INTERVIEW Altex Romania: “Shoppers are more informed, know or are looking to learn more details about the specifications or the performance rate of the products they are buying”

The GPeC team sat down with Altex – the leader in the electro-IT retail – to talk about the company’s plans in e-commerce. Here is the interview with Dan Ostahie (CEO Altex Romania) and Daniel Mirea (Director Retail Altex Romania), about their strategy in online shopping. At the GPeC Summit, you will hear Ovidiua Ababei and you’ll have the opportunity to ask him questions during the pannel “The story of successful online shops with facts and figures”.

How did the Romanian electro-IT market behave in the first 6 months?

There have been 6 good months, with a very good growth rate, the best after 2008 and an average of over 19% compared to 2015. All electro-IT categories showed increases compared to the previous year, computers (mobile and desktop) being the only category with a slower growing pace. These products have been going through a process of replacement for some time, thus new releases take over more and more features each year.

What were the results recorded by Altex and Media Galaxy in the first quarter?

For the Altex Romania company (Altex and Media Galaxy) the results were beyond the electro-IT market growth. This was largely due to the expansion of its network with about 20 stores, compared to the same period in 2015. In addition to network expansion, we have put an emphasis on services and tried to offer complete solutions, in line with our customers’ needs. For the matter, we can mention the booking service in the store, buy online and pay in the store, the return in 30 days policy, the buy back service for home appliances and TVs, free shipping anywhere in the country, the existence of an easy lending system, facilitating the crediting without an income certificate, installment buying without interest for a total of up to 24 installments.

What role played omnichannel positioning in achieving these results?

Altex’s positioning is to come up with the best offer. This means, on one hand, the best-perceived value to customers, on the other hand, the best experience with the Altex brand. The omnichannel strategy that we adopted since 2014 helps us offer our customers an improved shopping experience in stores and online. Therefore, we reconsidered the role of the store in a space that provides experience with the product and expert advice for the clients (product information and solutions for their lifestyle and their needs) and we’re working on a new IT platform to ensure a more efficient online-offline integration.

What factors influence the development of the retail market?

This year’s retail market was and is influenced by the Value-Added tax cut, the increase in the minimum wage and the rising wages, which attracted growth in the private sector as well. Also, easing crediting conditions provided access to diverse and more attractive lending packages. From this point of view, we have an internal team (Credex) and we are working with several banks to provide lending solutions more profitable for our clients.

How do you see the evolution of this market towards the end of the year?

The market continues its climbing trend, something that allows us to estimate a higher growth for H2, especially thanks to Black Friday and Christmas time.

What are the most popular products of this year?

There is a great demand for all product categories. But the biggest increase comes from premium technology, in the smartphone, gadgets and TV categories.

Have the Romanian customers changed their shopping behavior?

Absolutely, and our 23-year presence on the local market gives us the privilege of constantly observing how this change occurs. Nowaday shoppers are more informed, know or are looking to learn more details about the specifications or the performance rate of the products they are buying, but also about the perceived value of the purchase they make. The economic crisis has made us more careful when making an investment and the price continues to play an important role in purchasing decisions; a significant impact can be seen during promotions.

How many purchase online, and how many still prefer to visit actual shops?

In our case, the share of online purchases will exceed 25% at the end of the year. But customer preferences can not be analyzed “mathematically”, considering only this indicator. Online is the most important medium for the research stage, through which consumers do their shopping list, but the store remains the most important channel that builds the experience with the product. Regardless of where they make the final purchase, consumers visit the store to get hands-on experience with the product and to receive advice from the sales team. Hence our constant concern for online-offline integration and investment in the sales force. 

You are undergoing a process of replanning of the stores. What was the context that facilitated this decision?

Altex’s strategy is focused on the client. In order to facilitate the access to the electro-IT products we expanded our store network, but we also desire an upgrade of the spaces on each category, according to our consumers’ preferences, to market developments and latest releases in terms of gadgets and new products.

What trends do you expect for 2017?

For 2017 we expect a good year, similar to 2016. Certainly, if the retail market will grow, it will do so at a slower pace than this year, which is normal for a market that tends to reach maturity in a few years, meaning that we won’t see growth of 20 +/- 30% any longer, but of +/- 5%.