September 2020 ertonline.co.uk


A lot of Euronics retailers have also been using


their websites and social media platforms to keep in touch with customers; they have been posting videos and pictures of their staff in their stores advertising that they are back open to the public. In fact, Mr Cook reports that many members have been hugely successful trading both online and in store in recent months. There’s more from Mr Cook on this topic in a


special article on page 27 of this issue. He continues: “I think, in a strange way,


COVID-19 has hit the reset button for us as a business, but more importantly for the independent electrical retailer. All of a sudden, they all had this chance to stand back, look at themselves and their businesses and work out what areas needed improving and how they could be even more successful.” Euronics has also taken this same opportunity,


according to Mr Cook, and he and his team are excited about the renewed energy and enthusiasm around shopping in local communities. This is a key theme being pushed through the buying group’s branding going forward.


Q&A


Q: What were your biggest plans for 2020 then? Stuart Cook: We wanted to take our website to the next level, after having introduced our back-end SAP system two years ago. We now have a new system called CCV2 and over lockdown we’ve been getting that into place. Also, in the coming month our new state-of-the- art website will go live – we’re all really excited! It’s very clever. It will track customers’ browsing using all the tricks and techniques to get the most out of them. We are also introducing a new project called


Phase 5. We load our website with all our products, starting with the premium brands, and when a customer is shopping range cookers, for example, they simply pop in their postcode and they’ll be taken directly to their local Euronics retailer’s website buying page. That way they’re getting a local service from their local retailer with the addition of delivery and installation services if required. So we’re not selling on euronics.co.uk, we’re taking customers and placing them at the door of their local Euronics retailer. We are also talking about putting euronics.co.uk


onto eBay. It’s a huge opportunity. All our competitors are on there. It’s very simple and a real quick win. It shows all the independent retailers in our group the new world that is out there; in fact, those doing it already are hugely successful via the platform. Lastly, we also started rolling out our new branding


this year – the new store fascias and uniforms – but obviously that had to stop due to COVID.


Euronics achieved national exposure during Test Match cricket at the Ageas Bowl in July.


Q: How is the new branding contributing to moving the business forward? SC: We signed a new contract with Nick Knowles this year to continue working with him as part of our marketing; he’s already done a fantastic job getting the Euronics name out there and we believe he’s perfect for the local community angle. The issue we’ve always had is consumers


asking ‘what are we?’. Our name doesn’t explain it – it just comes across as a big company. But with Nick on board and our various sponsor partners we are gradually breaking this down. And now our members are buying into it too; some of them want to remain independent and keep their own name, but now they’re seeing all the promotion and sharing social media posts saying how proud they are to be part of CIH/Euronics as an independent buying group. It’s really turned a corner for us.


Q: Are most of your activities back up and running again now? SC: Yes, COVID really hit us at the wrong time – not that there was a right time for anyone – but we had just started rolling out the new Euronics brand. Thankfully, we are getting back into it now, getting Nick Knowles back involved and pushing our message heavily.


Nick Knowles has already fronted a Euronics winter campaign on TV.


15


We did have various sponsorship deals as part


of this, too, with Six Nations Rugby, Wimbledon, England cricket, Saracen Mavericks Netball and Barbarians Rugby, but everything has been rolled over to next year, so we’re pleased about that. >>


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