Macinform September 2010
Transcription
Macinform September 2010
3 Macinform EDITION SEPTEMBER 2010 Halfords Service Centre at work; HALFORDS BECOMES the largest bicycle rePairer in the Netherlands in one fell swoop From left to right: Joost Cornelissen, Fred de Groot and Rob Calis 3 Manfield introduces Black Label 6 Half-year figures for 2010 8 Brantano UK encourages young talent 11 Macintosh Retail Group subsidiaries optimise online recruitment tools With the new ‘QuickFix 2-hour service” and the opening of the Halfords Service Centre, Halfords is now the largest bicycle repairer in the Netherlands, a ‘title’ that is in perfect keeping with Halfords’ plans for the future. No more waiting From now on, you can simply visit any of the 150 Halfords shops for a tyre replacement, lighting repair or to have accessories mounted without having to make an appointment. Dozens of qualified bicycle mechanics also carry out major repairs at the Halfords Service Centre in Veenendaal. This approach provides customers with the confidence that their minor repairs or service are taken care of quickly and competently, while major repairs are performed properly and professionally by specially trained Halfords bicycle mechanics. One less worry for bicycle owners… 12 BelCompany shows you the way Four streets At the Service Centre in Veenendaal, rows of bicycle mechanics spend their days working on two-wheelers. The bicycles are assembled in their entirety so they can ‘race off’ into the happy hands of customers through one of the Halfords shops. This saves a huge amount of work in the shops, giving shop personnel more time for continued on page 2 Push introduces new thumb brace concept 4 HSC employees at work customers. More complex repairs are also carried out quickly and reliably at the Service Centre, so customers can profit from combined knowledge and expertise,” explains Joost Cornelissen, Project Manager of the Halfords Service Centre. Double check The quality of the bicycles and bicycle services is continuously monitored and improved by Halfords. Quality inspections are an essential part of this. At the Halfords Service Centre, Fred de Groot conducts quality checks each and every day and, together with Service Centre Coordinator Rob Calis, helps raise the service offered by Halfords to a continuously higher level. According to Rob Calis, “Continuous quality checks also make it possible to identify certain issues early on, so the bicycles in question can be put aside immediately. We are also working with a new application that allows us to instantly see the status of every bicycle undergoing repairs. This makes everything measurable, checkable and manageable.” When it comes to bicycles, look no further than Halfords For those who may still be in doubt, there is no need to look further than Halfords when it comes to bicycles. There is always a Halfords near you. Mark de Jonge, Marketing & Communications Manager at Halfords 7 : rds bicycles oose Halfo ns to ch good reaso ble bicycles of afforda n io ct le se ty 1 Wide nd warran t service a t highly a ty 2 Excellen nd warran a e ic rv se 3 Extra itive rates t all times compet in prices a ed a cle tr t every bicy 4 Excellen surance on in th n o m 5 Free 3 options ycle Plan financing ational Bic 6 Flexible N h g u ro antage th Tax adv 7 Back-to-School 2010 Collection Everyone’s a winner at Brantano UK A ‘futuristic galaxy’ theme and brightly coloured point of sale items throughout the store highlight the trendy Back To School-products of Brantano. Back To School is Brantano’s busiest time of the year… ‘Skechers Cali Bits’ Whether you are looking for great value, latest fashion, top brands or kids fitting, Brantano is the place to be. Especially during the Back To School season. Brantano surprised their customers with a pack of ‘Skechers Cali Bits’ with all kids purchases during Back To School, a cool way to bring some fun to your feet. With Brantano’s expert kids fitters in every store trained to EDI standard, 2 parents can be sure their kid’s feet will be professionally fitted to ensure sufficient growing room and the correct width with no gaping or heel slip. Free Family break This year Brantano UK is working in collaboration with a top national UK holiday park operator called ‘Park Resorts’, for families to save up to 25% on their camping holiday’s during Back To School by quoting a special reference especially for Brantano UK customers. Plus, there is also the chance to win one of three short breaks for the whole family. Karen Staton, Retail Operations Director at Brantano Footwear says “Back To School accounts to a significant part of our total annual sales. Every year we seem to step up to the next level against our competitors with fantastic value school shoes starting at just £10. For kids who love their sport, Brantano offers an exciting new Back to School shoe with Anti-bacterial technology to keep those growing feet feeling fresh day after day. We even do a washable Back To School shoe so parents can make sure the kids shoes look and smell as good as new!” Push introduces new thumb brace concept ‘Thumbs up’ for Push Arthrosis of the thumb basal joint is a common degenerative condition that primarily affects those between the ages of 40 and 60. One in 4 to 5 people in Europe suffers from this. Push developed the Push thumb brace CMC, a new concept that many hands have been waiting for, especially for this group. More within hand’s reach Since the thumb determines around 40% of hand functioning, arthrosis of the basal thumb joint can lead to functional instability of the hand. This in turn can lead to symptoms like pain, reduced hand functioning, loss of strength and stiffness. The new thumb brace concept from Push keeps the hand stable and improves grip. The result? Greater mobility and functionality of the hand and less pain when using the thumb. Antibacterial Hygiene is important. That’s why the thumb brace is made of antibacterial materials and is machine washable. Both the materials used and the finish guarantee optimal wearing comfort. The simple fastening system also makes it easy to put on the brace. For more information, visit www.push.eu. The Push CMC thumb brace is excellently suited for the following conditions: • CMC I arthrosis • Post-operative use after arthroplastic implant of aCMC I joint • Instability of CMC I joint Customers satisfied with Kwantum Kwantum benefits from BAAT Kwantum’s BAAT programme, an extra employee training programme that focuses on the sales process and customer friendliness, has clearly paid off. Hard figures No fewer than 30 mystery shoppers set off to visit all shops disguised as customers. They visited not only Kwantum shops, but also the branches of comparable store chains and made test purchases of curtains and floor coverings. While ‘shopping’, they paid attention to such matters as the manner of greeting, advice, expertise and friendliness. This made it possible to map out the overall customer experience in concrete terms. And the figures speak for themselves: Kwantum stands head and shoulders above the rest. The ambiance, customer friendliness and professionalism of Kwantum all rate very highly. To illustrate: more than 60% of shoppers choose Kwantum as their first choice when buying curtains and, as regards carpet sales, Kwantum rates close to 25% higher than a comparable store chain. In other words, Kwantum is not only the most affordable, but also the friendliest home furnishings shop. 3 Introduction of exclusive luxury line Black Label by Manfield With the launching of the new ‘Black Label’ brand, Manfield is once again upholding its credo of ‘Passion for quality’. Each of the Black Label shoes is a work of art in itself and made of special types of leather and the highest quality suede available. It is truly a ‘top of the bill’ collection for fashionistas of both sexes. The exquisite materials used for the Black Label shoes are carefully selected. And every Black Label shoe is made by hand. Throughout every phase of the production process, first-class craftsmen devote maximum attention to quality. Fiona Hering and Henk Sieders, General Manager of the Hoogenbosch Retail Group Design team Manfield’s Black Label design time specialises in designing lovely and unique shoes that fit in perfectly with today’s fashion trends. All models are developed in keeping with the latest catwalk trends from Milan, New York, Paris and London. In addition to the highfashion look of every shoe, the fit is always perfect. Black Label shoes by Manfield really make your ‘fashion heart’ beat more quickly. Quality becomes obvious the moment you put on a shoe. But there is one major difference between Manfield’s Black Label line and other luxury design brands, namely, the affordability of this exclusive Manfield label. Black Label shoes start at only €100. So the much-desired wanna-haves of this fall will soon be within easy reach, thanks to Manfield’s Black Label! Manfield: passion for quality www.manfield.com 4 Making room for the new 2011 collection BIKE SALE At Halfords True to tradition, Halfords is once again holding its bicycle sales in September. This is when the bicycling season is coming to an end and fall is just around the corner, making it the perfect time of year to clear out this year’s collection and make room for the new 2011 collection. Halfords is once again sparing no expenses. In addition to an eye-catching A2-format advertising brochure and lots of attention in the shops, Halfords is also attracting the necessary attention online through Google, eBay and other sites. Exciting final round of the ‘Become a PRO’ campaign Winner to join Timor Steffens for PRO styling in L.A. Ikram Elkadiri was the winner of the exciting final round of the ‘Become a PRO’ campaign from PRO. Ikram translated her own special style in a unique and creative manner into PRO style and won the trip to L.A., where she will be styling for PRO together with Timor Steffens (who, among other accomplishments, danced in the film ‘This is it’ featuring Michael Jackson). Putting together a collection For the past few months, young people were given the opportunity to upload their own style on www. becomeapro.nl. Of the more than 455 uploaded styles, the ten styles with the most votes ultimately made it to the finals. They shared their own unique style with the jury and showed how it could be translated for the PRO shops. More than 28,000 unique votes were ultimately cast for the profiles. Ikram Elkadiri was chosen the winner of the ‘Become a PRO’ campaign. Together with Timor, she will be flying to L.A. to look for the latest trends and must-haves for the PRO shops. 5 2010 HALF-YEAR REPORT MACINTOSH RETAIL GROUP NV Net profit up more than 10% During the presentation of the half-year figures for 2010 on 31 August, our CEO Frank De Moor announced that sales in the non-food retail sector have been declining seven quarters in a row. “Consumers keep a tight hand on their purses in the home decoration stores in particular. Other markets in which Macintosh Retail Group operates have also not shown real signs of recovery.” According to De Moor, the shoe formulas benefited from increased collaboration and an integrated supplier and market approach. “Due to the higher gross margin resulting from these efforts, the operating result of Fashion grew by € 5.2 million, almost three times the amount for the first half of 2009. Brantano BeLux and Brantano UK in particular made a strong contribution to the increase. Unfortunately, the sectors Living and Automotive & Telecom did not record higher operating results.” De Moor continues: “As a result of active working capital management and a further reduction of our debt position, we managed to lower our finance costs once again. Net profit on continuing operations was more than 10% up on the first half of 2009.” De Moor also talked in detail about expectations for the entire 2010 year. “For the sector Living I expect another tough half year. In Fashion I expect that if market conditions remain unchanged, we achieve a higher gross margin and thus a higher operating result. For Automotive & Telecom it will continue to be a challenge to match the excellent operating result for 2009 with the note that developments in the telecom market are expected to put pressure on smaller players in particular.” Increased salary costs in the Far East and higher raw materials prices were also discussed. According to De Moor, these two factors, together with movements in the US dollar against the euro, will drive up purchase prices. The impact of this on Macintosh Retail Group’s gross margin can be offset by actions taken.” De Moor indicates that the second half of the year started well although it is too early yet to speak of a trend breakthrough. “Given the now falling consumer confidence and the fact that a large part of Macintosh Retail Group’s result is usually realised in the final months of the year, we do not make any statement on turnover and operating result for the second half of 2010.” Frank De Moor (CEO) Highlights for first half-year 2010 • Marginally lower turnover (- 1.1%) in non-food retail market under pressure (NL: - 2.7%). • Gross margin up 1.1 percentage points, mainly thanks to Fashion. • Operating result unchanged. Increase at Fashion; declines at Living and Automotive & Telecom. • Lower finance costs due to decrease in average net debt. • Net profit on continuing operations up € 0.8 million. • Good start of third quarter; no statement on full-year result. Amounts in € x million H1 2010 H1 2009 530.9 536.6 24.9 25.3 12.3 12.2 Net profit1 6.9 6.1 Total net profit 6.9 8.12 Turnover1 EBITDA 1 Operating result (EBIT) 1 1 On continuing operations (excluding BelCompany Belgium, which was sold at June 30, 2009). 2 Including € 2.0 million effect of sale BelCompany Belgium. Non-food retail market shows no signs of recovery Whereas initial signs of recovery in the Netherlands became visible at the end of 2009, consumer confidence fell again in 2010. The decline is owing in full to the overall economic situation and the focus on substantial cost-cutting measures in the election campaigns. The same situation existed in Belgium, France and the 6 United Kingdom. As a result, consumers showed restraint in their non-food retail spending and built up savings instead. According to Statistics Netherlands, non-food retail spending in the Netherlands fell by 2.7% during the first six months of 2010, chiefly owing to a drop in the number of products sold. Number of stores down by 18 Compared with June 30, 2009, the number of stores decreased by 18 to 1,245 on balance. During the first Shops H1 2010 2009 H1 2009 Living 147 149 150 Fashion 743 740 738 Automotive & Telecom 355 360 375 1,245 1,249 1,263 Total Turnover down from € 536.6 million to € 530.9 million In the first half of 2010, Macintosh Retail Group’s turnover fell by € 5.7 million compared with the first half of 2009, with 18 fewer stores. Turnover for the first Turnover Amounts in € x million half of 2010, 12 stores were opened and 16 closed. The number of stores by sector can be broken down as follows: H1 2010 H1 2009 quarter was the same as for the first quarter in 2009, with the second quarter showing a decline as a result of weather conditions that were unfavourable to the retail market. % +/- Living 121.5 127.6 -4.8 % Fashion 274.8 1 273.0 + 0.6 % Automotive & Telecom 134.6 136.0 -1.0 % Total 530.9 536.6 - 1.1 % 1 Including positive foreign exchange effect of € 2.2 million. Operating result Operating result unchanged from 2009, due to increase at Fashion The gross margin was up 1.1 percentage points, from 45.6% to 46.7%, through a combination of active supplier management (at Fashion in particular) and strict Amounts in € x million H1 2010 H1 2009 Living 2.0 4.6 Fashion 8.2 3.0 Automotive & Telecom 4.8 8.0 Other - 2.7 - 3.4 Total 12.3 12.2 1 The item ‘Other’ represents all expenses not directly attributable to sectors. Net profit on continuing operations up € 0.8 million (more than 10%) A lower average net debt position compared with the first half of 2009 caused the finance costs to fall by € 1.0 Net profit inventory and discount management. A substantial increase in the Fashion sector and a limited rise at Living were set off by a fall at Automotive & Telecom. Expenses rose by € 3.2 million, € 1.3 million being attributable to foreign exchange effects. Amounts in € x million million to - € 3.7 million. Tax pressure was slightly higher than in the first six months of 2009. Net profit on continuing operations came in at € 6.9 million (2009: € 6.1 million). H1 2010 H1 2009 Net profit on continuing operations 6.9 6.1 Net profit on discontinued operations - 2.0 6.9 8.1 1 Total net profit 1 BelCompany Belgium, which was sold at June 30, 2009. 7 In the 12 months since she won the Vocational Qualification (VQ) Learner of the Year Award for the East of England, Natalie Hewis from Lowestoft has risen through Brantano’s ranks from Supervisor to Assistant Store Manager. Brantano recognised her potential as a manager of the future. Charisma The 23 year old has seen a dramatic change in her career prospects since her win and was recently promoted to Assistant Store Manager at the Great Yarmouth branch. Recognised qualification Vocational Qualification is a recognised qualification at any level relating to a particular line of work or specific job role. These qualifications have an emphasis on the assessment of practical skills and knowledge. VQs are focused on abilities that give talent a head start in their career, rather than just talenT Louise Williams, Training Officer at Brantano comments, “Natalie has really impressed us ever since our national training provider, Protocol Skills, nominated her for the VQ award last year. She has the skills, confidence and charisma to go a long way. Natalie is a great example of the raw enthusiasm and commitment shown by many learners when completing a vocational qualification.” Brantano encourages learners to get involved. Stepping stone Natalie says, “Winning the VQ Award was a great boost for my confidence, I even received a call from the Brantano Retail Director congratulating me personally, which was fantastic! This opportunity has really been a stepping stone for me, showing my employer I have the skills and desire to progress, and I feel the whole process helped me secure my promotion. I’ve never looked back!” Keen to make others aware of the advantages of completing work-based training, Natalie comments, “I would recommend completing a Vocational Qualification to anyone, it boosts your confidence and knowledge, plus you never know where it will take you!” theory. With the aim of raising the profile of vocational qualifications and celebrating the achievements of real high flyers within the vocational arena, the VQ Awards are one of the largest work-based training events each year. Natalie Hewis with the ‘Learner of the Year Award’. 8 Natalie Hewis, left side Brantano UK gives a boost to Young Translation of CORE VALUES into Brantano belux shop concept Value for your money, lots of shoes for the entire family, and the best choice are important Brantano BeLux core values. To better express these core values, a number of Brantano shops were recently restyled. eye-catching feature is the ‘landing zone’ furniture piece, with its ‘stimulating’ display of the Brantano collection. The foot measurement service is also placed centrally in the shop. Landing zone The ‘Kids Department’ has been placed at the back of the shops, where kids can live it up in the Kids’ Corner while other customers continue to shop undisturbed. An Refreshing A stylish use of colour, comfortable fitting chairs and mirrors in the middle aisle, attractive signage and clear routing together provide a refreshing new look & feel to the shops, one that is in close keeping with Brantano’s core values. ScapiDoe - ScapiD€€ internal communications project Scapino employees share initiatives To better inform and motivate employees, Scapino has launched a dynamic internal communications project with the motto: Scapino, always moving forward! Every week, employees are sent an e-mail with ScapiDoe, a ‘things-to-do list’ filled with handy commercial tips and a ScapiD€€ (‘Scap-idea’) list of inspiring ideas. Both of these initiatives are designed to increase employee involvement and customer focus. After all, what is good for the customer is good for Scapino. Knowledge sharing By sharing knowledge, employees not only become more familiar with the products they sell, but also understand the campaigns better, allowing them to apply this knowledge towards achieving positive results. This is the idea behind the internal communications project that involves the use of various tools. ScapiD€€ Every Tuesday, the branches receive the ScapiD€€ e-mail. ScapiD€€ is intended as a fun way to inform employees about opportunities, campaigns and the results of previous efforts. By, for example, tailoring the product presentations to the weather forecast, customers can find the products they need more quickly. This means devoting more attention to swimming products during good weather and giving raincoats a more prominent place in the store during rainy weather. Good ideas from employees that contribute positively to results are also highlighted in the ScapiD€€. After all, knowledge sharing leads to success. Scapino, always moving forward… ScapiDoe The ScapiDoe is sent by e-mail to all branches every Thursday. It contains a series of assignments that employees need to carry out before a certain deadline. Examples include listing those models that still need labelling and models that should be removed from the collection. These activities are designed to make it easier for customers to choose, approve and buy at Scapino. 9 Playful campaigns Brantano BELUX makes shopping for everyone FuN -20% -20 -20% -50% -5% -50 % Brantano has something for everyone in the family, from shoes and bags to sports clothing and scores of accessories. Brantano’s playful campaigns also make shopping even more fun for the entire family… % --20% 20%-30 -5% SOL DE -5% -5% N --3400%% -40% -20% SOL EN SOL EN -50% --3400%% -40% -5% DEN -50% SOL New ‘Mix and Match by Danie’ collection and exclusive bootie for Pink Ribbon Follow-up to success at Manfield 10 %% -5% High numbers every time Brantano is known for its successful campaigns. What is new, however, is Brantano’s literal translation of ‘throwing high numbers’. During the SALES period, customers can increase the discount they receive on sales items by throwing dice. This campaign is both fun and profitable. Statement of success Stylist to the stars Danie Bles has launched a new ‘Mix & Match Fall Collection’ for Manfield. As the stylist of Dutch celebrities, Danie always knows what’s hot and happening. Manfield considers this collection a confirmation of its brand values. Manfield stands for quality & fashion – and the collaboration with Danie emphasises just that. -30 -20 Plopsa This year’s summer theme at Brantano was ‘Plopsa’. For every purchase of € 20 or more, customers could buy a ‘Plopsa ticket’ for only € 5. An extra discount for the adults and lots of fun for the kids! Tens of thousands of Plopsa tickets have since been sold and Brantano can be rightfully proud of this exceptionally successful campaign. At Manfield, the saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” has proven to be true. The success of the first ‘Mix & Match by Danie for Manfield’ collection and the pump designed specially for Pink Ribbon are both worthy of a follow-up. -5% -30% SOLEN Donation Pink Ribbon is calling for public attention to breast cancer in the month of October, International Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Manfield is supporting this foundation once again this year by designing an exclusive bootie. Manfield is donating € 15 of the € 119.99 sales price for a pair of booties to the Pink Ribbon Foundation. The bootie is easy to convert to an everfashionable and comfortable boot. So Manfield will also be putting its best leg forward for the rest of the year to support Pink Ribbon! More and more people use the Internet for job-hunting. The websites for Dutch shop formulas Kwantum, Halfords, Dolcis, Manfield, PRO, Invito and Scapino have replaced their job opportunities pages with a new, uniform gateway page that features the house style of the shop formula. This gateway leads to a complete overview of all job opportunities. -30% -40%-40% -5% -5% Macintosh Retail Group subsidiaries optimise online recruitment tools % %% -40 -40 -30 SOLEN SOLDEN -20% -5% SOL D EN SOL EN 0% -5% 20 0% 0%% -4 -3-40 -2 Jobsinshops.nl 0% -5% -30% It takes only a few seconds The functionalities of the job portal represent an optimisation and expansion of the current functionalities for each of the shop formulas. Visitors can find a job opening within only a few seconds using the fast search function. In addition, the advanced search function (for example: ‘within a radius of 10 km’) makes it possible to search more specifically for job opportunities. Jobsinshops also tremendously improves the efficiency of the P&O Department, since job applicants can be forwarded quickly and easily to, for example, the district managers or other subsi diaries. This portal can be accessed either through the shop website or directly through the specific P&O URL, such as www.werkenbijscapino.nl or: www.werkenbijkwantum.nl. Quality first The initial results are very promising. During the first few months, more than 10,000 job seekers, the majority of whom are high-quality and competent, have already applied for jobs through the new job openings websites and www.jobsinshops.nl Right on target every time If, for example, you search for ‘Scapino shop manager’ in Den Bosch, the other shop manager openings at other shop formulas in Den Bosch will be shown at the bottom of the page. Job seekers immediately see all the possibilities and openings at other shop formulas can also be filled more quickly. Job applicants can also create a personal profile that can be managed on the ‘my jobs’ pages. Applicants can use these pages to keep track of which phase in the recruitment process they have reached. It is also possible to save job opportunities to apply for in the future. Linked All job openings, company films, career opportunities and other information placed by the shop formulas on their own websites will automatically be posted on the job site www.jobsinshops.nl. This results in an increase in the total number of job opportunities for job seekers and provides every shop formula with an extra recruitment channel. The job opening pages on the websites for the shop formulas have been replaced with a new and uniform gateway page in the house style of the shop formula concerned. 11 Free mobile phone navigation BelCompany shows you the way The market for individual navigation devices is shrinking, while the demand for mobile phones with navigation capabilities continues to rise. And having a navigation system on a mobile phone makes it possible to link extra applications, such as information on restaurants, hotels and ATMs, to the navigation functions regardless of time and location. This seamless integration of mobile functionalities is right up BelCompany’s alley… Response Paul Vreeburg, General Manager of BelCompany explains, “We have noticed that consumers have a growing preference for device integration, in this case navigation on their mobile phones, so that they can leave the house with fewer devices. We are responding to this trend by focusing our efforts fully on mobile navigation and removing the individual navigation devices from the product range. Location-based services continue to grow and affordable mobile phone navigation is an important part of this.” Inexpensive international use Navigation has become a ‘must’ for mobile phone users. With ‘smartphones’ and unlimited bundles, mobile navigation has become not only affordable, but also widely available. Even abroad, inexpensive navigation is possible by downloading maps beforehand and saving them in the phone memory. In other words, there are no extra data costs to navigate while abroad using this offline navigation tool. The only possible costs are for the maps downloaded or a larger memory card with extra storage capacity if needed. Safety first BelCompany prioritises safety when it comes to mobile navigation and the standard rule is that mobile phones should only be used in cars hands-free using a car kit or headset. The same rule applies to mobile navigation. BelCompany encourages new possibilities like mobile navigation, but emphasises the importance of a car kit. When used responsibly, mobile navigation with a car kit is just as safe as using separate navigation equipment. BelCompany: the anytime, anywhere experts Colofon: Editor: Postal address: Production: Printing: Mr. P.T.A. Hünen Macintosh Retail Group PO box 5770, 6202 MH Maastricht The Netherlands Caris & Sak, Heerlen Drukkerij Schrijen-Lippertz Voerendaal/Stein This Macinform is printed on FSC certified paper. 12 Should different interpretations arise between the Dutch and the English language version, the Dutch language version prevails. Anytime, anywhere Mobile navigation is no longer limited to the car, but can also be used when walking or riding a bike. Users with a navigation function on their mobile phone can also request a wide range of extra information. This is not possible with traditional navigation equipment. Nowadays, most mobile phones have a large screen and, thanks to sophisticated technology on the phone, addresses can be entered much more easily. The integration of multiple functionalities in a compact mobile phone saves consumers from having to purchase separate navigation devices.