Warehouse De Bijenkorf
stops with ‘Drie Dolle Dwaze Dagen’
The well known Dutch warehouse De Bijenkorf stops
with their sale days ‘Drie Dolle Dwaze Dagen’. Those sale days are a well known
reoccuring phenomenom in the Netherlands since 1984. Those days guaranteed a
madhouse at the warehouse. People are standing in front of the doors early in
the morning te be sure they will get their stuff. Every year, the Drie Dolle
Dwaze Dagen attracks more than
2 million people to their stores and their website. But this year, the sale
days are held for the last time.
According to a spokeswoman of de Bijenkorf, the Drie Dolle
Dwaze Dagen don’t fit in their concept anymore. De Bijenkorf wants a ‘Premium
Experience Strategy’, which means top brands, top shopping experience and
topservice. Because of that strategy, they want to reduce their price
promotions. That is why de Bijenkorf recently also stopped ‘de Maffe Marathon’,
an other well known sale event. The spokeswoman of de Bijenkorf explains: “We
are very succesfull. Our conversion increased with ten percent within the first
six months of this year. People don’t come over to de Bijenkorf for the
reduction, they come to us for the experience.”
De Bijenkorf thinks without the sale days, they will bind
their customers. In the long run, you earn less from customers who pop in once
a year to score bargains.
What do you think? Is it a smart idea of de Bijenkorf to
stop those sale days? Or will they lose a lot of customers by stopping those
days?
- Margo van Gils
Like your questions imply, there are two ways to look at the decision to stop these specific sale activities. In regards to your first question, I do think that it is a smart idea of De Bijenkorf to stop these promotions in their current form. By doing so they further distinguish themselves from the previous relation with the other warehouse V&D and further establish a brand of their own.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your second question I think that they will both lose and win customers by this decision. First of all, they are bound to lose some of their customers that took advantage of the sale promotions to get more luxurious items that are usually too expensive for them. But while they may lose customers on that side of the spectrum, people valuing products that are a bit more luxurious than one could get in other shops may appreciate the cancellation of the promotional sales because the products will obtain a more 'exclusive' feel which these customers are often looking for.
- Marc Dols
I agree with Marc. I'm one of those costumers who usually goes to Bijenkorf to buy luxury items for a cheaper price. I think a lot of the customers will not go to Bijenkorf at all anymore if the Bijenkorf stops with these actions. I think that most of their customers are people who are older, because Bijenkorf already exists for a long time. I think they need the actions if they want to attract new and younger customers.
ReplyDeleteDanique van Hemsbergen
I agree with what Danique and Marc are saying, i think they are loosing customers who once in a while visit the Beijenkorf, But since they want to change their strategy and also their reputation i think then they will do good with this decision. Because a big sale would not fit in that picture. I also think that the Beijenkorf have really thought and analyzed this before making the decision. I think that they think that maybe a luxurious and exclusive warehouse makes more profit than the once a year sales. The only way to find out is wait and see what the futures hold.
ReplyDeleteBonnie Thonus.
I believe it's a fairly calculated move. Probably they have some data to back this up. On the other hand, even though I am not familiar with the brand and not sure how different it is at the moment, I believe that people who look for luxury items for a cheaper price is a very good audience. Even if the new plan does not work out and they have to reintroduce 'Drie Dolle Dwaze Dagen', I'm sure people won't think of any kind of reputation when they can get stuff cheaper.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I don´t think that customers will think differently about the organisation because they have a three day sale. I know a lot of people who but all their Christmas presents in this days, that money will now probably be spend somewhere else. Plus these days always attracks a lot of media attention, what they will lose. So I don´t think this is a very smart move.
ReplyDelete- Anouk de Jong
I agree, I don´t think that customers will think differently about the organisation because they have a three day sale. I know a lot of people who but all their Christmas presents in this days, that money will now probably be spend somewhere else. Plus these days always attracks a lot of media attention, what they will lose. So I don´t think this is a very smart move.
ReplyDelete- Anouk de Jong
I agree that these dwaze dagen won't fit a premium exclusive image because it's a always a mess in the Bijenkorf during that time. They might see a decrease in sales on short term but on the long term I think that they will have a positive effect trying and stepping up their image.
ReplyDeleteLennart Michels