A light, bright store to make purchasing an easy, pleasant experience, wide aisles so that you can browse easily with your trolley, visible aisle end displays with the green label, allowing you to identify low-cost items at a glance, and the majority of high-tech products in self-service displays. This is what the “new generation” Fnac that has just opened in the Bordeaux region looks like. Located in the Lac shopping centre, this store is the first in a long series to be set up on the outskirts of major cities. Shopping centres are easy to access and attract an increasing number of customers. In this context, Fnac is developing a strategy to conquer the market.

 

“In the history of Fnac, this opening is a date as important as the first opening in the regions or abroad,” believes Denis Olivennes, CEO. “It’s a Fnac that has all the characteristics of a Fnac, but with the rapidity, fluidity and efficacy of the customer procedure for mass distribution. In fact, the Bordeaux-Lac store virtually mirrors the supermarket concept. Right away, the visitor has an overall view of how the departments are distributed, contained within a single floor, six metres high. All of Fnac’s product families are represented, with even two new sectors: children and creative trends. An unprecedented change has been implemented for the technical products: 90% of the products are in self-service displays, with over 50 laptops on demonstration, 20 PCs freely accessible and a wall section entirely dedicated to flat screens. “The consumer must be able to pick up the products as he wishes, handle them and test them,” underlines Jacques Brault, director of the outskirts project. The salespeople remain on hand if need be, but the consumer who has made up his mind or is in a hurry can leave in five minutes with his computer under his arm.

 

The “trend-shaker” range is also evolving, with the arrival of products tailored to a family target: educational games for children and a “creative trends” aisle. In the “Children’s” area decorated with large orange poufs, almost 7,000 CDs, toys, games and DVDs are found side by side. Whereas the creative trends section offers bags, scarves and hats… to be customised with beads and other accessories. Customers lacking inspiration will even be able to benefit from free demonstrations.

“Fnac should be everywhere that its customers expect it,” explains Denis Olivennes. “Today, 48% of the technical products and 45% of the editorial products are sold in the suburbs. We have 25% of the market in the city but only 5% on the outskirts.” And this 5% comes mostly from the eleven stores in the Paris region, all based on the traditional Fnac city-centre model. Following on from the Bordeaux-Lac store, a second new-format Fnac will open in Bayonne in the first half of 2007. Fnac could potentially open thirty to sixty stores of this kind on the city outskirts, at a rate of four or five a year.