Strategy

The merger between Fnac and Darty in 2016 has given rise to a new leader in omni-channel retailing. This move opens a new chapter in the Fnac/Darty story, offers fresh prospects for our employees and provides our customers with an enhanced range of products and services.

Fnac Darty has over €7.4 billion in revenue, a workforce of nearly 26,000 and more than 720 stores in eleven countries.

Our Group’s mission is to provide a powerful response to the increased competition from internet pure players in its markets, and to the trend to consolidation that has been transforming the retail sector for a number of years.

Fnac and Darty are two exceptional retailers, with strong complementarities in terms of commercial offers, geographic coverage, expertise and know-how. Together within the Fnac Darty Group, they have a critical size and more room for maneuver to build the business of tomorrow.

Implementing the logistical and commercial synergies between the two chains, estimated at €130 million, has progressed very quickly and will be completed by the end of 2018. With the strengths of the two retailers and respect for their individual identities, the Group is in a position to establish itself permanently in the European retail scene.

Fnac Darty has announced its new strategic plan, Everyday. The new plan builds on the performance of its omnichannel model, strengthened by the previous strategic plan, Confiance +, and tried and tested by the COVID crisis.

The Group’s aim, in its day-to-day work and for the long haul, is to be the key ally for consumers, helping them to be sustainable in their consumption habits and daily household tasks.

The new strategic project bolsters the rollout of the Group’s mission, which is to “commit to providing an educated choice and more sustainable consumption” to its customers.

The launch of Everyday is based on three ambitions that are to be achieved by 2025:

1. Embodying new standards for successful digital and human omnichannel retail in the future

Omnichannel retail will be digitalized by improving the performance of sites with a web experience that is increasingly immersive, efficient, and fueled by artificial intelligence. As a result, over 50% of the Group’s investment budget for the period of the plan will be devoted to supporting digital growth, particularly to modernizing and mechanizing the logistics platform.

Omnichannel retail will be humanized by showcasing the spirit of stores on the web and by investing in the expertise of the sales team.

Fnac Darty intends to put the advisory role of its salespeople at the heart of the customer’s digital experience with the aim of building an ever more personalized relationship of trust with consumers on these channels.

Chats and video calls with salespeople, livestreaming and live shopping hosted by experts, and content on culture and entertainment recommendations on its platform La Claque Fnac will all strengthen online interactions with customers.

Advice and digitalization will be increased at all levels — the Group intends to invest in training its employees on how to showcase their expertise on digital and social networks. In order to improve the in-store experience, ‘welcomers’ will maintain a key role and the IT resources available to sales experts will be boosted to provide a response tailored to every in-store customer (order pick-up, after-sales service, repair needs, specific search, etc.). In doing so, Fnac Darty is enhancing its role of providing the customer with well-informed, independent advice adapted to their uses and needs.

The Group is of the firm belief that stores are the cornerstone of this new retail. 100% of our integrated stores will therefore be profitable by 2025, with the specific challenges of each store being addressed and promising new formats such as the kitchen or small proximity formats being developed.

The purpose of all these initiatives is for at least 30% of the Group’s revenue to be generated online by 2025, including half in omnichannel thanks to the proven success of Click & Collect, which reflects the complementary nature of in-store and online. These channels will be the best showcase for the Fnac Darty range of products and services—a high-value offering that is itself committed while also engaging others—and has strong aspirations in the territories we are penetrating, such as the large appliances and urban mobility markets.

In this way, the Group will be at its customers’ side every day, in-store and on the web, to help them make educated choices, backed by the expertise of its 12,000 sales people.

2. Helping consumers adopt sustainable practices

Fnac Darty is a committed group aware of the challenges relating to the future of our planet. This commitment will be even more visible with Everyday.

The product offering will trend toward more sustainable products, with marketplace products and partners that do not meet the sustainability criteria being possibly delisted, and the huge expansion of the second-life service and the option return used products as part of a circular economy strategy.

Customer choices will be geared toward more sustainable products thanks to sustainability scores, which will be visible both online and in-store and are expected to reach 135 by 2025 (compared to 95 in 2018). These scores are based on our after-sales repair database—the only one on the market—which rates products on their reliability and the availability of spare parts. It is a unique and independent indicator created by Fnac Darty, which weights the volumes of each product sold in the year of the sustainability score.

Lastly, services that enable customers to ‘use better to consume better’ and to repair products more often will be strengthened (sale of spare parts, express repair of smartphones WeFix, Darty Max, repair communities, and so on), with the goal of having 2.5 million products repaired each year by 2025 (or +50% compared to 2019).

We will therefore support customers in their educated and socially responsible approach to consumption, allowing them to take advantage of the best that technology and entertainment has to offer, while at the same time consuming in a more sustainable way.

3. Rolling out the benchmark subscription-based home assistance service

Fnac Darty’s ambition is to become the leading provider of home assistance services, in the form of a subscription-based repair service, with no limit or commitment, that extends the lifespan of products.

The Group laid the foundations for this service for large domestic appliances with the launch of Darty Max at the end of 2019, and will capitalize on its success, with more than 200,000 subscribers in France already, and the launch of Vanden Borre Life in Belgium in early 2021. With Everyday, Fnac Darty’s ambition is to expand this repair and assistance service to the entire home environment, while extending the options for selling the service via new distribution channels — for example, a new distribution partnership with Sofinco will soon allow for more widespread distribution of Darty Max, and for the joint development of a free credit offering for sustainable consumer products.

Darty Max is really shaking up the way services are provided and sold. It gives customers peace of mind while maintaining a sustainable approach. For Fnac Darty, it is a new subscription-based business model, with recurring cash flows, allows us to consolidate a high-quality long-term relationship with our customers and works to extend the lifespan of products.

To make it a success, the Group will rely in particular on its in-depth knowledge of services, benefit from its unrivaled distribution network, capitalize on its ability to carry out high-quality repairs directly, and take advantage of its expertise in subscription management — an area honed by the Group’s current total of 11 million active subscribers. As such, Fnac Darty aims to have over 2 million Darty Max subscribers by 2025.

This new home assistance service makes Fnac Darty an absolute must for customers, as it builds a relationship of trust on a day-to-day basis and massively expands its repair service.

With its innovative approach to service and sustainability, Everyday is revolutionising the world of retail for the benefit of consumers and of the planet, while accelerating the deployment of the omnichannel model.

These three ambitions will enable the Group to generate profitable growth alongside recurring cash generation.

Read more about the Everyday strategic plan