A change of mindset, a new “holistic” approach to business, integrating all channels (including Amazon, Facebook and Google) without taboos. This is the roadmap that two major European managers are outlining for retailers for the next 10 years. Stephan Zoll, C.E.O. of Signa Sports United (turnover: €650 million in 2020), the European leader in cycling, tennis and outdoor activities thanks to its omnichannel platform (80 websites in 17 countries, 23 directly-operated stores, 500 partners) and Ignacio Sierra, Managing Director of Tendam (Cortefiel, Pedro de Hierro, Springfield, Women’secret, etc.), one of the European leaders in textiles (turnover €1.2 billion for the financial year ending February 29th, 2020).
Expert in online sales (until 2018 he was Managing Director of Ebay Germany), Zoll predicts increased competition in e-commerce. “Brick and mortar retailers will invest heavily in the online world. It will be even more important than before Covid-19 to differentiate on the customer experience and to control all points of contact. This is true from the initial introduction, regardless of in a shop, on mobile or otherwise. This is true to the last process, that of delivery and customer service,” he explains.
“It is crucial to insist on the product description, the little extras (racket strings, bike loans or customisation) and the delivery of an item. My focus for the next 10 years will be on the predictive power of data. We will have to fight to capture the attention of consumers. Amazon and Facebook, are new disruptive channels. What about WhatsApp tomorrow?”
“The rules of the game have changed,” says Ignacio Sierra, Managing Director of Tendam, which has a database of 30 million loyal customers. “What role do you play in the new ecosystem? Being omnicanal (social media, ecommerce, marketplaces, website, third party vendors) is not a strategy. You have to adopt a new vision, choose the channel that suits you best”. What about technology, which will take centre stage? The focus will be on telecommunications, cybersecurity, contactless payment, traceability and analytics-in-store. We need to bridge the gap between what we know about the online consumer, and their comparative behaviour in the store, like interactions with products and what they intend to buy.
“Technology will help us to rationalise consumer choices, to make cleaner, less polluting products. We will have to move towards new, more sustainable values to win back consumer confidence,” says Tendam’s boss. Stores (2,000 units within the group) will return to their original role (Editor’s note: service and helping customers). In fashion, we will move towards models generating less volume perhaps but more value.