With Etos and Action, Kruidvat Faces Strong Competition, But The Drugstore Chain Has Been Successful for Years. Even with high inflation, customers continuous to visit the store. Accordance to experts, This is Mainly Due to the Image that the Netherlands Has of Kruidvat: The Discount Drugstore.
Kruidvat, which is Celebrating Its Fiftieth Anniversary This Week, Relies Heavily On Offers, Says Retail Expert Cor Molenaar To Nu.nl. He believes that the drugstore is responding well to the needs of the Dutch consumer with this strategy.
For example, customer abroad are ofte more loyal to the brand or product. In The Netherlands, People Mainly Look at Offers. “The Netherlands is A Real Action Country,” Confirms Dirk Mulder, Retail Expert at ING.
For Example, The Store ofte Has ‘Two for the Price of One’ Promotions. “That appeals, because now the consumer is able to build up a stock,” Molenaar Explains. Many people then buy in bulk. And have you finished your shampoo? Then you often wait Until there is a new bulk sacrifice at Kruidvat, Instead of Buying a single Bottle at, for example, Competitor Etos.
“If you look purely at those sacrifices, Kruidvat is also competitive with the German dm,” Molenaar Notes. That drugstore is known to be cheaper than stores in the Netherlands. If you look at the price per piece, that is also correct. But through the sacrifices on larger quantities, Kruidvat Can Still Beat the German Competitor.
Bulk Advantage versus Personal Advice
The Core of Kruidvat is Making Beauty and Health Affordable, Says Mulder. Such Low Prices Make the Store Popular, Especial in this Period of High Inflation. “Consumer Confidence is not too great,” Explains the Retail Expert. “Disposable Income is Under Pressure and the Customer is Still Keeping A Close Eye On Their Spending.”
The Discount Concept of Kruidvat with the Many Offers is Therefore Favorable, Thinks Mulder. “That is of all times, but works very well, as special in this time.” It also Helps That Kruidvat has created an image of itself over the past fifty years and that has stuck with the Dutch customer: The Cheapest Drugstore. Mulder: “Kruidvat is Known As A Discount Drugstore, Etos is More of a Service Drugstore.”
The Emphasis at Etos is More on Customer Experience and Product Expertise, at Kruidvat More On Advantage and Bulk Offers. Accordance to mulder, that is also a reason Why Etos and Kruidvat do not always bite each other. “One consumer group likes to shop at Kruidvat and the other likes to shop at Etos. Or they mix it if it suits them.”
Reprimand because or fake sacrifices
With all those sacrifices, The Consumer is missing Sometimes. For Example, The Consumers’ Association HAS reprimanded Kruidvat Several Times in recent Years for Misleading Promotional Prices.
That concerns, for example, the ‘from-price’: if a store mentions a ‘from-price’, this must be the lowest price that the store has used in the past thirty days. Increasing the price for a short time, then loowering it and then presenting it as an sacrifice is therefore not allowed. Yet Kruidvat Has Been Guilty of This More Often in recent Years, Accordination to the Consumers’ Association.
The Stunt With Offers is Now Profitable for Kruidvat. Will That Hold? “For the time being, this strategy will continuous to work,” Molenaar Expects. “The Consumer is Becoming Increasingly Price Conscious. Then Kruidvat is in A Favorable Position with This Policy.”
Customer Will Always Need toothpaste
Accordance to Molenaar, Kruidvat has also come up with products and marketing in recent years that are “closer to the people,” which reflects positively on the brand. “They of Try new things and also have the courage to stop doing them if they don’t succeed.”
For Example, in 2011, The Brand Offered Insurance and Loans in Collaboration with Aegon. That flopped, which led Kruidvat to decide to stop doing it in 2015.
Mulder also sees the future for Kruidvat positively. “Health remains a category that we spend money on,” he explains. Strong Fluctuations in Economic Growth Therefore Have A Limited Influence: Customers Always Need Shampoo, Soap and Toothpaste. Even IF inflation is high, we continuously to buy Those Products.
In Addition, Kruidvat Keeps Up With The Times, Says Mulder. The Chain Now Offers Products Both Online and Physically. The customer has the space to choose what is most appropriate.
Kruidvat Has The Advantage of a Strong Party Behind IT in Further Development, Says Mulder. In 2002, The Chain was tasks about by the Chinese as Watson Group, which also owns attraction and ici paris xl. That makes it safer to experiment and make investments. Mulder: “Kruidvat Has the Opportunity to Try Certain Things and Thus Remain An Interesting Party.”