Strength in decor

The makeover of Castorama is in full swing. Around 18 stores have been remodelled to fit the new marketing concept over the past year. New openings like the store at Pontault-Combault in the Paris conurbation also bear witness to the new direction being taken by France’s number two DIY retailer. The new concept, to which approx. 20 stores are to be adapted each year, has been applied effectively to this outlet (12 000 m², with 7 000 m² indoors). The total investment is expected to amount to € 800 mio.
Since the opening in September 2003 of the first store in the new format at Hénin-Beaumont, some 25 stores have adopted the Four Worlds concept based on interior decoration, DIY, building and the garden. There have been no changes between Hénin-Beaumont and Pontault-Combault, apart from increasing the décor assortment. Today’s product offer covers picture framing, textiles, cushions, blinds and accessories, etc. “We have excluded certain product families like tablecloths and adhesives, products that don’t really fit into the concept as we plan to develop it,” explains Véronique Deroubaix, product manager for decoration and furnishings. “Our aim is to attract a new clientele who are more involved in decorating projects. We want to replace the traditional image of do-it-yourself with the image of a sales channel able to offer ideas and inspiration for improving your living space. But without giving up the core product categories like tools or traditional DIY.”
Strategy and development
It is not by chance that “deco” appears as the first word in the lettering on the store façade. “That is the sector which we found easiest to develop, in combination with outdoor furnishings. That is not the case with the more technically oriented ranges, where we are already strong,” explained marketing director Benoît Nicolas. The decorating segment of a store (excluding furnishings) accounts for 20 per cent of total sales on average and, in combination with furnishings (including bathrooms, kitchens and storage), that rises to just over half. The technically-oriented segments (DIY, tools and building supplies) represent 45 per cent of sales.
Decoration is one of the vehicles contributing to the modernisation of Castorama’s image. Inseparable from this process is a new communication strategy based on the use of catalogues. The first of these, published in March 2005, covered gardening and outdoor furnishings. Then in June came a 184 page catalogue combining bathrooms, kitchens and…