Nijolė Kvietkauskaitė: Customer Focus – Reality, Not Promise
Summary of the IKI Investment & strategy:
This text details a significant investment and strategic shift by the IKI supermarket chain. Here’s a breakdown of the key points:
Strategic Goal: Proximity to Customers. N. Kvietkauskaitė states IKI’s primary goal is to be closer to its buyers. This is driving their active development and investment.
Investment Amount: IKI invested over $35 million (almost EUR 6.5 million) in store development and updates in the past year. An additional EUR 1 million was spent on operational efficiency.
Operational Improvements: These investments included:
Electronic pricing in all stores
Upgraded and expanded self-service checkouts
A new wheeled container system for network-wide transportation.
Prosperous Strategy: Focusing on infrastructure, customer convenience, and competitive pricing (through discounts & promotions) is proving successful, leading to business growth.
Customer Involvement: IKI actively seeks customer feedback, exemplified by the popular “Iki Customer Board” initiative, which contributes to improved solutions and competitiveness.
* Market Share: The strategy is helping IKI maintain and even slightly grow its market share.
In essence,IKI is investing heavily in both its physical infrastructure and its relationship with customers to strengthen its position in the market.