Smarty, which includes an e-shop with smarty.cz electronics and the iWant Apple Premium Reseller e-shop network, received a positive opinion from the Antimonopoly Office, completing the acquisition of the JRC brand and store network. Thanks to this, the company will grow by 44 stone shops. In them, it will combine the offer of goods and services of the smarty.cz e-shop and the JRC brand.
Smarty will come to the retail environment with electronics with a new concept. “After a long time, the market is starting to move. The biggest players turn into a market, where in addition to electronics you will find, for example, a drugstore, clothes or pet food. But we are convinced that this will clear part of the playing field, because buying a new phone or computer is still an exceptional event for people. And they want to graduate in a suitable store that specializes in electronics and where the staff has the appropriate knowledge. We have been operating a network of Apple Premium Resellers since 2012. Thanks to that, we know what such a first-class store and especially customer service should look like, and we will offer the same to customers and other brands of electronics in a completely new network of stores, “ states the founder and owner of Smarty Petr Syrůček. Smarty plans to open the first stores in the new concept in the spring of 2022.
- Smarty Completes Acquisition of JRC to Acquire Another 44 iWant Store Networks in Its Existing iWant Store Network
- In the new Smarty store network, it will create a premium environment for purchasing electronics and maintain an experience environment for gamers familiar to JRC customers
- In 2021, the company has a turnover of over three billion, in the next two years it wants to be at five billion
We will never become a marketplace
While the biggest players of Czech e-commerce have chosen the path of the American Amazon and are trying to offer the most comprehensive portfolio of products on their e-shops, Petr Syrůček says that Smarty will not follow this path. “We only want to sell what we know and understand. People never buy washing powder or dishes from us. We are specialists in electronics and we will remain so, “ emphasizes.
Related to this is Smarty’s clear strategy of having enough experienced staff who can really give customers in-depth advice. “It’s something that our customers are used to, even during the coronavirus pandemic, our experts advised people to buy via FaceTime or chat,” Syrůček explains. Thanks to the cooperation with Liftag, the service of delivery of goods to the address within 60 minutes of ordering was also launched in Prague. New stores will transfer this customer service to physical sales. “In stores, top-trained consultants will advise customers on everything they need. Thanks to the fact that we want to specialize only in electronics, we will be able to offer them really professional customer service. “
According to Syrůček, expertise and top service should be the main attraction for which customers will still go to the stone branches. Many people want to talk about their purchase with an expert or want to look at or compare the goods before buying them. People will have a choice: “It doesn’t matter if you want to choose the goods in the e-shop, or go to the store and get advice there. Do it yourself and in both cases we will deliver the goods home quickly, if it is not in stock at a specific store. We call it omnichannel, but under that word lies a simple return to the roots of honest specialized retail, where an experienced consultant has enough time for you and can really advise you, “ adds Syrůček.
Stores will no longer be the same
According to the sales director Rudolf Konečný, the Smarty stone stores will not be self-service, but rather a showroom of top items, because the entire portfolio offered is several orders of magnitude larger than the stocks in any store. That is, a place where people can look at electronics in peace, try it out and get advice. Then they can take it away, or the courier service will deliver the goods home, for example, on the exact same day.
But Smarty will keep the JRC brand and reserve an important place in its stores. However, according to Rudolf Konečný, retail trade in gaming is also gradually changing. The era of buying games “in boxes” is coming to an end, and therefore stores must maintain, from the point of view of gaming, resp. expand your main functions: testing the gaming experience and purchasing the corresponding hardware or accessories.
“One of the services we plan to launch is building custom computers not only for gamers. Our plan is simple: the customer comes to the store, discusses their needs with the seller, then together they select or configure the appropriate computer, we assemble it and deliver it directly to home. We will come to the market with our new brand of computers in the autumn – we already have the necessary contracts with component manufacturers, ready facilities for their storage, an assembly line and the necessary team of technicians, “ explains Rudolf Konečný.
And the experience? In big cities, Smarty plans to open real gaming centers. In them, everyone will be able not only to buy, but above all to try the latest and greatest from the world of games.
In two years? Turnover of five billion
The acquisition of JRC and the transition to the omnichannel system moves Smarty into the first league of Czech e-commerce. “In 2024, we expect a turnover of over five billion crowns and more than five hundred employees,” Petr Syrůček quantifies the future of Smarty and at the same time expects the number of stores to increase. “In two years, we’d like to have a total of between 50 and 60,” concludes.
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