乐华梅兰将发力中国市场 独家专访总裁林伯怡
Leroy Merlin's Business Model is More Similar to Ikea's
[Host] Now I'd like to ask you a question, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate. If we're talking about international home improvement stores or showrooms, we think of B&Q, Ikea, and Leroy Merlin. If we listed them all, to which would Leroy Merlin be similar? If it's not similar to any of them, then what status does it hold?
[MP] We are No. 4 in the world. I think the business models of each store you've mentioned, as well as the way in which they serve their customers' needs, are all very different. If I had to choose a store, I would say we are more similar to Ikea. However, Ikea's products are the same around the world, whereas we adjust our product range according to the needs of local customers, and are more in sync with their lifestyles. Actually, there are three things, regardless of which country we're in, that are constant across all people: first is everyone eats food, second is everyone dreams, third is everyone is affected by the environment in which they live. For instance, in France we have products of a certain style. If we imported them directly into China it would be a big mistake because Chinese consumers might not like this style at all, and they may not be appropriate for the climate here. From this we can see that there are differences between Ikea and us. We need to allow the local managers to remain autonomous.
[Host] Really, we know that Ikea is a type of international purchaser, looking for the lowest prices to control costs, so they purchase internationally. How does Leroy Merlin choose its suppliers? Are they local to China?
[MP] In regards to suppliers, we are the same as our competitors; for the most part they are local. Of course we also purchase internationally - products purchased in China will go to our European markets, this exists as well. In fact, group purchasing will reflect a large-scale price-lowering advantage. But we don't think that promoting five dollar tiling is necessarily good for the customer. Even if we have high volume and are making a lot of money, the customer may not really need this tiling, but are drawn in by the low price. They may find once they've installed it that they are truly dissatisfied and come to us with complaints. This is not what our company wants. We can't only consider our own benefits, we need to also consider what the customer needs. We work every day to choose high-quality products for our consumers, then bring prices down, so we achieve the best combination of quality and price.
[Host] Speaking of suppliers, this seems to be a hot topic these days. Not long ago B&Q had a big dispute with one of its suppliers. I'd like to ask, how is Leroy Merlin's relationship with its suppliers?
[MP] We have a good relationship with our suppliers, because we maintain a win-win partnership with them that is long-term, not just a buying-selling relationship in pursuit of short-term gain. We want to help our suppliers, because it is our suppliers that are responsible for production - they certainly don't interact with customers on a daily basis or understand their needs. But we do, and we pass on market knowledge and information about customers' needs to the suppliers, which is helpful for them to arrange production, adjust product range and design. There was a situation in Brazil where we were preparing to hold a meeting with our suppliers to discuss the market and associated risks. One of our competitors also held this type of meeting four days before ours, and demanded the suppliers sign a contract. But the information we were discussing with our suppliers was completely different, with a different goal. We opened up our sales system for the suppliers to see and shared our data, which helped them analyze customers' needs, allowed them to understand which colors sold better, which wouldn't sell at all, and as a result of this they adjusted their production line which streamlined sales. This is just an example, but I want to say that Leroy Merlin is developing a new type of partner relationship with its suppliers, which will be shown more clearly as we gradually grow and strengthen as a company.
[Host] What is the percentage of international purchasing in your supplier system?
[MP] I believe that it is increasing.
[Host] And they have chosen to build more and more production facilities in China.
[MP] Yes. Everyone looks favorably on the Chinese market.
