RETAILER PROFILE: RDO Shopfloor


The RDO store in 2013 before it was renovated. Right: The store today. Bottom of page: The evolution of the RDO website


May 2021 ertonline.co.uk


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Q: Looking at your business more generally, what was the decision behind moving into selling kitchens? CS: Firstly, the people who came into the business to sell kitchens came to us with a business proposal identifying market opportunities, which were correct. Equally, at the same time we were looking at areas of diversification using our brand name. We thought if you can capture customers early on in their cycle of looking for kitchens, that will come before they buy any appliances. So we knew we had to get in customers’ minds as early as possible. If you’re a one-stop-shop then the customer will


be happy; we don’t even enter into conversations about sourcing products from other retailers or where they might be buying their kitchen from, because we can be that company now and we can be the one place that offers everything for them. Moving into kitchens was the perfect integration


for us and it’s definitely helped the business. I can tell you it has certainly had an impact on the bottom line due to the impressive margins; it’s a no-brainer! And once we’ve begun that relationship with a customer, we’d like to think we could count on them returning for replacement products again in the future.


Q: What are the company’s plans for the future? CS: RDO has operated in the same building since day one – although it’s been transformed a few times over the years! Most recently we’ve thought about re-shuffling the


store layout; now there’s a huge trend towards online we need to rethink our showroom to try and reflect this new reality. One of the issues we face is trying to coordinate our human resources. We have a small web team but we also have a


showroom team, so when it’s quiet in the store these guys could help to run the website, by operating the live chat function or editing the content where it’s needed. So we are going to create more office space within the showroom so staff can be best utilised where and when they are needed. In addition to this, we’ve got a mezzanine going


in soon which will increase our storage capacity by about 30 per cent and will allow us to offer more SKUs online and in-store.


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