KINGFISHER PLC
“ When we ’ re buying garden furniture , which might be for next season , usually there is a 10 to 14-month lead time on that . But how do we know today what next summer will be weather-wise ?”
JJ VAN OOSTEN FORMER CHIEF DIGITAL AND TECHNOLOGY OFFICER , KINGFISHER PLC
“ I ' m not interested in companies that are not born out of the internet ,” Van Oosten says . “ A lot of the time they rebadge themselves as a cloud-based solution or SaaS , but actually they ' re not . It ' s very difficult to change something which is heavy and client-based to truly become a cloud-based company .”
Future digital ambitions With a number of innovations delivered already , Kingfisher are in no mind to keep standing still .
“ The modus operandi we have in our mind , is that we are just at the start ,” Van Oosten says . “ We ’ re constantly thinking about day one and that means that there is so much more we can do .
“ In the marketplace , for example , we are thinking how can we scale it faster ? Which type of functionalities can we have , which type of business model can we use to evolve it even faster in the UK ?”
In a uniquely strong position of having such strong brands and local presences , what is clear is that future innovations at Kingfisher will have both the digital and physical worlds at the centre .
“ We look at stores as a wonderful asset where customers can go quickly ,” he comments . “ So , when people say to me , ‘ you do click and collect in one hour , but can I do it in one minute ?’ I say , that ' s what we did in Screwfix .
“ We look at the whole experience , we digitalise inside the stores as well to assist kitchen designers with 3D tools which are cloud-based . And then using mobile phones , customers can actually go and get a QR code and then see their own design in the store with their own pictures . It helps customers a lot , because it ' s a complex and emotional purchase in those instances .
“ When I look outside the stores , we have relatively large car parks , and very good yards also . Yards for me are not just yards . Of course , we do goods in , but for me , they ' re also like perfect beehives where we can accept and welcome mopeds , bikes , where we can have vans , where we can have trucks , where we can have trucks with a crane .
“ If you look at stores in that way , then suddenly you can see that those assets can actually have another lease of life ,” he concludes . “ And then , we are a mere custodian for the next generation of those brands .”
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