The Technosila brand is one of the most recognizable in Russia. This is one of the largest retailers in the segment of household appliances and electronics. Founded more than 20 years ago, the Technosila company continues to develop actively. Despite the difficult times associated with the difficulties of modernizing the Russian economy today, top managers of the brand see prospects in the development of new areas of activity.
Among the most dynamic segments of modern electronic retail are online sales. At the same time, if some time ago online stores were considered competitors to traditional points of sale, today offline retailers are actively learning to use online tools in order to improve their business. Today, the Internet is an indispensable channel for communication with a client for many sellers.
The goals announced by the Technosila top managers are in many respects connected with more active use of just online tools. To what extent does brand infrastructure match the objectives? Are customers satisfied with the experience of communicating with the company in terms of visits to offline stores and the fact of accessing online services?
Brand history
The Technosila company, reviews of which are present in large numbers on the online space, is one of the leading Russian retailers in the segment of household appliances and electronic equipment. According to various estimates, the company is in the top companies from the Russian Federation in terms of used retail space. The Technosila company was founded in 1993 by two businessmen - Vyacheslav and Viktor Zaitsevs in Moscow. Since 2001, the brand began to appear in other regions of the Russian Federation. Regarding the prospects for the distribution of the Technosila network, the reviews of many Russian marketers were the most positive. By 2007, the bulk of the brand’s stores were located in the regions. In the same year, the first foreign Technosila store opened in Dushanbe, as part of a franchise agreement.
In 2010, the assets of Technosila, reviews of which in terms of further expansion during the recent crisis were not too positive among Russian experts, were transferred to the management of MDM Bank. Soon, however, the brand shares were sold to Dauria. And in February 2011, the bankruptcy proceedings of the Technosila brand were initiated. Reviews regarding her among Russian experts were of a very different shade. It is known that at the time of court hearings regarding bankruptcy, the amount of claims of creditors exceeded 11 billion rubles. By the end of 2011, Dauria was able to repay all debts of Technosila, and from the beginning of 2012, the chain's stores reopened their doors to customers. However, soon enough, the brand was sold to a group of financial investors. In 2014, the merger of Technosila with another major retailer of the electronics and household appliances segment, the Technoshok company, was announced. As a result, one of the largest retail chains in Russia was formed with more than 120 stores and a total area of outlets exceeding 230 thousand square meters. m. The brand "Technosila" is now present in all federal districts of Russia, except the Far East.
The company plans to actively develop the online component of the business. The online store belonging to the Technosila brand receives customer reviews in a wide range. The degree of mood, of course, is very different, but in general, Russian consumers are positive about the company. The effective work of the brand’s structures, experts believe, is largely due to the successful integration of Technosila and Technoshok resources available at the time of the merger. In the future, the corporation plans to invest in logistics, improving IT infrastructure, introducing new CRM models and launching various loyalty programs.
Online Development
Consider the aspect of brand development in the online direction. As we have already noted above, the Tekhnosila brand is receiving more and more active customer feedback on the Internet. Opinions regarding the quality of goods sold in stores in the network, as well as the level of service, are expressed by Russian users on a variety of online portals. So, for example, in a fairly wide range it has reviews by Technosila on Yandex.Market, one of the largest online sales integrators in the Russian Federation.
According to the plans voiced by the brand’s leadership in an interview with the media, the company is faced with the task of providing the market with a sufficiently unique business format in the form of a model in which the online direction and offline infrastructure will be optimally combined. It is planned to invest in improving the capabilities of the site, increasing its recognition among Russian users. According to many experts who form reviews about the Technosila store, the crisis trends in the segment can significantly hinder the successful implementation of the brand’s goals. However, analysts believe that modern Russian retailers can effectively develop if they optimally approach the issue of prioritizing online sales and offline. Actually, within the framework of this strategy, “Technosila” is likely to develop. Already, according to some sources, the share of online sales in the company forms about 20% of its revenue in the Russian market. This indicator is expected to grow.
Offline is relevant!
At the same time, top managers of Technosila in an interview with the media emphasize the fact that the offline sales direction will also develop. First of all, in terms of infrastructural support for the online component of the business. That is, the customer, ordering something on the site, should be able to come to a convenient store for him and pick up his purchase. As for the number of offline network points, it, as the managers of the company believe, will not change significantly in the near future. It can be noted that reviews about the Technosila store largely include such an aspect as the location of specific points of sale. Many buyers highly appreciate the convenience of the location of most of them in relation to the geography of cities and the transport infrastructure of settlements. If the policy, characterized by generally sufficiently thought-out localization of stores, continues, then the brand has every chance, experts believe, to establish an effective mechanism for the interaction of the online and offline component of the business model.
Online marketing
One way or another, Tekhnosila, as evidenced by the comments of the company's managers, will be accentuated to develop precisely in the online direction. What are the key aspects of a brand’s marketing strategy that is being implemented as part of an appropriate policy? It is assumed, in particular, the adaptation of the business model of the company to the characteristics of consumer behavior of citizens. So, for example, a lot of modern buyers make a decision regarding the purchase of a particular type of product before they even come to the store.
A typical scenario looks like this. First, the buyer makes a selection of goods based on the price and the characteristics of the product that are optimal from his point of view. Then the person reads reviews located on large online sites. “Technosila” on “Yandex.Market” - one of the most well-known portals of this topic - is found quite often in user comments. Having formed an opinion about a product based on characteristics, a personal impression based on photos, videos, as well as comments in reviews, the buyer goes to the nearest store in the network in order to purchase the most suitable product.
Thus, even before going to the point of sale, people study information from online catalogs presented on the trading network website, the opinions of other users in reviews, on social networks. Sometimes it takes them even longer than consulting a specialist directly in the store. Thus, according to Technosila's top managers, an offline sales outlet is transformed from an active sales point into an infrastructure unit that performs a significant logistic function.
Online tools
What specific tools does Technosila intend to implement in order to implement an online sales development program? In an interview with the leaders of the media brand, theses are expressed, in particular, on the need to introduce a new IT platform on which the site’s functionality will be based. Further improvement of the brand’s logistics system is also planned. Despite the fact that in a component such as delivery, Technosila (the opinions of many experts and customers confirm this) generally competes with other retailers, the company's management apparently does not want to stop there. And this is likely to have the most positive effect on the brand’s implementation of its announced plans.
In particular, it is assumed that the buyer will be able to choose a convenient option with the delivery of goods based on the optimal ratio of price and speed of dispatch. Perhaps, according to Technosila's top managers, there will be slow but free delivery, or accelerated, but you will have to pay extra for it. There will also likely be additional logistic options. Now work at Technosila (reviews by employees of various departments of the company confirm this) is largely related to determining comfortable conditions for the brand to interact with transport and courier services, and signing contracts. Close integration of the retailer’s infrastructure with partner resources is contemplated.
Program financing
The adaptation program of Technosila to new sales concepts, which will be focused on the online direction, involves significant investments. So, in some sources there is evidence that the brand will have to invest several hundred million rubles in updating the infrastructure. Estimated sources of cash are shareholders ’investments, as well as the brand’s internal reserves. Some experts highly value the company’s policy regarding the efficient allocation of financial resources. So, for example, when two brands were combined - Tekhnoshok and Tekhnosila (feedback from employees of key divisions from the point of view of merger procedures confirms this), rebranding and other integration issues were solved with minimal investment costs. Moreover, due to the merger with Technoshock, as the top managers of Technosila believe, many of the costs associated with upgrading the IT infrastructure and other tasks that reflect the new development policy of the company will be able to be reduced.
Hands-on marketing
Consider how the marketing strategy of the brand is implemented in practice. Reviews about the Technosila store will help us to study the relevant aspect. Experts believe that Moscow, St. Petersburg and other major cities of the Russian Federation form markets that can become reliable indicators of the success of the brand in introducing sales concepts that imply effective integration of the online and offline business component. What do users say about their experience with Technosila?
Discounts
Among the most attractive options that Technosila offers - customer reviews confirm this - discount programs. So, for example, when ordering many products through the website, the purchase price is cheaper than when purchasing the same product in a store. Promotional codes probably also play a significant role in Technosila’s marketing policy. Using them, customers can also receive additional discounts. The online store belonging to the Technosila brand (customer reviews are characterized by a sufficiently significant degree of positive in this regard) makes it possible to get the appropriate discount directly when ordering goods. To do this, enter the promo code in a special field when filling out an application.
Another option to get a discount at Technosila is to hand over the old equipment. Thus, the brand implements a scheme quite popular among Russian retailers as part of its own program. At the same time, the Technosila store - customer reviews confirm this - is ready to pick up the old equipment from the apartment and deliver the new one. Users highly rate the corresponding service.
Service and Feedback
Actually, what is the information about the level of service in Technosil? What do users who leave reviews on thematic portals say about it? "Technosila" organized the online store, apparently, at the most competitive level. Can you say the same thing about offline network sales points?
Note that customer reviews that have had experience visiting a brand’s stores are largely subjective. If a particular customer considers one level of service acceptable, another will say that you cannot communicate with the customer like that. There are complaints of customers that in some stores of the distribution network consultants pay insufficient attention to them. Although, at the same time, many users in their reviews speak about the excessive activity of Technosila employees in terms of communication with the client, some call this behavior intrusive. The big question, of course, is which type of interaction with the buyer suits most Russians. Probably, there can be no single point of view on this score.
For a large network retailer, the quality of customer feedback is important. So experts and many customers of the brand say, writing reviews, in particular, on Yandex.Market. "Technosila" in this regard has a sufficiently competitive resource. So, for example, to contact customers on all relevant issues - warranties, repairs, insurance, discounts - the company’s hotline is open, which runs from 9:00 to 21:00. Customers can also send a question of interest to the company via e-mail, indicating in it the contacts through which the store can then contact the customer.
Customers of the brand, as well as many experts in the field of electronic retail, note the high quality of service and consulting support at Technosil. In this sense, the brand has a very competitive infrastructure and sufficiently qualified personnel. The company can only adapt the appropriate resources to a promising marketing strategy.
Competitive advantages
Technosila is a growing brand. Its success, experts believe, is largely due to the timely expansion of the range. Now in the catalogs of the retailer - tens of thousands of different commodity items. Each of them is supplied with detailed information reflecting the characteristics and other consumer properties of the products. Thus, another aspect of brand competitiveness is the information content of communication with the buyer. If necessary, the Technosila support service is always ready to provide any additional information about the equipment being sold. The brand pays great attention to staff development. In particular, they participate on a regular basis in training in special courses.
Among other significant competitive advantages of the company are a large number and quality work of service centers. Thus, they are present not only in the largest cities where the activities of Technosila are conducted. St. Petersburg (customer reviews from the northern capital are regularly found on specialized online sites), Moscow are cities where the customer is rarely surprised at the high quality of the corresponding services. This, in turn, is often lacking in the regions. However, Tekhnosila service centers, represented in cities in Russia in a sufficiently wide range, operate, as many users leave reviews, in good faith and fully meet the needs of customers. Many buyers note that the warranty conditions in Technosil involve a fairly large volume of services that are provided free of charge.