The challenge
The country's largest tech retailer had led its market for decades, with stores nationwide. Then international chains arrived and began taking share. The retailer needed to differentiate, rethink its retail strategy and re-establish itself as the market leader.
The insight
Its strongest advantages were hiding in plain sight, framed as operations rather than reasons to choose it.
We wanted to see the market as a local customer does. We combined primary and secondary research on customers, competitors and the company. The research included visits to the client's and competitors' stores, footfall analysis, a marketing and sales audit, and team interviews. Four advantages stood out that no international chain could copy quickly:
- A hugely popular instalment payment plan, which made up a large share of sales.
- The widest store network in the country.
- The oldest and most trusted name in the market.
- The largest stock.
What I did
- We reframed each advantage as a customer benefit.
| Advantage | Reframed as |
|---|---|
| Instalment plan | A subscription service: from "taking a loan" to "subscribing to the latest tech" |
| Widest store network | Local community insight built into marketing, store by store |
| Oldest brand | An experience that proudly reflects local culture |
| Largest stock | Personalised, needs-based browsing by customer group, instead of overwhelming displays |
The vision tying it together: "Innovating [the country's] everyday", a truly local tech experience that raises everyday shopping.
The outcome
- The client built the largest tech flagship store in the country, based on the strategy.
- The flagship is being used as a test before rolling the strategy out across the chain.
- Dalziel & Pow was retained to design the flagship and the client's headquarters.