Speedier stockturn of bestsellers

Italy is one of Tesa’s biggest markets outside Germany. This multinational supplier of self-adhesive products and systems, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, is part of the quoted Beiersdorf group. It is represented in Italy by Tesa Italia Spa, a subsidiary. What is more, the company has production facilities there as well. The Tesa brand is market leader in the DIY sales channel with a market share of just under 50 per cent. “One of the factors for our success is the adoption of an international strategy, which is then adjusted to suit any national peculiarities,” says Marco Tondolo, channel manager for consumer and professional distribution at Tesa Italia. When all is said and done, both the distribution structures here and national consumer habits and requirements differ from the conditions found in northern Europe. For example, traditional speciality dealers still have a large share of the market in Italy, and business is split up among a great number of local players. Added to this is the fact that both private customers and professionals do their shopping in DIY stores. Which makes it important for Tesa to meet the requirements of a variety of customer groups with a broad range of products. From the viewpoint of the supplier, and with regard to retailing as a whole, it is a matter of being able to offer both channels of distribution – the traditional trade as well as the large-format DIY stores – marketing concepts tailored to their needs. Tondolo names two typical examples: Obi and Eurobrico. Obi, a German DIY retail chain, currently has 53 outlets in operation in Italy. For these stores the marketing department of Tesa designed an individual racking layout, having analysed the client’s standard module, sales per store and its own knowledge of the national market. “We have created a made-to-measure advertising campaign,” reports Tondolo. In this way it was possible to make use of the company’s international displays. Tesa has worked with Eurobrico for three years now. The chain is active in northern Italy, where it operates 24 stores. “The results are really interesting,” the Tesa manager reports: Eurobrico succeeded in increasing the stockturn of Tesa products by 15 per cent. “Now it is easier and quicker for customers to select the right tape,” says Tondolo. “We have combined our experience in category management with Eurobrico’s knowledge of consumer habits to achieve our mutual goal: to increase the sales figure.” And not just for any old…