Platform about design and technology in the kitchen, home, and bathroom industry
There are those who dwell on past accomplishments and muse about them and those who dwell on past accomplishments and immediately turn their sights forward and continue working. Royal Crown wholeheartedly agrees with this second description.
Perspective. It, like coronaproof, is an oft-used term these days. Businesses that have to close their doors battle by battle, again with lockdown 2, must have a perspective to get through these literally and figuratively dark days. Just when many people are looking for gifts they may not be browsing the stores. "However, the answer is obvious," said Frank Rombout. "Digitalization is the future, obviously in combination with a physical storefront."
Royal Crown did not sit idle during the initial lockdown and subsequent period of (severe) measures. It invested fully in the development of a high-performance digital concept, a webshop that unites online and offline. "A lifestyle buying platform that brings online and offline very close together in terms of experience," adds Rombouts. "Those who appreciate advice and actively seek it out are in the right place at our webshop. Through targeted questions (and their answers), the web shop visitor arrives at the right products and immediately at the right professional. The online product range is the result of thorough research and our many years of expertise. So answering a few questions is enough to get to the desired product. Moreover, we are adding a promising division to the whole, namely electrical retail." The follow-up to the online story takes place at the local specialist trade. They certainly have an important contribution to make to this story, Rombouts believes: "It is the local professionals who provide advice. They are the specialists who continue to represent their business with pride."
The round of digitization initiated by Royal Crown had already started before the pandemic outbreak and subsequent lockdown. At the same time, Royal Crown also intensified the creation of a strong "customized" story. "Once again completely at the service and thus tailored to our members," Rombouts explained. "Specialization is and remains necessary for the specialty trade, we at Royal Crown realize this all too well. We support them with the necessary tools, just think of specific promotions and actions that arise tailored to the point of sale, and program our software in such a way that we link the right assortments to the right members, and therefore the right customers, at the provincial, regional or even local level. We collected treasures of data that, fully compliant with GDPR regulations, we deployed to elaborate this 'tailored' story. The online platform and the 'tailored' story give the local craftsman even more visibility, an extra asset that ensures an even greater local impact."
As always, Frank Rombouts also looks further into the future, to the spring of 2021 more specifically. The national rollout of the webshop is planned then. The rollout of numerous customized marketing concepts and a new ERP system that can also be used by Royal Crown members are also scheduled to take place then. "A further digitalization and 'customized' thinking that will grant additional growth opportunities to our members," Rombouts emphasizes. And finally, Rombouts hints at the further future: "By mid-2022, our new building will be ready and we will move to a larger and more modern home base."-
