"The year 2024 was a challenge for the entire retail industry, but Pepco proved the rightness of its mission, its flexibility and ability to adapt to customer needs," says Marcin Stańko, Pepco's Chief Operating Officer, in an interview with dlahandlu.pl.
How does Pepco sum up the ending year? It was a difficult year for the trade, but did discount chains gain new customers thanks to this?
Marcin Stańko, Chief Operating Officer of Pepco: The increase in the cost of living has prompted many consumers to look for savings, which naturally attracted them to our network. We have taken up the challenge and to help our customers in these difficult times, we have reduced the prices of hundreds of products in our stores. Thanks to attractive prices and a diverse assortment, we were able to attract new customers, while strengthening the loyalty of the existing ones. It is thanks to our customers that our network can continue to grow, in the 2024 financial year alone, we launched over 300 new locations in Europe. In addition, we regularly modernize existing outlets to provide customers with an even better shopping experience. It was a year full of intensive work, but also many successes, which is reflected in Pepco's results and the increase in the chain's revenues by over 14%.
How does the company react to changes in market trends? How does this affect Pepco's offer?
Our strength is the ability to listen to the needs of our customers. Currently, we can see that three areas are crucial: diversity, accessibility and ecology. Our main group of customers are women who choose products for their families, but we are also increasingly visited by young people looking for fashionable but affordable products. We treat changing trends as an opportunity for innovation and development, so that our customers can find what they need to decorate their homes and dress their families in Pepco stores. Collections of responsibly produced products, such as organic cotton clothing or FSC-certified accessories, are also popular with customers.
ESG is an important topic for every company today. How do you implement pro-environmental assumptions?
Our main goal is to prove that affordability doesn't have to be a barrier to a sustainable lifestyle. We reduce our carbon footprint by modernizing our stores, we introduce solutions that reduce energy consumption, minimize waste, and change packaging to more environmentally responsible ones. Clothes with GOTS organic cotton certificate or items made of recycled are becoming more and more popular in our offer. An important part of our strategy is also care for employees, the development of their competences and the promotion of diversity, including the participation of women in managerial positions. Such activities are not only our duty, but also an opportunity to build lasting relationships with customers. A great area of our concern as part of the entire ESG program is also the society and Pepco's activities in the area of care for the youngest. In each country where our stores are present, we implement programs aimed at enabling children and young people to have an equal start into adulthood, through various development initiatives. Last year, we helped over 92,000 young beneficiaries.
What technologies are used in Pepco stores?
We invest in technologies that make purchasing easier and improve operational efficiency. We have introduced self-service checkouts in many stores, which significantly reduces service time. In addition to the changes visible to the naked eye, we are also introducing systemic improvements, both in the area of store operations and our entire supply chain, to maximize the convenience and pleasure of shopping. We are constantly developing and plan to introduce further digital tools that will improve the functioning of stores and increase the convenience of shopping.
What benefits does Pepco offer to its employees? Do you expect wage increases?
We want our employees to feel appreciated and have the opportunity to develop, because their commitment is one of the key factors behind Pepco's success. We offer a wide range of benefits – from private medical care, through co-financing of training, to career development and qualification development programs. We are planning further investments in the team and, as every year, we are increasing the budget for salaries for our employees.
And what development plans does Pepco have for next year?
The year 2025 promises to be equally dynamic. The entire Pepco Group plans to open about 300 new stores, focusing mainly on the Pepco brand and, above all, the Central and Eastern Europe region. We are also continuing the process of modernizing stores. In terms of assortment, we are developing key categories such as clothing and decorative items, while introducing new lines in line with the latest trends. Our goal is to be even closer to our customers and to further strengthen our position as a market leader.
Read more: Pepco: This year has proven our mission
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