FOCUS: Flagship stores aim at raising Rostelecom’s client loyalty, revenue

By Yekaterina Yezhova

MOSCOW, Feb 1 (PRIME) -- Rostelecom will add about 20 flagship stores in large cities in 2021 to augment its existing chain of 400 stores in an effort to boost loyalty and revenue, while analysts said the new way of communication with the client is in line with the telecom operator’s strategy and valued one store at least at 2 million rubles.

“We constantly analyse our clients’ data and their consumer preferences. We’ve recently carried out a deep research on client experience and saw, among others, what channels of communication and servicing our clients like,” Denis Goleshchikhin, general director of Rostelecom-Retail Systems, a subsidiary company of Rostelecom, told PRIME.

“It turned out that besides higher popularity of online channels, the current and potential clients think offline retail is an important and convenient channel of getting information and consultations when making decisions about purchases of digital products and services, gadgets and accessories as well as non-operator services.”

Investment company Finam analyst Leonid Delitsyn put a franchised store of mobile connection services price at 2 million rubles, affordable for a large number of businessmen.

Goleshchikhin said Rostelecom’s flagship store showcases digital ecosystem The Technologies of Possibilities – entertainment technologies, like digital video service Wink; comfort technologies, like Smart Home; and a game zone in an interactive format.

The store offers a wide range of gadgets and accessories of the world’s leading producers and non-operator services, like money remittance, insurance, instalments, lending, and payments.

“A game zone may make project pricier. Since Rostelecom plans to open 20 such stores in large cities, possibly, the flagship stores will be more expensive than ordinary outlets. The Moscow store in Arbat Street could be twice or even three times more expensive,” Delitsyn told PRIME.

“The company is interested in the upper segment of households, who are now gamers and may be joined by data scientists in the epoch of remote work.”

Investment company IC RUSS-INVEST analyst Dmitry Bedenkov said that Rostelecom was traditionally active on the retail market with over 2,000 stores in 2014, but in the recent years the operator has been working hard to improve effectiveness of this business.

“A new impetus was given to retail last year under the strategy, including creation of an ecosystem. In 2020, the company closed up to 40% of outlets,” he said.

Bedenkov added that the franchise format Rostelecom wants to use will make the goal of opening about 20 more such stores in large cities closer and make promotion more effective.

The 2020 acquisition of large mobile operator Tele2 turned Rostelecom into the front-runner for the status of the largest Russian connection operator, and such events are usually accompanied by a marketing campaign, Delitsyn said.

“The company wants the customer to see and perceive it as a major and innovative firm, and a show-room is a suitable environment. Such ‘cultural centers’ can host all sorts of events with participation of popular gamers, streamers, video bloggers,” the Finam analyst said.

“I think that advantages of the online channel are the speed, low prices, and the possibility to try new things. But the Internet does not have the elite status anymore, it has gone democratic... This is why there is demand for a different ambience, less democratic, creating a feeling of access to a different world, which makes a person feel special.”

Rostelecom-Retail Systems’ head Goleshchikhin said that despite a dynamic rise of traffic in online channels of servicing, retail stays the key element of the client route from getting familiarized with a product to its purchase.

“Under the strategy of the omni-channel interaction with the client, our stores of the new format ensure a seamless transfer of clients from online to offline to solve their user tasks. It is at this moment that this approach is the most effective,” he said.

“We certainly expect a rise in traffic in the new format stores. At the same time, a far more important goal for us is to increase conversion of traffic into sales and loyalty. This is why the main aim is high-quality transformation of traffic into informing demanding customers about sophisticated products and services of Rostelecom in a simple and comfortable way for them and growth of sales.”

(76.2527 rubles – U.S. $1)

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