In a market context that is constantly developing at a rapid pace, Unieuro has chosen a centralised and scalable business model, based on complementarity and integration from an omnichannel perspective of the five channels in which the Company operates.

Distribution channels

Unieuro is present in five different integrated and convergent distribution channels, following an approach inspired by principles of territorial coverage and proximity to customers.

70,9% of revenues, equal to €1.327,9 million

226 owned stores, mainly located in northern and central Italy, with an average area of approximately 1,600 mand an average of 20 employees dedicated to customer management and customer requirements. The Unieuro model does not include the ownership of properties, which are leased in order to guarantee flexibility in the management of the network. (Data as of February 28, 2018)

11.7% of revenues, equal to €218.5 million

267 affiliated points of sale, mainly located in central-southern Italy, in historical centres of large cities and in small and medium sized town centres, in order to also guarantee its presence in areas with limited customer bases which would not warrant a direct commitment by the Company. (Data as of February 28, 2018)

9.9% of revenues, equal to €185.0 million

The website www.unieuro.it, the Unieuro app, the Monclick pure player (www.monclick.it), through which Unieuro markets its products online, enabling customers to receive products purchased in their own home (home delivery) or collect them from one of the about 380 authorised points of sale (click&collect). (Data as of February 28, 2018)

6.3% of revenues, equal to €118.9 million

Wholesale to professional customers, including foreign ones, that operate in various sectors and occasionally need to make substantial purchases of electronic products (for example hoteliers), but also operators that need to purchase electronic products to distribute to their regular customers or employees to accumulate points or participate in prize competitions or incentive schemes. (Data as of February 28, 2018)

1.3% of revenues, equal to €23.6 million

10 direct stores in Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumicino and Bergamo-Orio al Serio airports and in Turin Porta Nuova railway station: smaller locations featuring a high number of passengers, for whom Unieuro has prepared a dedicated range of products mainly concentrated on telephony and accessories. (Data as of February 28, 2018)

The Unieuro business model has been made possible thanks to the policy of constant expansion, online and offline, promoted over the years through the:

Acquisition of existing points of sale

Opening of new direct stores diretti

Relaunching of the brand image and values

Release of the new digital platform (2016)

Integration between channels and omnichannel strategy

The logic of omnichannel retail:

  1. What you want

  2. Where you want it

  3. When you want it

The digitalisation of the economy and the profound change in buying behaviour are forcefully altering the retail world. Nowadays consumers’ purchasing routes are multi-faceted and multichannel: attention has shifted away from simple purchasing at points of sale based on experience and comparison, preceded preceded by a process of evaluation and information-retrieving on products, offers and services carried out through all physical and digital channel while on mobility.

To avoid channel conflict and the cannibalisation of the physical network by the online one, Unieuro has chosen the omnichannel strategy. From owned stores to apps, from the website to affiliated points of sale, the customer finds a perfect integration between channels affording them a made-to-measure and seamlessbuying experience, independently from the contact points they choose during the purchasing process.

The point of sale, which has developed into a pick-up point, is the true essence of the omnichannel approach, from which Unieuro is overcoming the offline/online dichotomy and extolling the central role of customers.

It is the customer who influences the range offered, both in terms of quality and quantity and at method and process level. This is possible thanks to Customer Insight, in other words the analysis of customer buying behaviour at all points of contact with Unieuro. An activity made possible by innovation at corporate IT systems level, the capacity to analyse and systemise the data collected and, above all, by the infinite possibilities of personalising the range that Unieuro has decided to make use of.

“Embracing new trends at consumer level means exploiting the infinite opportunities that come from the collection and analysis of big data, mapping buying behaviour and segmenting the range accordingly. It means listening to what customers say and learning useful lessons from it to get increasingly closer to them. A proximity which will be increasingly used in an omnichannel perspective, because digital channels are a powerful tool for change and are increasingly complementing traditional channels in a customer journey that is increasingly smooth and interconnected”.

Bruna Olivieri
General Manager

Centralisation 

To support physical and virtual channels, consumers and trade, Unieuro has implemented a business model that is highly centralised, concentrating the management and administrative activities at the Forlì offices and the logistics at the Piacenza hub.

HEAD OFFICE

The management of Unieuro has traditionally been located at the Forlì offices. It oversees the central functions and coordinates retail activities which cover the whole of Italy.

In particular, the departments involved in Administration, Finance and Control, Purchasing, Trade, Legal, Human Resources, Operations, Marketing, IT Systems and Communication are located at Forlì.

Management and back office activities are carried out centrally to avoid wasting resources, guarantee strategic and operational consistency and allow the points of sale to dedicate themselves to a unique and fundamental activity: taking care of customers and their needs.

THE LOGISTICS HUB

Centralised logistics allows efficient processes and organisational flexibility, making the Unieuro model an one-off in the national consumer electronics market.

Alongside the distribution structure and its fundamental core, the Piacenza centralised logistics platform is the only reference warehouse for whole Italy.

The activities of receiving and storing merchandise which is then destined to cover all sales channels, from stocking stores to home deliveries to end customers (for online transactions) are concentrated there.

Total area of 50,400 SMQ

– 78% of total Unieuro sales volumes transit

– 11,000 departures per day on average

The decision to double the Piacenza logistics platform to over 100,000 mwas announced in 2017.

“The new Piacenza distribution hub will be a central asset for our development, for the implementation of our business model, but also with regard to the industry

Giancarlo Nicosanti Monterastelli
Unieuro CEO