how best to attract customers instore, how to display products and which ones need to be in demo mode for people to interact with. There is a new generation of younger consumers that are happy to not go into the high street anymore and we need to appeal to them, so we are putting more people into our digital teams and doing a lot more work on social media [Euronics is now on TikTok and Instagram]. In today’s age that is realistically how you get through to certain demographics.


We need to bring the younger consumer


in earlier and build up a trusting relationship, because their lifetime worth is invaluable. This is a group of people that, by and large, are happier to pay for certain services – such as installation, TV setup or electrical work – whereas in the past people would generally attempt these tasks themselves. And that’s where our members can position themselves as the local experts who provide all of those solutions.


Q: What are benefits of choosing to shop with a local Euronics dealer? PT: It’s a family business – one that, in many cases, has served its local community for generations. A lot of our members know their customers by name so it’s a very personal


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