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Networking Catalyst

EUROPEAN TCG RETAIL SUMMIT SMARTREPORT / Special Issue N° 2 / February 2016

TECHNICAL CONSUMER GOODS

REGIS SCHULTZ DARTY

KARL TRAUTMANN ELECTRONICPARTNER HANDEL SE

HANS CARPELS EURONICS INTERNATIONAL

MARK SLATER DIXONS CARPHONE IRELAND

- JAAN IVAR SEMLITSCH

ELKJOP NORDIC

- KLAUS-PETER VOIGT

MEDIA-SATURN HOLDING

FOSTERING THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE THINK TANK FOR ELECTRICAL RETAIL

AND INDUSTRY

SPECIAL EDITION 3RD EUROPEAN TCG RETAIL SUMMIT20-21 APRIL 2016, AMSTERDAM

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03 INTRODUCTION 03 Inspiring… and Connecting You! Chris Bücker, Founder, European TCG Retail Summit

04 TRENDS & FIGURES 04 Online Sales Continue to Gain Ground in TCG Markets

06 INTERVIEWS 06 Gazing Into The Crystal Ball

Some of the Europe’s top Technical Consumer Goods retail players take us on a tour of the future

08 Expanding Services to Meet The Demands of Tomorrow’s World Klaus-Peter Voigt, CPO,

Media-Saturn-Holding GmbH

09 Towards the Optimal Omni-Channel Model Hans Carpels, President, Euronics International

10 Dixons Carphone Powers Upward and Onward Mark Slater, Strategy & Transformation Director, Dixons Carphone UK & Ireland

11 My Service Makes the Difference Karl Trautmann, Member of the Board, ElectronicPartner Handel SE

12 A New Service Paradigm Régis Schultz, CEO, Darty Group

13 Number One in Nordics Jaan Ivar Semlitsch, CEO, Elkjøp Nordic

14 Enabling Ubiquitous Commerce Thierry Gadou, CEO, SES-imagotag

15 CONFERENCES 15 More than a Conference Concept

16 Whatever The Channel – The Customer STILL Comes First Martin Newman, CEO, Practicology

17 Being Different Prof. Dr. Dirk Morschett, Chair for International

Management, University of Fribourg

18 Test & Learn Jim Manzi, Co-founder, APT

19 Service and Attention To Detail Online… Yes We Can Yossi Erdman, Head of brand and social, AO.com

20 Coming to Grips with Cybercrime Del Heppenstall, Director, KPMG

21 Uncharted Territories

Sam Chappatte, Managing Director of New Countries, Jumia

22 Cartels Under Spotlight Dr Markus Wagemann, Chairman of the 7th Decision

Division of Germany’s national competition authority

23 Getting the Message Across Arndt Polifke, Global Director Telecom, GfK

24 Benchmarking in TCG Retail Peter Burggraaff, Associate Director, The Boston

Consulting Group

25 2016 STRATEGIC PARTNERS 26 Passion for innovation, entrepreneurship –

Key Values for SEB Cyril Buxtorf, Executive Vice President EMEA,

Groupe SEB

28 Success Through Focus Jonas Samuelson, President and CEO, Electrolux

29 Is Digital The Measure Of All Things? Peter Gleissner, European MD, Intel

30 Getting Smarter Roberto Larocca, Global Customer & Channel

Management Director, Vodafone

31 Same Time… Same Channel? Michael Urban, Senior Vice President, Broadline, CE,

Services and Procurement, Europe, Tech Data

Recalculating Your Route Cleverdis is proud to again be the media partner of the European TCG Retail Summit. In total harmony with our philosophy of Information Intelligence, the summit aims to demystify a number of issues weighing heavily on the sector, as well as creating a true think tank for the industry – in such a way as to “grow the pie” – meaning everyone wins.

It is evident that all those participating already have roadmaps for the season and indeed years to come. Much like with a GPS however, from time to time, one’s route has to be recalculated, based on new ways to the end destination or obstacles that may become an issue. This summit is the perfect checkpoint at which a retailer may recalculate his company roadmap based on new information or general consensus on innovative ideas, and by the same token, a vendor can change his roadmap based on important feedback from the retailers.

Equally, through the interviews we have undertaken in this publication, it has become evident that consumers are increasingly in need of detailed advice. This is due to the

onset of smart home – and other “connected” technologies, which are still far from being “plug & play”. The only way to really ensure successful installations on a broader scale is to employ in-store and roving experts who are able to help buyers understand the whys and wherefores of this new equipment. Along with the concept of omni-channel, it’s a change in paradigm for retailers – who now have to consider staff restructuring, training and – in some cases – the use of external resources in order to meet the real needs of the customer.

Other exciting concepts being discussed at the summit include the use of such things as connected electronic labels – increasingly becoming not only a boon to avoiding pricing errors, but also a new way of introducing promotions, information and a means to customer feedback and monitoring.

In all, it must be said that despite extremely tough competition, the sector is in a particularly dynamic period. We sincerely hope that this publication will enable you to retain a global synthesis of the key ideas at the 2016 summit – and pass them on to your partners and colleagues.

European TCG Retail Summit SMARTreport Special Issue N° 2 / February 2016

Richard [email protected]: +33 (0) 4 42 77 46 00

CONTENT

FOREWORD

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European TCG Retail Summit SMARTreport / Special Issue N° 2 / February 2016 3

Chris BückerFounder, European TCG Retail Summit

The theme of this year’s European TCG retai l summit is “Buy With One Click: What’s the Point of Stores Exactly?”

Sound provocative? It is meant to be. We aim to stir thought about just how stores are used, meaning how interacting face to face will, in the future, add value to the sales proposition. Retail is experiencing its greatest upheaval in decades, due to several key factors; not only e-commerce, but also connected and smart products, smart home, and increasingly blurred lines between product categor ies . Add to this growing customer uncertainty

and confusion – even distrust, tempered by access to peer-to-peer information, and we have a whole new playing field. For this, the summit fills a gap, as given this scenario, it was a clear there was a need for retail and industry to have a different kind of communication platform - centred less on tactical matters and more on strategies. Of course, there are the big trade fairs where people come together. However, our aims are completely different and complementary. This exclusive, invitation-only congress is focused on senior retailers, consultants and vendor management, with an emphasis on interaction and networking

at the highest level. Our aim is for people to go home from the event inspired, having fruitfully connected – ready to implement the elements they have gleaned from the presentations and networking opportunities.

Furthermore, GfK will highlight the key facts and figures that impact consumer behaviour, preparing participants for tomorrow’s demand by understanding the driving forces and implications for changing behaviour today.

HOT TOPICS

For the first time we have the participation of a major non-European player – Africa’s leading online retail organisation. Competition law and its effects on online business will again be a major topic, and a key person from the “Bundeskartellamt”, the German national authority agency, will delve into recent cases and future trends. Another hot item will be data security, as it becomes increasingly crucial for companies to protect their data and to train their staff accordingly.

Last but not least I would like to say a word about our appreciated strategic partners. By supporting our concept, they have significantly contributed to the successful set-up of the European TCG Retail Summit and to a creation of a truly adding value platform for leading people like you. They are real visionaries and I think we all owe them a big thanks.

The Think Tank for the Electrical Retail Industry The European TCG Retail Summit aims to give you some exceptional take-aways

INTRODUCTION

4 European TCG Retail Summit SMARTreport / Special Issue N° 2 / February 2016

In the first three quarters of 2015, GfK’s retail panel indicated that internet purchases accounted for a fifth (20.7%) of the total value of technical consumer goods (TCG) sold across the EU18 B2C market – up 7% compared to 2014, when it stood at 19.4% share.

IT STILL LEADS ONLINE SALES, BUT SDA AND TELECOMS ARE AREAS TO WATCH

Not all product categories are equally popular when it comes to buying online. Breaking the market down by consumer electronics, IT, office, telecommunication, photo, small domestic appliances (SDA) and major domestic appliances (MDA), it’s clear that consumers are more comfortable buying IT products online over other product types. The IT category made up over a quarter (27%) of all technical

consumer goods sales made online, followed by telecom products at 22%. By contrast, telecoms accounted for the largest share of traditional sales.

Consumers’ willingness to buy IT products over the internet is also reflected in the fact that almost a third (31%) of all IT product sales last year were made online, compared to less than a fifth (around 17%) of consumer electronics or telecom products.

Importantly, this willingness to buy online appears to be spreading to other categories which have traditionally been the preserve of traditional bricks-and-mortar sales. In 2015, the highest levels of growth came from the SDA sector (up 21%) and telecoms sector (up 17%) – making these the most dynamic areas to watch for increasing levels of online sales activity.

MEDITERRANEAN EU18 COUNTRIES LAG BEHIND FOR ONLINE SALES

Across Europe, online sales of technical consumer goods continue to be dominated by Germany and Great Britain (31% and 22% respectively of total EU18 online sales), with France also making up 11%.

There also remain marked differences in the popularity of the internet as a purchase channel within individual countries. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, internet sales last year accounted for over 30% of the total TCG market within each country. In the Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain and Switzerland it was between 25-30%, while the Mediterranean countries were around only 10% or below.

PURCHASE JOURNEY INSIGHTS FOR TCG CONSUMERS

GfK’s research shows that there is clear correlation between the relevance of digital touchpoints during the purchase journey and an actual purchase online - but with some core differences between sectors.

For example, with consumer electronics, such as TVs and tablets, the importance of the digital touchpoints during the consumer’s purchase journey is very high, relative to the online sales share. By contrast, the digital journey for other retail categories are often far shorter. The average number of touchpoints for people buying chocolate is just one touchpoint, while for diet supplements it’s two – while travel packages hit the other end of the scale at an average 11 touchpoints.

Online Sales Continue to Gain Ground in TCG Markets EU online market still led by IT products, but small domestic appliances and telecoms are leaping forward

TRENDS & FIGURES


Online Sales Continue to Gain Ground in TCG Markets EU online market still led by IT products, but small domestic appliances and telecoms are leaping forward

This makes understanding that purchase journey for specific TCG sectors - and identifying their relevant touchpoints - particularly crucial for retailers and manufacturers. That includes what information the consumer is looking for, where and at what point of the overall journey. With that full understanding, they can achieve maximum conversion, not only online, but offline too - as research has shown that the contribution of online research to offline purchase is consistently higher than it is the other way around.

Drilling deeper into the kind of touchpoints that matter most by category, it becomes evident, that, when buying TVs and tablets, it’s the retailers’ online presence that is most important – as opposed to the manufacturers’. Close to two thirds of shoppers in this product area use retailers’ websites, while only a quarter used manufacturers’ – and four% use both. This is a marked difference to other categories, such as baby food, where the manufacturer’s website has the strongest impact.

For the TCG market, this means that close interaction between manufacturer and retailer is key when it comes to converting browsers into buyers – not only within the physical store space, but equally so within the online environment.

…close interaction between manufacturer and retailer is key when it comes to converting browsers into buyers


Gazing Into The Crystal Ball Some of the Europe’s top Technical Consumer Goods retail players take us on a tour of the future

Hans Carpels EURONICS INTERNATIONAL

Regis Schultz DARTY

The greatest challenge will be to serve the consumer the way she/he wants to be served. Today, nearly every individual has a differing pattern of behaviour. Reta i l ing is becoming much more complicated than ever; but this offers many opportunities. Some customers are convinced they need no advice at all, but many products we sell are not plug and play, whatever the supplier wants to tell you. So advice and proper installation are highly important. In the end we will see many options on the scale but each competitor will have to make his choice and execute it to the extreme in order to be successful. Interesting times!

The key challenge is taking on

board the internet revolution

and how it is changing our

economic model, with new

entrants, with people who

have no store. It’s about

changing the proposition for

our customers, who are living

in an omni-channel world, and

how one can leverage both

one’s web and store space,

adapting the store to this

challenge. Some stores are

doing 20% of their turnover

through click’n’collect. It’s

not the same organisation,

it’s not the same way of

dealing with customers, so

that means a lot of work has

to be done, and it’s changing

the dynamics of what’s

happening in retail today.

We asked six of our participating

retailers to give us their ideas and impressions of the “retailer of the future”. What can we expect? What can we look forward to? Interestingly (very) the ideas of each have been quite varied – albeit enthralling and exciting. The sheer fact that these are among the people planning the stores of the future means that these “predictions” will mostly come true! Hence, the suppliers at the European TCG Retail Summit (and elsewhere reading this) will do well to heed the call and be among the first to meet the requirements outlined below!

Jean-François Pieri Managing Director, Cleverdis

Technology will increasingly serve

technology. What I mean by that is that the use of innovative technologies in the harvesting of customer information – for marketing use – along with the use of technological advances in the provision of applicable information in the right place at the right time for customers will, when combined, be essential elements in the TCG marketing of tomorrow.

On the one hand, it’s about adapting business models to a more seamless “one channel” experience with the store network at its centre, providing customer excitement and expertise. Numerous examples of how this might work will be discussed at this year’s summit.

Chris BückerFounder, European TCG Retail Summit

TRENDS & FIGURES


Gazing Into The Cry stal Ball Some of the Europe’s top Technical Consumer Goods retail players take us on a tour of the future

Mark Slater DIXONS CARPHONE IRELAND

Jaan Ivar Semlitsch ELKJOP NORDIC

Karl Trautmann ELECTRONICPARTNER HANDEL SE

Klaus-Peter Voigt MEDIA-SATURN-HOLDING

As technology gets more complex and products more exciting we need to be able to help customers on every step of their purchase journey from research to demonstration to delivery and then after sales support, being able to manage this in a consistent way through each channel to market is a complex challenge all technology retailers must embrace. Customers are increasingly interested in how products work together and how they can become more connected both in and out of the home. This is a great opportunity for an engaging conversation around the product and services which we can offer to help them make the right decision for them.

The chal lenge l ies in adapting to a constantly changing landscape where everything is changing at an enormous speed. It’s going to be essential to “crack the code” for the future of commerce, by customising our operations and technical platform. To this end we are rolling out digital ideas in stores, and testing out new concepts on the web. Our goal is to develop solutions that help to strengthen our brand, along with usability, loyalty, sales and market share on the web. Services and solutions are increasingly becoming tailor made, and more solution oriented. The customer expects the retailer to take full responsibility for the value chain.

The biggest challenges for the future are progressive digitalisation of processes and the consequent changes in consumer behaviour. There is a power shift from trading and vendor to consumers and the trust in the salesperson is becoming an important factor. EP:specialist retailers are dedicated to a shared quality concept. Accordingly, they are on hand as local contacts to give first-class advice and comprehensive services. This is an important factor – not just in the shop but also in the customer’s home if they so wish. In addition to this, capabilities in networks, solut ions and software will gain an increasing importance in contrast to manual skills like delivery and installation.

Online life and real life are merging and so are online shopping and stationary shopping. In addit ion, everything is becoming digitised. As a result, it’s not just our business that’s changing but also how our customers will use the products we sell. Customers understand that sometimes they can’t install every electronic device or its connectivity features themselves. Products are becoming increas ing ly connected, making for additional complexity. If your smartphone controls your lighting and heating, who do you turn to if there’s a malfunction? The most convenient answer for the customer is the retailer. And we’re working on this.

It’s going to be essential to “crack the code” for the future of commerce, by customising operations and technical platform.

INTERVIEWS


Yesterday’s challenges have turned into today’s opportunities. A few years ago in the era of desktop computing, they said ‘digital’ would kill us. Nowadays, ‘digital’ is our friend. With this in mind, we asked Klaus-Peter Voigt, Chief Procurement Officer, Media-Saturn-Holding, what is changing in the way services and solutions are being offered…

In August 2015, we acquired RTS, a company with approximately 1,200 employees. RTS provides services for electrical goods throughout both Germany and, via partners, Europe. RTS will allow us to further expand our range of services. This will include the planning, installation, inspection, maintenance and repair of various products ranging from household appliances to smartphones, TVs and entire smart homes.

When a good price becomes a hygiene factor, the combination of a broad assortment, personalized advice and customer service is key to our future success. Being a trusted brand, we want to offer our customers a compelling, standardised service commitment. And we’re making great progress in this. Some 400 RTS technicians all over Germany are already fulfilling this commitment to our Media Markt and Saturn customers every day and we’re rolling out quickly. They do this in addition to our existing Power Service teams who have also been doing a great job for many years.

How are customers able to be better satisfied with face-to-face service and why is this important? Face-to-face service is all about trust and reliabil ity. Customers understand that sometimes they can’t install every electronic device or its connectivity features themselves and that even the best products can go wrong. However, people want service and repair to be reliable. They want to know exactly when

a service engineer will arrive and how long installation or repair will take. And they want service staff to be fast and competent, not to mention polite and attentive. And they need to know that the service will be offered at a reliable price. If this is the case, customers will become very loyal. And loyalty will be an increasingly important currency in retail.

What new marketing techniques do you find the most interesting?If loyalty becomes more important, service is a marketing technique in itself. But this requires a shift in thinking towards customer-centricity. Service should no longer be seen as an add-on, but in many cases as the most important interaction with a customer and the best opportunity to build up trust. Customer-centric companies know that trust is the basis for a long, fruitful customer relationship.

Expanding Services to Meet The Demands of Tomorrow’s World Media-Saturn-Holding’s ongoing quest to stay one step ahead of the game

Klaus-Peter VoigtCPO Media-Saturn-Holding GmbH

Service should no longer be seen as an add-on, but in many cases as the most important interaction with a customer and the best opportunity to build up trust


Hans Carpels – President – Euronics International – is one of the most respected figures in the industry when it comes to giving a “vision” for the season – or coming years. Quickly becoming a stalwart of the European TCG Summit, we asked Hans what his company’s greatest challenges are today.

We have a clear brick and mortar background, so our challenge is the perfect execution of the omni-channel model. A perfect online consumer-focused logistic experience must go hand in hand with improved performance in the stores, which we have to transform into ‘excitement centres’. This model guarantees success in the future, although we acknowledge that the total number of POS will diminish.

What is changing in the way services and solutions are being offered? The internet brings total transparency on prices for hardware, so your differentiation from competition cannot be pricing, because that will be more or less equal. Back comes the value proposition. You can go for additional services, very much appreciated by the consumer, but then you should invest in solutions and get the proper marketing around it. It’s not an easy choice, because services mean costly staff, and marketing is the first budget to be axed when the going gets though. Or you can opt for a different product offering, focusing on innovative and exclusive products and solutions. Or you can opt for the price game: but then you need deep pockets, very deep pockets…

How are customers able to be better satisfied with face-to-face service and why is this important?Clearly, consumers are becoming very individual. Some are convinced they need no advice at all, because they have read reviews by other consumers. Certainly this aspect is growing. But many products we

sell are not plug and play, whatever the supplier wants to tell you. So advice and proper installation are highly important. For instance, what is the purpose of buying an expensive product if you cannot enjoy its full performance? This implies training and upgrading of your staff. It is an option: do you want to invest in staff or not? Every investment has to pay off, but we are sure that it will.

What new marketing techniques are you finding to be the most interesting? For the consumer, the omni-channel model is highly interesting, although for us its implementation is not a walk in the park. The consumer has an open choice: he or she orders when he or she wants to and decides where and when the delivery/installation/pick-up is done. Consumers definitely have the steering wheel. Though it is startling that no environmentalist has yet objected to the model by which every single product should be supplied to every single home.

Towards the Optimal Omni-Channel Model Euronics International’s ongoing quest to find the right balance

For the consumer, the omni-channel model is highly interesting, although for us its implementation is not a walk in the park

Hans CarpelsPresident, Euronics International

INTERVIEWS


Mark SlaterStrategy & Transformation Director, Dixons Carphone UK & Ireland

Since the merger between Dixons Group and Carphone Warehouse into “Dixons Carphone”, the new-look company has been going from strength to strength. In the first half of the current financial year, the group saw pro forma Headline profits rising by 23%, with like-for-like revenue up 5%. Mark Slater – MD of Dixons Carphone Ireland will be back at the European TCG Retail Summit this year – and may just uncover some of the secrets to this success. We asked him what his company’s greatest challenges are today…

Managing the significant growth we are experiencing in our multi channel business as customers become more and more digitally savvy.

What is changing in the way services and solutions are being offered? Services and solutions are now as important as the products we sell and are seen by our customers as increasingly important as they connect more of their technology together either in or out of the home. From delivery and installation of TV's to after sales support across our range of SmartTech product customers are becoming more demanding on the range and quality of the services we provide.

How are customers able to be better satisfied with face-to-face service and why is this important?Most customers want to talk to someone when purchasing technology, whether for reassurance, advice or to experience a demonstration of what new products can do. Customers are increasingly interested in how products work together and how they can become more connected both in and out of the home. This is a great opportunity for an engaging conversation around the product and services which we can offer to help them make the right decision for them.

What new marketing techniques are you finding to be the most interesting?

Our multi channel business is growing at as significant rate with strong growth in collect at store, and really strong demand for same day / next day delivery. Customers now have more options than ever when it comes to deciding where and when to collect / have their new purchases delivered which is creating real opportunities for us to differentiate through services.

Dixons Carphone Powers Upward and Onward The UK-based group caters for “digitally savvy” customers

BULLISH OUTLOOK FOR DIXONS CARPHONE FOR 2015

Sebastian James, Group Chief Executive, has given a bullish outlook for the year ahead, following major restructuring and development. In an interview in December, he said, “Our integration continues to go well and it gives me real pleasure to see the business looking and feeling like a single unit,” says James. “The vast majority of the difficult decisions have been made and implemented and we will complete this with the move of the Carphone Warehouse depot to Newark in the new year. I think that, with nearly all the bigger changes done, we are now ready to settle into a more normal married life and to think about our business as a single Dixons Carphone entity.”


Karl TrautmannMember of the Board ElectronicPartner Handel SE

As a buying group with a small-cell structure, ElectronicPartner pays particular attention to “maintaining the necessary speed of change, to actively embrace the mentioned process of change”. We asked Karl Trautmann - Member of the Board - ElectronicPartner Handel SE what is changing in the way services and solutions are being offered.

We are switching from an analogue sales process to a digital, multichannel-supported approach. Thereby, capabilities in networks, solutions and software will gain an increasing importance in contrast to manual skills like delivery and installation.

How are customers able to be better satisfied with face-to-face service and why is this important?In the stationary retail format, a competitive advantage and an advantage towards the e-commerce is the decisive distinction of singularity - the personal contact - provided that employees in retail are better trained, also having the necessary empathy. While the key topics are becoming increasingly

complex, the trust in the salesperson becomes an important factor. EP:specialist retailers are dedicated to a shared quality concept. They promise their customers: “My service makes the difference.” Accordingly, they are on hand as local contacts to give first-class advice and comprehensive services. Personal and individual advice is an important factor – not just in the shop but also in the customer’s home if the customer so wishes. This is often the best place

to find out how consumers can achieve more energy savings in the household or connect electronic equipment to their best advantage.

What new marketing techniques are you finding to be the most interesting?Due to our experience in e-commerce we define “click and collect” as the most important technique in the omni-trade.

In this sense, in 2015, the ElectronicPartner buying group and the E-commerce company Sparhandy GmbH began developing their strategic partnership. How is this progressing? The stronger cooperation has considerable strategic importance for us. Sparhandy GmbH is a leading E-commerce company in the area of telecommunications and has been established on the market for more than 15 years with the TÜV SÜD certified portal sparhandy.de. Sparhandy GmbH promotes contract mobile communications services as an independent online reseller. Purchasing, sales and logistics for both companies' mobile communications hardware are being pooled in the modern Sparhandy GmbH logistics centre in Bochum. At the same time, ElectronicPartner has increased the former capital investment in Sparhandy to 50.1 percent, having previously held a minority stake in the company since 2013. Mobile communications are one of the strongest drivers of growth in our branch. This cooperation makes ElectronicPartner and Sparhandy into one of the largest players, and it means we can also create a strong position for the future for our retail members.

My Service Makes the Difference ElectronicPartner keeping pace with progress

a competitive advantage and an advantage towards the e-commerce is the decisive distinction of singularity - the personal contact - provided that employees in retail are better trained, also having the necessary empathy.

INTERVIEWS


Régis SchultzCEO, Darty Group

France’s Darty group is renowned for innovating in the field of service. Régis Schultz – CEO of Darty will again be attending the European TCG Retail summit this year to share ideas and give important feedback to key vendors. We asked Mr Schultz what his key challenges are today.

The introduction of the internet is completely changing the retail game in terms of price points, image, services and how you put your offer in front of the customer. For all retailers it means adopting a new way of doing business and adapting to a different economic model.

What’s changing in your solutions offering? Darty has always been renowned for service. It’s at the core of our proposition. A third of our people are working in services, which is huge compared to many other retailers. We face the same challenge – to adapt to a fast changing market, to adapt our home delivery, to adapt our after-sales service. In this sense, we can now do a lot of things remotely. It’s essential to think differently. We need to add services, and occasionally ask customers to pay for some of these, which in the past were free. For this, there are some subscription models that are very efficient.

What new marketing techniques are you finding are the most interesting? Community-based solutions are becoming very interesting. For example, one thing we are finding is very popular among our customers is the fact that through an online interface, we are giving them the possibility to ask questions of those who already bought the same products from us. It’s interesting that when we propose that, customers tend to have more questions than if they were talking with a Darty specialist. It shows how much people are willing to rely on advice from other buyers. We strive to achieve excellence

by putting the best of the web in the store and putting the best of the store on the web.

Can you give some examples? The best of the web in store is the ability to use an electronic labelling system we are testing in one store wherein you put your smartphone in front of the label and you will get all the smart content you would normally find on the web including customer reviews, price comparisons, and so on. The other example is when you are on the web, and are spending some time looking at a product; you can have a chat online with one of our specialists, or even take an appointment in-store for a one-to-one meeting. By developing both the web and in-store experiences in this way, we can truly add value to the customer proposition.

A New Service Paradigm Darty leverages new community-based concept for product information

We strive to achieve excellence by putting the best of the web in the store and putting the best of the store on the web.


Jaan Ivar SemlitschCEO, Elkjøp Nordic

For some years, part of the Dixons Carphone group, Elkjøp Nordic by far dominates the Nordic TCG markets, and has been around since the 60’s. Its down-to-earth CEO, Jaan Ivar Semlitsch, is renowned for his innovative sales ideas and a dedication to customer support. To this end, customer service feedback is at an all-time high, with satisfaction running at 91% in Norway in December 2015 (as opposed to 86% the previous year). We asked Mr Semlitsch what his company’s greatest challenges are today.

Keeping up with growth and further improvement in customer satisfaction while at the same time reducing costs.

What is changing in the way services and solutions are being offered? They are becoming more tailor made, and more solution oriented. The customer expects the retailer to take full responsibility for the value chain.

How are customers able to be better satisfied with face-to-face service and why is this important? Products are becoming more complex and integrated and more advanced, and therefore the face-to-face customer experience and competency is increasingly essential.

What new marketing techniques are you finding to be the most interesting? A lot: click and collect, express delivery, digital marketing, one-to-one communication, trust building.

You have been working on an innovative “happy or money back” guarantee. Could you tell us a little more? Most stores in the Elkjøp corporation have a 30 day full refund policy which allows consumers to try the product at home and still return it for any given reason, often with the exception of, including but not limited to, mobile phones, software, internal hardware components and consumables, which need to be sealed.

Number One in Nordics Staying on top – it’s a question of retaining customer satisfaction

Products are becoming more complex and integrated and more advanced, and therefore the face-to-face customer experience and competency is increasingly essential

ELKJØP CORPORATION runs operations under several names in the Nordics. In Norway, under the Elkjøp brand, the company held – at last count (2015) 27% of market share. The company also runs Lefdal in the same territory, capturing additional revenues and customers – with around 8% market share. In Sweden, Elgiganten is market leader (20%), with strong brand awareness and high growth opportunities through consolidation. Elgiganten is also market leader in Denmark, showing strong growth over the past 5 years. The group’s Giganti branded stores in Finland hold 25% of market share in that country. Over 15% of sales are reported to be online in the current financial period.

INTERVIEWS


Thierry GadouCEO of SES-imagotag

Retail is entering a new era – that of ubiquitous commerce – shopping “where I want and the way I want”. This transformation is being enabled by innovations in technology: innovations that will largely be discussed at the European TCG Retail Summit. We asked a key player - Thierry Gadou – CEO of SES-imagotag – how he sees the market today…

Consumers want the best of both worlds – they want 24/7 services, but they also want to be able to have a conversation with an expert in the store, touch and feel the equipment, and buy how and when they want. It is becoming clearer day-by-day that in the years to come, omnichannel retailers will win, and pure players will decline. We will be key enablers of that revolution.

What are the main issues at stake? The velocity of price changes is increasing – doubling every five years, and even accelerating further today due to e-commerce and competition from online channels. This price volatility means higher labour costs and more errors at the cash desk. It’s not only a legal issue, but in terms of customer image, is also extremely important.

… So it’s a question of pricing agility and accuracy: eliminating errors and restoring margin? Yes. But the automation of the price process is not the only driver. An important factor today is that of shopper connectivity and interactivity, with NFC and other contactless technologies.In the consumer technology field, over the past two years there has been incredible growth in terms of ESL adoption. We signed a major rollout with one of Europe’s biggest players, and they are installing their complete pan-European network of stores. It’s the biggest ESL project ever undertaken in this industry – with more than a thousand stores across 15 countries, totalling more than ten million very sophisticated electronic labels. These

are often medium or large sized labels, with full graphics, NFC and geolocation. In 2015, we also worked on a new project with Darty in France, along with Boulanger. We are doing pilots across around ten CE retailers in Europe.

It’s a vertical sector that is going into massive and very fast adoption. It’s probably because it’s THE sector that has the toughest competition from online players – and that may be one of the reasons for this take-up. Pricing automation also means perfect synchronisation across channels, and that it critical. All these retailers have strong e-commerce operations, and while it is necessary to have very agile pricing on the web, at the same time this is an issue in the stores, with paper and manual processes often still prevailing. As everyone knows, customers hate price discrepancies between online and offline channels. So price agility and accuracy as well as cross-channel synchronisation is really the key.

Enabling Ubiquitous Commerce Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) revolutionise sales – In more ways than one


CONFERENCES

The European TCG Retail Summit combines today´s retail and future, established values and innovation, best practice and analysis. The focus is on interaction. High level presentations will be actively analyzed by domain

experts: the guest speakers will face the antithesis of international senior management from Europe´s leading retailers and industry captains in direct discussion or panel format.

More than a Conference Concept

Today’s shopper in the store: Let’s talk straight 21 April, 2:30 pm

Everybody talks about the omnipotent, well-informed consumer. But what does the shopper request exactly today, when he enters a store?

Store managers from three different international TCG retail brands will share their point of view and experiences.

Smart Selling required – the challenge of gaining success with new connected devices 21 April, 1:30 pm

New connected products – new opportunities. But do consumers understand their benefits?

Arndt Polifke, Global Director Telecom, GfK Retail and Technology GmbH

Read more page 23

Wowing the customer in an omnichannel world 21 April, 3:00 pm

The shop experience audit, key metrics to track and benchmark results.

Peter Burggraaff, Associate Director, The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Read more page 24

Cyber Risk – How to secure your future business 20 April, 5:00 pm

The response to cyber security is not just a reactive technical fix, but a holistic approach.

Del Heppenstall, Director, KPMG

Read more page 20

AO.com – A brand designed around the customers’ needs 20 April, 3:15 pm

From the small start using digital and social media, to the latest TV campaigns which designed around AO customers.

Yossi Erdman, Head of Brands and Social Media, AO.com

Read more page 19

Successful retailing in an emerging continent: Africa 20 April, 6:00 pm

How do you bring e-commerce to a country that does not trust the internet? Has no street names? Or where people don’t trust their banks enough to pay with cards?

Sam Chapatte, Managing Director of New Countries, Jumia

Read more page 21

Mission completed: Services and Solutions in a 360°-Approach 21 April, 11:15 am

We are faced with two challenges: A constantly increasing need for customer consultation/advice and the online `pure player’.

Sergio Klaus-Peter Voigt, Chief Procurement Officer, Media-Saturn-Holding GmbH

Read more page 8

“Voice of the industry 2016” speech: Intel – Digital Renaissance 21 April, 8:30 am

It is possible to give (back) each shopper a “Good-Feel” from early pre-selection to post sales.

Peter Gleissner, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Director EUR, Intel

Read more page 27

Vertical restraints of competition affecting online sales – Recent case examples 21 April, 9:30 am

Where is the line between legitimate support and illegal discrimination of certain distribution channels?

Dr. Markus Wagemann, Chairman of the 7th Decision Division of Germany´s national competition authority

Read more page 22

Being different makes the difference – But are you really different? 20 April, 11:30 am

For a clear and differentiated positioning, including services, instore experience and category management.

Professor Dr. Dirk Morschett, University of Fribourg, Switzerland

Read more page17

Putting the customer first, irrespective of channel 20 April, 10:30 am

How can electrical retailers organize their systems, people and processes to put the customer at the heart of all they do?

Martin Newman, CEO and founder, Practicology

Read more page 16

Making Big Data Make Money 20 April, 2:15 pm

How leading retailers harness their Big Data

on a day-to-day basis.

Jim Manzi, Chairman APT (Applied Predictive

Technologies)

Read more page 18

PROGRAMME*

*Subject to change

CONFERENCES


Putting the customer first, irrespective of channel. That will be the key message delivered by Martin Newman, CEO – Practicology, during his presentation at this year’s summit. We asked him to tell us a little more…

We’re looking at what electrical retailers can learn from other sectors and how they can organise their systems, people and processes to put the customer at the heart of all they do. During my session, retailers will learn both strategic and more practical tactical opportunities to apply to their businesses to improve business performance.

How is multi-channel strategy evolving in the TCG retail sector and what’s at stake for those who lag behind?As is the case in pretty much all retail sectors, consumers expect to have a seamless joined up customer journey. That means buying from the channel of choice and order fulfilment from the channel of choice. Customers want to be in control of their journey. They want their orders when and where they choose and retailers who can’t keep up and can’t offer that value proposition will find themselves quickly becoming irrelevant for their customers.

What kinds of things can be changed within ecommerce teams to enable them to perform better?Ecommerce teams need retailers running their teams. By that I mean people with trading experience. Lots of heads of ecommerce are technically proficient, but don’t have the trading mentality of a store manager. Other gaps are often around analytics and insight. If you don’t have insight then how do you know what’s working and

what isn’t? And what you should do more or less of. Two other areas that often lack the appropriate focus or capabilities are conversion optimisation, and retention marketing. The former are those who job it is to continually test and learn and drive up conversion. The latter is about building customer engagement and propensity to buy. eCRM and CRM are the core drivers for this. Retailers tend to focus too much on getting people through the door or onto the site, and not enough on bringing them back.

How critical is the “user experience”, and what are the main “make or break” factors here?User experience is everything. Break points include not being able to buy in the channel of choice, not being able to have my order fulfilled when and where I want, and not being able to return my order to the retailer’s store.

Whatever The Channel – The Customer STILL Comes FirstOrganising systems, people and processes to put the customer at the heart of all you do

PRACTICOLOGY: Practicology is a strategic multichannel consultancy with offices in London, Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne, founded in the UK in 2009. The 50+ strong global team continues to grow, but our point of difference remains the same; every consultant has worked within retail and consumer brands and understand our clients’ challenges. We deliver an end-to-end portfolio of services including strategic consulting: Internationalisation, multichannel strategy, organisational design and transformation and a roadmap for growth, platform selection, ecommerce data & analytics, conversion rate optimisation, digital marketing and content. Recent clients include House of Fraser, Selfridges, Boots, B&Q, Canon, Ann Summers, Dreams, Hobbycraft, Ted Baker and Great Western Railway, adidas and Nike. www.practicology.com

Martin NewmanCEO, Practicology


“Retail Branding” has been preached for almost 20 years now, demanding a strong brand message and a clear, distinguished profile of retailers. However, according to Prof. Dr. Dirk Morschett, Chair for International Management, University of Fribourg, many TCG retailers around the world have not yet developed a unique value proposition but are exchangeable with many of their competitors. And the rise of online competition is just making this deficit more obvious than ever. We asked Dr Morschett what he sees as being the “general scenario” at the moment.

If a retailer is not really different from the competition, why should a customer not pick the lowest available price? In my presentation, different options for a clear and differentiated positioning, including services, in-store experience and category management will be presented. Of course, everybody tries to be good – better than the others. But this is not enough for differentiation.

How should retailers do things differently then? Should they dress differently? Talk differently? Redecorate the stores? First of all I think some specialisation in the overall merchandise mix is very helpful. You see this in groups that have more domestic appliances or consumer electronics in the same company. For example, in Switzerland, we have Interdiscount and Fust, and they have a clear differentiation against each other. Fust is more about home appliances and services, along with financing and so on. Interdiscount is more centred on consumer electronics. They are clearly differentiated in what they offer – or do not offer – services in specific fields, as well as in the way the stores look. In food retailing, a lot of attention is paid to category management, with the profiling of categories. You decide what categories

you want to put up-front and you tailor the rest around this. This is something we see a lot less of in other sectors. Everyone appears to be trying to have a big assortment, the best prices, home delivery and so on. Where is the differentiation? If they all play the game this way, it means only the biggest and cheapest will survive.

In a nutshell, what is the key message you are delivering to the retailers? Define a clear brand message, based on the distinct character of your company. Try to follow this in the way you shape your services: what services you offer, and which ones do not fit to that. What assortment do you offer, and what assortment do you not give a lot of shelf space?

Being Different TCG retailers should do more to stand out from the crowd – or risk just being price-players

Define a clear brand message, based on the distinct character of your company

Prof. Dr. Dirk MorschettChair for International Management, University of Fribourg

CONFERENCES


With so much unbelievable hype around big data, we asked Jim Manzi how this could be funnelled into useful analytics in the TCG sector.

There are a number of interesting points that are specific to the sector. One is the myth of the death of the retail outlet. Volume is moving online, but even in the most advanced e-commerce markets, there is less than 50% penetration of online sales, so the futurist prediction of the death of the retail store is grossly exaggerated. Online penetration is happening more slowly than what had been predicted in the past. But what’s happening faster than predicted is the fully omni-channel nature of consumer behaviour. If you are not analytically understanding consumer behaviour and managing consumer behaviour on an omni-channel basis, then you are going to get left behind.

Another point is the ability to carefully analyse all the “wrap-arounds” that happen around the physical product and are hugely important to margin. Probably the best example, very relevant to this industry, is so-called “click & collect”. When you carefully test this, one can’t conclude that click & collect is good or bad. Under certain conditions it works really well, but in a different context or local market it doesn’t. There are other non-intuitive effects, such as the fact that when warranties are designed slightly differently, one can actually measure large changes in consumer behaviour in relation to product price-points.

What’s your main message to retailers at the summit? Current best practices and future of analytics are really centred on three factors: cloud, omni-channel and experiments. What is going to distinguish the companies that are making more money from analytics versus those that are not, it’s going to be those that embrace those three concepts.

Test & Learn Cause-and-effect analytics enable actions and insights that were not possible before

If you are not analytically understanding consumer behaviour and managing consumer behaviour on an omni-channel basis, then you are going to get left behind

Jim ManziCo-founder of APT

Jim Manzi, Co-founder of APT, is a foremost authority on using pattern recognition for business decisions. His models have been implemented by leading corporations around the world and have broken new ground in identifying sales prospects, setting prices, selecting and rewarding employees, making product and merchandising decisions, and locating physical sales outlets. He graduated from MIT.

Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) enables leaders to make better, fact-based decisions, faster and more efficiently, creating large-scale, lasting value through Test & Learn technology.

APT looks at the relationship between proposed business programmes and financial and other outcomes. The basic method is called “test and learn”, with which companies are able to run and analyse experiments rapidly and accurately to reliably predict what will happen if they take certain actions such as changing prices, advertising, or investing in store capital. An understanding is thus reached as to how likely something is to work, and also how to improve it through targeting and tailoring.

ABOUT


In the past 15 years, AO.com has been successfully working in the UK – and in 2014, they began a journey to transform the white goods market in Germany. We asked Yossi Erdman, head of brand and social at AO.com how this has been coming along.

Entering the German market, which already had strong and established players was no easy task, but we are very proud of our progress so far. We are really pleased to see how our customers have responded to our proposition, they love the service we give them, the attention to detail we deliver, the option to choose a delivery day that suits them and how they can have their wet fridge or washing machine installed too. I know it doesn’t sound that exciting, but for a customer with two young babies who needs a washing machine quickly, this level of care and service is vital.

We were bold when we launched our TV adverts in Germany this year and they have resonated well with the market, people are definitely now much more aware of AO. Online retail is not as established in Germany as it is in the UK, so we feel we are actually educating the market on how to buy these items online, we are very happy with how it has gone so far (even if our competitors also benefit from this shift to online).

So what works for AO and what doesn’t? At AO we always put the customer at the heart of everything we do and want to ensure that we make their

purchase journey as easy as possible. We are not re-inventing the wheel and we are not using complicated technology, we are an online company that believes in old-fashioned human interaction. During my presentation I will show you some examples of our “customer centric” approach, from our social media activities, to the website, to our adverts in the UK and Germany. Fancy advertising slogans and super sophisticated advertising don’t work for us, we want our adverts to be ‘human’ and to show the customer that we care and are serious about their happiness. We believe using real customers who have experienced our service and given us amazing reviews, really helps to tell the AO story. Particularly in a world where peer-to-peer recommendation is so powerful – just look at Uber and TripAdvisor.

We make it simple, customers can see the product they are ordering, watch a video about how it works, choose their delivery date, get it delivered by an AO van, straight to your kitchen, crisis sorted.

Service and Attention To Detail Online… Yes We Can Yossi Erdman, head of brand and social at AO.com explains the philosophy behind his company

We believe using real customers who have experienced our service and given us amazing reviews, really helps to tell the AO story

Yossi ErdmanHead of brand and social, AO.com

CONFERENCES


Del HeppenstallDirector, KPMG

BackgroundWith nearly 20 years’ direct experience in Information & Cyber Security, Del has built up a wealth of experience in advising clients on topics ranging from security strategy and organisational design through to technical security solution implementation and operation. A seasoned programme manager, Del has led some of the UK’s largest security transformation programmes, delivering multi-million pound change agenda’s at Aerospace & Defence major’s, Central Government and leading UK Retail sector organisations. Professional and industry experience Del has led the Cyber Security work in the Consumer Markets and Manufacturing sectors and has worked with many of the UK’s major organisations in both of these sectors over the past few years, helping them to transform their security organisations and capabilities. Over the course of his career Del has also provided security insight, expertise and leadership to several central government and public sector bodies.

In today’s world increasingly rife with cyber-crime, it is critical for retailers to take new and enhanced steps in order to face up to the threats at hand. We asked Del Heppenstall, an expert with almost 20 years’ experience in the field of cyber security, where it’s all going…

More and more organisations have been working towards capturing information on the consumer. What’s important is not only how they use that information within their organisation to the best business benefits, but equally how to protect the same information from the various threat actors they face. Many organisations still need to understand where that data resides, and who has access to it and importantly controls it. In todays extended enterprise this is becoming a bigger challenge for organisations that collect and share information on their customers. This is especially the case where data is shared with third parties for analytics and product positioning. Some of the more recent breaches that have occurred in the UK, in relation to retailers more broadly, has been as a result of that information essentially being too close to the external gateways of their organisation.

What are the stakes? What do retailers risk losing if things go wrong? Brand and reputation are the two big things that worry senior execs today. Clearly they could lose customer information, and that doesn’t go down very well with today’s consumers. However what is important is how an organisation responds to a data breach and how it is managed with all of the stakeholders. Organisations that don’t protect data to the required levels or are riding roughshod over consumers’ data rights will find that consumers will be “voting with their wallets in the future”.

In a nutshell, what is your key message to the attendees?

There are new skills and greater capacities required to understand what these emerging threats and vulnerabilities are for organisations. Organisations need to be able to still detect incidents and respond as rapidly as possible. So the drive is one around the

recognition that breaches will occur, but then to examine what kind of building blocks can be put in place so that organisations are able to understand what they are being attacked by – who, how and where – and to be able to detect these incidents in a far more timely manner, responding as rapidly and fully as possible. In short, a lot of organisations see how bad it is out there, but by taking some proactive measures, which I will outline in my presentation, they will be able to get on the front foot in tackling this increasing risk, and not just see it as a reactive technical fix, but as a holistic approach that can drive change and secure the future of their business.

Coming to Grips with Cybercrime Del Heppenstall, Director, KPMG helps retailers understand the growing threat of cybercrime and how to “be prepared”…

Many organisations still need to understand where that data resides, and who has access to it and importantly controls it.


Founded in Nigeria four years ago, Jumia is today Africa’s leader in e-commerce, with operations in 11 countries, selling a very broad range of consumer goods. We asked Sam Chappatte, Managing Director of New Countries for the group, why Jumia appears to be one step ahead of the “big boys” from Europe and the USA…

To be honest, I don’t think they are looking at Africa for now; they have big enough challenges to tackle in the west & Asia. This is great, as it gives us time to scale further. We have set up significant infrastructure in each of these countries, with warehouses and integrated transport solutions to cover their entire territories. In Nigeria, we have the largest commercial fleet in the country, a capacity to deliver 50,000 packages per day, and a field sales force of over 50,000 agents. We have learned to adapt the western e-commerce model to Africa, for example offering “cash on delivery” to customers and a number of actions to overcome the mistrust of the internet on the continent.

We work actively with brands to build their reputations, learn about the markets & drive sales in our territories. Our partners often tell us how refreshing it is to be able to execute campaigns effectively across multiple African markets with one professional partner. In our capacity as a market intelligence agency, we probably have the largest & most accurate database of consumer purchasing behaviour in the continent, and a big team of analysts who can give insights to our partners. This provides insights both for their online & offline strategies. With Jumia, vendors can test whether

a new product is going to move before investing heavily to bring larger volumes to the offline market.

What is your message to the attendees of the TCG summit and what are you looking to take home from the event? We are still a relatively new company, and for the majority of people at the conference, e-commerce in Africa is an unknown. Over the conference, I look forward to sharing some insights on our experience to date, the challenges we face on the continent and what we do to surmount them. And will also be talking about how we work with brands. As a take-away, I would like to better understand what other actors in the TCG industry are focused on, particularly in the e-commerce sphere.

Uncharted Territories Jumia pioneers e-commerce across Africa

In Nigeria,we have the largest commercial fleet in the country (…)

Sam ChappatteManaging Director of New Countries, Jumia

CONFERENCES


It was just three years ago that the European Commission fined seven international groups a record total of almost one and a half billion Euros for participating in a CRT cartel. Today, different issues are at stake due along other factors to multi-channel sales. Dr Markus Wagemann is chairman of the 7th Decision Division of Germany’s national competition authority (“Bundeskartellamt”) - covering telecommunications, IT software, consumer electronics, home appliances and electrical engineering. At this year’s summit he will be explaining his role as mediator in the increasingly tough world of multi-channel sales. We asked him to tell us a little more…

In recent years, competition agencies have been confronted with an increasing number of complaints by retailers as to online sales restrictions. These range from special rebates for offline sales (dual pricing), platform prohibitions or even resale price maintenance for online sales. Due to the rapidly growing importance of online sales and the impact on distribution of branded goods, competition agencies are facing new challenges in defining vertical restraints. So just where is the line between legitimate support and illegal discrimination of certain distribution channels? I will be presenting some case examples of the “Bundeskartellamt” that may shed some light on the path of producers and retailers.

Do you have any specific examples? One or two years ago, we had an important case with Bosch-Siemens concerning differing rebates for bricks and mortar and online stores. I will be presenting this in Amsterdam. In this case, as in many others, we try to solve the issue on an informal basis, rather than imposing a ruling. Through negotiations we were able to reach a compromise wherein Bosch Siemens modified their rebate scheme, and we could close the file.

You’re in Germany, but the issues are international. How does all this pan-out on a European scale? The European Commission is becoming increasingly active, and last year they even

carried out a dawn raid in the consumer electronics sector, because of alleged vertical restraints. There were even some cases that we passed directly on to the Commission, because of their international nature. All over Europe there are cross-border issues, and the Commission launched a sector enquiry on e-commerce. There will be more and more coordination between national authorities and the Commission, so that if retailers lodge a complaint with one of the authorities, this may have an effect on neighbouring countries. I don’t know if the number of cases will grow, but it is sure that it will continue to be an ongoing issue.

Cartels Under Spotlight Drawing the line between legitimate support and illegal discrimination towards certain distribution channels

Due to the rapidly growing importance of online sales and the impact on distribution of branded goods, competition agencies are facing new challenges in defining vertical restraintsDr Markus

WagemannChairman of the 7th Decision Division of Germany’s national competition authority (“Bundeskartellamt”)


Arndt PolifkeGlobal Director Telecom, GfK

The presentation by Arndt Polifke, Global Director Telecom, GfK is entitled: “New connected products – new opportunities… But do consumers understand their benefits?” So just where ARE the difficulties at the moment, and what could be done better in terms of communication? Indeed, is communication everything? What about in-store demonstrations or even in home analysis? We put the question to Mr Polifke…

Communication is needed today not only in media, but also at the Point of Sale. A compelling live demo of an intelligent home, in a living room-like area, which addresses the issues “ease of installation”, “modularity and compatibility of the system”, “privacy of data” and “costs” would be the ideal set-up. For example, a simple positioning of a smart smoke detector at the shelf with only a small label saying something like “works with nest” might not communicate the benefit for the consumer clearly enough, and explain

the reason why he/she should spend 40 Euros instead of 10 Euros. There are good examples of some of the first stores designed to address these requirements, with small shop-in-shop areas including well-trained staff who are able to give live demonstrations of how the modules work.

How are sales approaches evolving, and what can be done to improve the way retailers work in this respect? It is a great opportunity for all retailers, also for smaller, local retailers. They can build a close, longer lasting relationship with clients of all age classes. There is also great potential if they build local networks with craftsmen/installers as the smart home in its extended version includes shading, irrigation. They are not necessarily gate keepers today, as they were 10 years back, but it would be helpful if a retailer can offer a solution from one single source, in co-operation with some sub-partners.

Without giving “too much” away, what are the latest trends and insights you will be covering?There are a number of meta-trends, which enhance the usage of traditional technical devices, like• Smart Home • Wearables• Smart gadgets (e.g. drones)• Mobile health• Connected car• Ambient assisted living/Smart agingNone of them are isolated. All of them are linked to each other, acting as cross-enablers. We see convergence also within wearables, where the likes if fashion brands and sports/health/fitness brands now targeting similar client groups. While we still see the success of dedicated devices, the existence of those that bring additional functions to “everyone” have enabled the creation of a mass market.

Getting the Message Across Why communication is more important than ever in TCG retail

We see convergence also within wearables, where the likes if fashion brands and sports/health/fitness brands now targeting similar client groups

CONFERENCES


Peter Burggraaff - Associate Director - The Boston Consulting Group will be addressing the European TCG Retail Summit on how one is able to measure the “customer experience” and how this relates to operational and operational and competitive KPIs. We asked him to tell us more…

If you are mainly in an online world you can measure many touch points and customer experiences – and benchmark against other retailers. But how can you do this in a bricks and mortar environment? How can you imitate the online KPIs – such as how many clicks, how many minutes people stay on a page and so on? What can actually be measured, and how can these be transformed into sales, revenues and profits? While you can measure a lot of things – both online and offline – how does this end up becoming a sale? Are there maybe any leading indicators in that customer experience or operational measurement that you can actually manage to ensure that those experiences lead to increasing revenues and profit? If you make a different choice in your delivery model, what does that do to the customer experience, and what, for example, are the differences between home delivery and in-store pick-up? So I want to introduce this concept of customer experiences and operational measurements, linking these to financial KPIs. I will be sharing with the audience some “experience audits”, which are a way to measure the online customer experience – to make it more quantifiable, because customer experience is typically quite subjective. We can use those measures to illustrate what “good” looks like, and what “not good” looks like, cross referencing with examples in other parts of Europe or maybe even globally, in order to measure how well a website is performing.

Just how can you measure the in-store experience? Recently there has been a great deal of development in beacons, LED lighting and video analysis that can help with such elements as dwell time, through-store routing and so on. A number of retailers are experimenting with ways of tracking and communicating with customers in the store. One way is through the use of mobile apps, which can be used for shopping, but also allow the store to identify the user, when he or she is in the physical store. This is all part of true omnichannel marketing, and while, for the moment not many retailers are able to introduce this kind of “smartness”, this is the direction in which we are heading.

Benchmarking in TCG Retail Retailers look at better ways to analyse the in-store experience

Peter BurggraaffAssociate Director, The Boston Consulting Group

What can actually be measured, and how can these be transformed into sales, revenuesand profits?


2016 Strategic Partners

The world leader in small domestic equipment, Groupe SEB operates in nearly 150 countries

with a unique portfolio of top brands including Tefal, Rowenta, Moulinex, Krups, Lagostina, All-Clad, and

Supor, marketed through multi format retailing. Selling some 200 million products a year, it deploys a long-term strategy focused on innovation, international development, competitiveness and service to clients. Groupe SEB has nearly 25,000 employees worldwide.

Electrolux is global leader in home appliances, based on deep consumer insight and developed in close collaboration with professional users.

The manufacturer offers thoughtfully designed, innovative and sustainable solutions for households

and business, with products such as refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, cookers vacuum cleaners, air conditioners and small domestic appliances.Under esteemed brands including Electrolux, AEG, Zanissi, Frigidaire and Electrolux Grand Cuisine, the Group sells more that 50 millions products to consumers in more than 150 countries every year.

Read page 26 Read page 28

Intel is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential

technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices. Since its founding in

1968, Intel Corporation has grown into the world’s largest semiconductor company (based on revenue).The company’s products include microprocessors, chipsets, other semiconductor products and software which are integral to computers, ultra-mobile devices, data centers powering the Cloud and Big Data, as well as the Internet of Things.

Vodafone is one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies and provides

a range of services including voice, messaging, data and fixed communications. Vodafone has

mobile operations in 26 countries, partners with mobile networks in 52 more, and fixed broadband operations in 17 markets. As of 30th June 2014, Vodafone had 436 million mobile customers and 9 million fixed broadband customers.Vodafone’s network allows people to share images and videos as soon as they’re captured; to share thoughts and feelings as soon as they’re created.


Tech Data Corporation is one of the world's largest wholesale distributors of technology

products, services and solutions. Its advanced logistics capabilities and value added services enable

115,000 resellers to efficiently and cost effectively support the diverse technology needs of end users in more than 100 countries. Tech Data generated $27.7 billion in net sales for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015. It is ranked No. 111 on the Fortune 500 and one of Fortune's "World's Most Admired Companies."

GfK is the trusted source of relevant market and consumer information that enables its clients

to make smarter decisions. More than 13,000 market research experts combine their passion with

GfK’s long-standing data science experience. This allows GfK to deliver vital global insights matched with local market intelligence from more than 100 countries. By using innovative technologies and data sciences, GfK turns big data into smart data, enabling its clients to improve their competitive edge and enrich consumers’ experiences and choices.


2016 STRATEGIC PARTNERS


The Small Domestic Appliance markets are highly dynamic – in particular in Europe. With its impressive brand and product portfolio, SEB is strategically positioned for the future, basing growth on true innovations, such as heating food processors, ultra silent cyclonic vacuum cleaners and connected multicookers. We asked Cyril Buxtorf, Executive Vice President EMEA, Groupe SEB how his company is facing up to growing price pressure.

It’s primarily through product innovation that one can truly bring value and propose relevant and differentiated benefits to consumers. This leads to value creation and growth, for us and for our retail partners. This is very much part of the DNA of Groupe SEB. This innovation strategy is based on a very strong knowledge of our consumers in emerged, mature or emerging markets.

What are the main characteristics of the cooking and small appliance markets at the moment and how are these markets evolving?The Small Domestic Appliance markets are very dynamic – in particular in Europe, where

there is solid growth, with categories such as the heating food processor, full automat espresso, multicooker... The energy labelling of the vacuum cleaner market has also brought some opportunities for trading up.

What are the “sweet spots” in terms of product categories at the moment?We have strong positions and large businesses in cookware, k i tchen appliances, linen-care, home cleaning and personal care appliances. Key innovations from Groupe SEB at the moment include the “Silence Force” range of vacuum cleaners, Cuisine Companion – a heating

food processor, the Cookeo multi-cooker, and the Optigrill range. These product lines clearly bring value, trading up and fostering growth. Our key innovations also include several “connected” products. For example there is Actifry – the oil-less fryer, Cookeo or Cuisine Companion. On those products, we have connected versions.

How does Groupe SEB face up to mounting price pressure?In the end, as I mentioned, it’s innovation that brings value. Innovation in our “road to market” is part of the answer. It includes bringing impactful contents to the e-business sites of our partners and to our own sites. On many categories, you will see 70% of the shoppers looking for information on internet. Ultimately, two thirds of those shoppers will buy in stores. Building activation plans relevant to each channel, better targeting their respective shoppers, and answering the “key success factors” relevant for each retail partner is how we want to build value.

Passion for innovation, entrepre neurship – Key Values for SEB Every second, somewhere in the world, 7 customers choose a Groupe SEB product…

Cyril BuxtorfExecutive Vice President EMEA, Groupe SEB


What about in-store merchandising, promotions and training?We are proud of many category management projects we have built together with key customers and that have proven very successful over the past couple of years. These have had strong impact in terms of growth, margins and value per unit for our retail partners. All the KPI’s are very positive. These category management projects are part of what we want to build with the retailers, by bringing an interesting shopping experience to the consumer, putting in place what is needed to trade-up.

Do you have a concrete example?There are of course several, but one very successful category management project was with Carrefour in Spain, with cookware. In-store execution includes a better segmentation of the offer, accompanied with merchandising to make this segmentation clear to the shopper. SEB supported Carrefour in the implementation of this new layout. It also included training of the sales

associates so they could understand the new segmentation and merchandising of the product category.It led to an acceleration of turnover, and more value, trading up the shoppers. The growth in sales was thus not just unit-wise, but also in a rise of average price.

What do you hope to take home from the TCG Retail Summit?Gaining the best possible insights enabling us to build even stronger partnerships with all key retailers, by more fully understanding their expectations.

It’s innovation that brings value – proposing relevant and differentiated benefits to consumers.

Rowenta, Silence Force

Tefal ActiFry Smart

Passion for innovation, entrepre neurship – Key Values for SEB Every second, somewhere in the world, 7 customers choose a Groupe SEB product…



The European TCG Retail Summit is proudly supported this year by Electrolux. In the run-up to the show, we had the chance of talking to Jonas Samuelson, in one of his first interviews since “moving up” into the position of president and CEO of Electrolux. We asked Jonas what the key elements behind the success of Electrolux are today in Europe.

Three years ago, we made a very clear dec is ion to focus our efforts in terms of innovat ion and marketing on two core areas of st rength. One is in the kitchen – in terms of helping consumers make great tasting food, leveraging the expertise from our professional division, which is of course a leading supplier to top

restaurants around the world – including Michelin star restaurants. The second area of expertise is in laundry, where, for the consumer, what really matters – beyond cleaning – is to make sure their clothes are preserved as new for as long as possible. So we took these two key insights and decided to focus everything on them, and that has been working extremely well for us. With that, of course you have to also have great trade relations, be cost competitive, have good trade marketing execution … all of those things are critical.

What is different about your company’s culture that helps in terms of innovation?We are a fast moving company; a relatively lean and entrepreneurial organisation – and that helps us move quickly to market. And we always start with the consumer in mind. For the past 15 years or so, we have changed our culture to go beyond being

a manufacturing and sales company to being a consumer driven company.

How are lifestyle (and consequently product) trends evolving?The most important trend is the digitisation and mobilisation of consumers in the way they interact with their surroundings, meaning they expect a lot more out of their appliances in terms of ease of use, product design, flexibility and adaptability.

How are channels developing when it comes to sales of major appliances through retail?That famous buzzword “omnichannel” is taking on increasing importance all the time. Consumers expect to be able to interact with their retailer in whatever way is the most convenient for them – whether it’s through online or mobile interaction or whether it’s through physical in-store interactions. And they expect the retailer to be flexible in terms of responding to those needs. Most big retailers are adapting to that.

How important is it to be a strategic partner of this event, and why?I think it’s incredibly important. This summit is the only platform of its kind where leaders from retail, industry, consultants and other thought leaders in this space have a chance to meet and exchange ideas. Most importantly, it’s an injection of inspiration for change, like a healthy dose of vitamins!

Success Through Focus Electrolux concentrates efforts on two key areas of expertise

Jonas SamuelsonElectrolux’s new President and CEO

The most important trend is the digitisation and mobilisation of consumers in the way they interact with their surroundings


Intel’s European MD Peter Gleissner will be talking about the “Digital Renaissance” during the European TCG Retail Summit. We asked the Intel boss just what he means by this…

I call it the Digital Renaissance because there are so many things in a flux at this point around digitalisation – both from a business process point of view – in terms of how businesses are being run – and retail certainly is in the midst of this, whether it’s in the backstage with logistics and purchasing processes or whether it’s on the front stage around a store layout or pre- and post-sales support. Digitalisation is touching all of these areas and as a consequence provides unique opportunities for the retail industry to improve its competitiveness and also the level of service they offer customers. In the case of Intel, over the 50 years since the inception of Moore’s Law*, we have developed relationships throughout the supply chain with “Intel Inside” allowing even the end customer to recognise Intel as an important ingredient of the products they purchase and the value of an associated brand.

Intel is a strategic partner of the TCG Retail Summit. What was behind this decision? Intel has been a partner of retail for many, many years – in helping and supporting retail in the sales of digital technology. In the digital transformation, this obviously moves from digital product to digital processes, and it also moves the value creation from the product – to the service – to potentially the data. In today’s information technology world it’s increasingly about the data the devices generate and the data the business processes generate. Intel is uniquely positioned to advise and support customers along all these areas of the value chain. We have deep insights into communications technologies, computer technologies and security in products all the way from wearables or automobiles up to high performance computing and big

data – technologies – an entire spectrum of products. We consequently made a decision to also move into the area of BtoBtoC where it’s more about the digital processes – and how Intel Inside can help companies move into that digital world – hence the title the “Digital Renaissance”.

How can we better help consumers in their decision-making processes? With the explosion of social media and the internet, and the explosion of devices – consumers have not only more choice than ever – they also have more information and insights than ever. And I think if you connect the dots more effectively, this provides an opportunity for retail to become a trusted advisor in that journey. It will thus improve the loyalty customers have, and it will also significantly improve the shopping experience.

* Moore's law was coined in 1965, and was named after Gordon E. Moore, the co-founder of Intel and Fairchild Semiconductor – predicting that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit would double approximately every year for the following decade. In 1975, he revised the forecast to doubling every two years.

Is Digital The Measure Of All Things?Intel - behind the rebirth of opportunity in the TCG retail sector

it’s more about the digital processes – and how Intel Inside can help companies move into that digital world

Peter GleissnerIntel’s European MD



Vodafone is a Strategic Partner again at this year’s European TCG Retail Summit. Last year, Roberto Larocca, Global Customer & Channel Management Director at Vodafone Group talked about 3 key trends - increasing penetration of smartphones, connected appliances, and omnichannel marketing. What’s evolving / changing this year compared to last?

Smartphone penetration has been on an accelerating path over the past few years, due both to rapid development and investments into enhanced network speeds (3G/4G and LTE), as well as lowering entry price levels of smartphones from scale and technology maturity. This trend is expected to continue until smartphones gain a dominant share of all mobile users. Various researches indicate that current global smartphone penetration, which tracked at 10% of mobile users in 2011, is currently at 35%-40% and estimated to gain over 70% share of mobile users in 2020. This global average could imply nearly all customers in developed markets.

Mobile telephony and machine-to-machine connectivity is also enabling consumer

electronics and domestic appliances to become more intelligent and connected. This is enabling home / office automation experiences, newer forms of controlling them and rich analytics and business intelligence which benefit customers and retailers alike. The underlying IT infrastructure and systems will of course play a crucial role in driving

and delivering this change.The consumer industry is also seeing a massive drive towards converged services (fixed telephony, mobile, broadband internet and TV content) in many countries

and I believe this trend will also accelerate and stabilise further. This will provide a whole new connectivity experience and liberate customers, with worry-free and converged data services while at home and away. Omni-channel is also an evolving trend and is steadily gaining importance and maturity across industries, thanks to the customer demand driving this across industries. However, this is a massive transformation and change for a fully Omni-channel execution in terms of the organisation, objectives, resourcing, proposition, incentives, etc.

What could retailers be doing better in order to move more product, and on the other hand, what errors are still being made by vendors? Retailers need to devote as much time on the shopping journeys and eventual customer experience as is being spent on the technical and functional elements of their product and/or service. This is the crucial last mile that can add the most value to the customer and may often even help in product development by focuses on the customer essentials.

Retailers need to more actively and openly embrace Omni-Channel or what I prefer to call as “One Channel”. Sadly, too much time and energy is still being devoted in many organisations trying to compete within (among their own touch-points) than outside on the High Street!

Getting Smarter Mobile and machine-to-machine connectivity at heart of market transformation

Too much time and energy is still being devoted in many organisations trying to compete within (among their own touch-points) than outside on the High Street!

Roberto LaroccaGlobal Customer & Channel Management Director, Vodafone


How, in the ever-changing world of distribution channel, can one keep one’s sails to the wind and how is the job evolving? We put the question to Michael Urban, Senior Vice President, Broadline, CE, Services and Procurement, Europe at Tech Data.

Among the established CE brands, we are seeing a trend of consolidation, through acquisitions and mergers. This is consistent with the rest of the technology marketplace and also with the distribution channel. Alongside these large players, we are also seeing the emergence of onset of smaller, specialised vendor brands, largely in the sphere of IoT. We are also increasingly seeing that vendors are concentrating on their core competencies of creating great products, leaving activities such as logistics, fulfilment and sales and marketing to external partners, such as Tech Data.

How important is it to take into consideration the ease of end-user comprehension of new products when you are buying? Does the fact that “smart home” products still have most people bamboozled affect what you buy? Of course, consumer demand plays an important role in how we plan our inventory. However, the technology field we play in is defined by a spirit of innovation, which means that sometimes product categories

emerge before there is an overwhelming customer demand for them. We clearly saw this with the emergence of the tablet a few years ago and we are seeing something similar now with IoT “smart home” solutions. Distributors like Tech Data have an important role in anticipating trends and supporting the acceptance of innovative solutions through training, product briefing, solution building and marketing activities, acting in true partnership with retailers and vendors. When the demand for new products take off, we have the scale and reach to support a rapidly accelerating market.

How can vendors improve this situation?With greater partnership. As new products based on cloud or IoT technology emerge, I believe there is an opportunity for vendors to partner with each other in order to combine their strengths and provide customers with fully developed user-friendly solutions. There are a number of great innovative solutions in the market place but as they exist independently from each other, so it is sometimes difficult for consumers to fully take advantage of the products in their personal or professional lives. Increased cooperation between vendors on how products can be combined to complement one another would be a great step forward.

Same Time… Same Channel?Tech Data focuses on anticipating trends in order to “get it right”… each time

we are also seeing the emergence smaller, specialised vendor brands, largely in the sphere of IoT

Michael UrbanSenior Vice President, Broadline, CE, Services and Procurement, Europe, Tech Data

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