Fnac Case Study
Fnac (originally Fédération nationale d’achats des cadres, or National Purchasing Federation of Managers) is an international entertainment retail chain offering cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. It is the largest retailer of its kind in France. Its head office is in Ivry-sur-Seine near Paris.
History
Fnac (originally Fédération nationale d’achats pour cadres, or National Purchasing Federation for Managers) was founded in 1954 as a members-only discount buyers' club by André Essel and Max Théret. The objective of the company for the two founders would be to serve both the commercial and consumer industries, offering discounted equipment through a magazine titled Contact, and by cutting the standard retail mark-up (as high as 50 percent elsewhere) on its products down to as low as 15 percent, thereby making products more affordable and increasing the purchasing power of the worker. The first shop was opened in a sublet, a second-floor apartment on the rue de Sebastopol in Paris on July 31, 1954.The company differs from its competition with a "unique brand positioning based on the exaltation of pleasure to discover the diversity of cultures and technologies".
This unique brand positioning of the company was continued with the training of all sales assistants in their product categories, with purchases being guaranteed for one year. Furthermore, all products were tested in the company's independent test centre before sale. The test centre would check for technical quality, ease of use, price and the "price/quality ratio," and all results were published in the companies free members' magazine Contact, which today can also be found advertised in store. In addition, staff were expected to do more than just sell their products but offer advice to customers and beginning in 1957 blacklist any unsatisfactory products, such as those with technical difficulties. By the end of its first full year of operation the company
History
Fnac (originally Fédération nationale d’achats pour cadres, or National Purchasing Federation for Managers) was founded in 1954 as a members-only discount buyers' club by André Essel and Max Théret. The objective of the company for the two founders would be to serve both the commercial and consumer industries, offering discounted equipment through a magazine titled Contact, and by cutting the standard retail mark-up (as high as 50 percent elsewhere) on its products down to as low as 15 percent, thereby making products more affordable and increasing the purchasing power of the worker. The first shop was opened in a sublet, a second-floor apartment on the rue de Sebastopol in Paris on July 31, 1954.The company differs from its competition with a "unique brand positioning based on the exaltation of pleasure to discover the diversity of cultures and technologies".
This unique brand positioning of the company was continued with the training of all sales assistants in their product categories, with purchases being guaranteed for one year. Furthermore, all products were tested in the company's independent test centre before sale. The test centre would check for technical quality, ease of use, price and the "price/quality ratio," and all results were published in the companies free members' magazine Contact, which today can also be found advertised in store. In addition, staff were expected to do more than just sell their products but offer advice to customers and beginning in 1957 blacklist any unsatisfactory products, such as those with technical difficulties. By the end of its first full year of operation the company