Its Public plus more.

The golden intersection between an upgraded shopping experience from physical stores and a complete shopping journey in the digital environment is what retail businesses are looking for today. With the Greek consumer having become phygital and the boundaries between e-shopping and physical markets having been removed, the bet is won by businesses that manage to be where their customers are, that is, everywhere.

This is a goal that not only Greek, but also international retail chains are required to achieve, in order to successfully face the perfect storm in retail and pave the way for the shopping experience of the future.

Public Group seems to belong to this category, which, in the midst of an extremely unfavorable economic situation and implementing a heavy investment plan, managed to win a series of bets: it completed its entry into a new market, that of household appliances, built an integrated omnichannel shopping model, introducing for the first time in Greece a series of technological innovations, made cuts in after sales, went a step further in product delivery, verticalized the model at the logistics level and built a total ecosystem, investing in startups, which introduce market leading solutions.

The successful policy of the Public Group is also reflected in the Group’s figures, which achieved a turnover of more than 500 million euros in the last 12 months, doubled its operating profitability in 2022 and has made a forecast for EBITDA of 15 million euros in 2023. In addition, it increased the sales by 21% in the first half of this year and expects to return to net profitability in 2024.

The big bet

The bet of the merger with MediaMarkt and the creation of the “Public + home” concept, appears to be a case study for retail data, as recently described by the Group’s CEO, Robby Burlas.

Speaking about the successful integration of the Public and MediaMarkt brands, which has led to a turnover above the sum of the sales of the two companies, he pointed out that it is rare for two brands to unite in the retail sector and “1+1″ to make ” over 2″.

Today, home appliance sales already exceed 20% of Public Group’s total turnover, with 13 new large concept stores across Greece. Taking into account the new store philosophy, Public now has a total of 30 physical points of sale with small and large household appliances in Greece and Cyprus, which reflects the vision and dedication of the brand for a more specialized proposition in the home sector.

The innovation ecosystem

Another area in which Public Group makes a difference is its vision to build an integrated ecosystem around itself, which will continue to introduce innovations to the market for the Greek consumer. In this sense, its investment arm, Public Capital Partners, has invested over 30 million euros in the logistics and last mile sector (Box Now, Svuum), Fintech (Klarna, exclusive partnership with Revolut), after sales (iRepair, Douleutaras), as well as digital entertainment (Bookvoice.gr).

The specific investments have yielded maximum results for the Group, but also for the innovative companies themselves, who find in Public Group a pillar of their development. And of course, from their side, consumers have given a “vote of confidence” to these new services.

It is no coincidence that purchases with up to 3 interest-free installments without a credit card using the “Public Now, Pay Later” service with Klarna – a model introduced by Public in Greece – are preferred by 35% of consumers in online and physical stores . Accordingly, the recent launch of a partnership with Revolut is rapidly gaining consumer interest.

In terms of delivery services, “Public Locker Pickup 24/7” through Box Now achieves a 25% penetration of products delivered to lockers, while Next Day Delivery services for 100,000 products through Public.gr throughout mainland Greece, but also the Express Pickup 60′ garnered over 200,000 and 80,000 orders respectively.

The services provided in after sales have also been well received, with the number of repairs at iRepair points, located in more than 30 Public stores in Greece and Cyprus, reaching 40,000.

Finally, Public’s customers also respond positively to the brand’s new offer in the entertainment sector, with downloads of Audiobooks from Bookvoice.gr reaching 70,000.

The next day

The successful absorption of MediaMarkt, the dynamic investment plan of 30 million euros, as well as the continuous development of innovative services in collaboration with leading scale-ups are at the core of the Public group’s strategy for the next day as well.

This strategy can only have the multi-channel shopping model as its growth crown, with the company justifying its position as #1 Omni-Retailer on the market. With strong online sales exceeding 25% of turnover and aiming to reach 30%, Public currently counts more than 70 million online visits per year, offering the most complete omnichannel shopping experience, embracing a wide range of product categories and services.

https://www.kathimerini.gr/economy/business/562650649/public-group-exelissetai-se-case-study-gia-to-elliniko-retail/