Digitization in beauty retail and how to improve consumer experience

RETALES, from retailers to retailers, with Mónica Sandomingo | Episode 3

On this new episode of our podcast RETALES, from retailers to retailers, we welcome Mónica Sandomingo, Clarel’s CRO/COO and former Global Retail Manager at Kiko Milano. During the interview, she shares with us the ins and outs of the industry, such as the importance of adapting the customer experience for each country and how technology plays a vital role in it.

Listen to the entire episode on Spotify or by clicking on this link https://bit.ly/3NUhlrD. A transcript of the entire episode is also available below. And don’t forget to subscribe and share this episode of RETALES, from retailers to retailers.

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ADARA
Bueno, bueno bueno… The incredibly talented woman I have the pleasure to interview today.  Monica Sand Domingo, welcome to our podcast. And thank you for joining us today.

MÓNICA
Thanks to you. The pleasure is mine to be here and to have the honor to be part of this  podcast.

ADARA
Thank you, Monica. If we check out your trajectory, we can talk about  many relevant brands such as Decathlon, Maximo Duty or Kiko Milano. Many countries: Spain, UK, Russia or Italy where we met. Remember about three years ago? And many years, 17? What else can you tell us about your trajectory in retail?

MÓNICA
So  yeah, if you put it like that, you know, on a piece of paper it’s like,  Oh my God, you have been in so many places and it’s true. I don’t know. I think that is an amazing experience that I am lucky to have lived through… So, being in different countries allowed me to meet different cultures and different ways to work. There was one moment in my career that, you know, a train just  passed and I said “Come on, I’m going to get on it”. I was working in Decathlon  in different positions here in Spain, then in Index…in Kiko that gave me the opportunity  to become international. I was in Spain for three years, then Russia, the UK as you said, then Italy, it’s true, where we met…. In a Retail Forum or something like that. And last year, there was a new opportunity here in Spain in Clarel, that’s where I am now. I’m Chief Operation Officer and Chief Retail ofIcer and also a project manager for new projects in Clarel… And you know, just having fun and keeping having fun in retail with people and with customers everyday.

ADARA
Amazing, impressive, Monica. Like I was saying earlier before we started  recording. I was really looking forward to talking to you and to listening to your story on  a more personal level. I’m really excited.

MÓNICA
Yeah, at the end Adara, I always say the  same. I’m a lucky person because I know that I am doing what I want to do. I have that passion. When you do what you want, it is not a job, It’s just like a hobby.  I’m electrical engineering and I arrived at retail by accident, but I realized that I wanted  to be here, that I wanted to work with and for people…and to have fun everyday, because in retail, you never get bored.

ADARA
Yeah. That’s the key. You were sharing, Monica, about 17 years of experience in which  more than half you have worked in retail beauty:makeup, cosmetics, perfume… And now in Clarell, but right before more than seven years in Kiko Milano with international responsibilities such as Global Retail Director. How is beauty retail? Is there anything in particular that  differentiates it from the rest?

MÓNICA
So at the end retail is retail everywhere. It’s just a  customer that wants something and you need to provide it, but the beauty retail, that is the  last part of my tragic story, I started in Kiko..maybe in Index, you know, when I was in Massimo,  you already have a little bit of this… But the beauty industry is a little bit different. The customer experience, the attention, the needs and the support that you need to give to the customer… You need to do it in a more loving way. I don’t know how to explain it… You need to be much more exigent about it. You need to keep working and focus on details. People are going to put things on their skin so we need to be very close to them. Because if you fail, and you make a mistake you will lose their trust. So I think that’s the key difference. So I think this is the main difference, the exigence of the customer.

ADARA
I see. And  those customers Monica… have changed?  Would you say they have changed?

MÓNICA
Yes, a lot. Especially as you know, in the past three years with covid, even more… But customers are always changing. I’m not going far away, but even when I started working, you were able to just feel all  the needs of the customer just by putting a product… I remember when I was in Decathlon that we were putting products inside of a big box, in the middle of the store and they disappeared 10 minutes later… Right now, people are more demanding… And I’m coming back to that word again. They keep focusing on details, technology… And also, social media is exposing brands to everyones’ critics. Right now you can even know what’s going on g in a store in India or if something gets wrong…even if you are in South America.

ADARA
Yeah, totally. And, you have mentioned something very interesting earlier. It was about trust, right? And I  understand That’s key. That’s key in beauty retail that’s for sure. Anything else, you want  to comment about this?

MÓNICA
So at the end is what I was saying. In retail you  need to cover all the needs of the customer and they are really demanding. That’s why we have to work and win their trust. But this is even more important in the beauty industry because I was saying… It’s not the same to eat an apple than to go to a pharmacy and to get the medicine. Retail is quite similar. it’s not the  same thing to buy a T-shirt as to buy something that you are going to put on the skin, or that is going to make you feel and look different or a perfume, whatever….

ADARA
Yeah… It’s  very related  to identity, right? Of the person…Okay, great…And you were talking about change, changing customers and I  also I understand that the customer is not the same or doesn’t behave the same in the different regions. From your international experience, what can you tell us about  that? How is it to be responsible for retail, for franchises in a sector where the customer seems to be so different?

MÓNICA
So, all the customers, especially in the beauty industry, have  a common point. They want to buy the best. The best product at the best price, that’s the common point,  but then customers are very different depending on the culture. For example, in the Middle East, people love to be served, they love to be accompanied when they are shopping… Also, they like to buy as many things as possible… No matter what you offer, they are going to buy it. But in Europe we are a little bit more restrictives. But we even find differences between countries, you know… Italy, France, Spain… Italy for example in the beauty industry is a reference.  When you say “Made in Italy” is a plus for the product. There are more competitors…. So people are more demanding about  this. In Spain, you can sell an extra thing but it is a little bit different. People love to  go shopping, and live the experience just by themselves and maybe a little bit more press from the  person that is selling. But I think that, for me,  the main difference, based on my experiences, more than the culture is if it’s a home  brand or franchise, especially in all the Middle East region. I think that is the most  different one. Russia also has some differences. I don’t know, Adara… I know that I’m not concreting the answer but… I think that you really need to analyze each market, to be able  to get the best results for your business in each country.

ADARA
Yeah, exactly. The best customer experience. Absolutely. This is usually my favorite part, you know… And you were totally getting to the point of what I was asking,  you, don’t worry, it’s exactly what I wanted to hear, right? The differences in the different regions of different countries. That’s awesome, because it gives you a broader idea of what the customer needs and how we need to adapt in those different markets, for sure. And if we talk about stores Monica, what should stores be thinking about? What do you think they might not be paying attention today, but  they should be paying attention to? And what are the areas that matter?

MÓNICA
So probably there are three key words in retail that we all have very present daily:   customer centric, digitalization and omnichannel. These are the three drivers, wants to be proud of.  So starting with the last one,  omnichannel, l at the end people want to have the same experience everywhere and  they want to be able to mix the different ways and different places where they buy… Digitalization at the end with the covid… Well, I think that today it is already part of us, right? All digital. And the first one, even if I started by the end, is customer centric. People are the most important thing for  companies… Using my company as an example, we just launched the ecommerce two months ago. That means that until that moment, the only line of income was through the stores. Someone selling a product wherever you want So, customer centric, to be able to cover all their needs, to be in the right place at the right moment with the right people. I think that  this is one of the most important things about the customer change and everything that we were talking about.

ADARA
Yeah, yeah, great. And in those improvements:  earn agility, management capacity… What role does technology play?  How have you  experienced it since your arrival to Clarel a year ago? You mentioned the launching of ecommerce. And what else? What other challenges do you face in  this sense?

MÓNICA
The digitalizationI  was talking about before is the key part.  Technology arrived to make our lives better. So, if someone pretends not to use technology, just to improve, change and grow as a company… I think that is a big mistake. Not focusing on my brand, but taking us as an example, we were a brand  that technology is not the last mile. We are not really on trend in technology because of the changes of the company in the last years… that are all public, so everyone can read about them. This made my life a bit harder when I arrived here as Head of Retail head. Because in the end technology did not arrive to change people for machines, technology arrived, to be able to take out from your job the things that are not necessary because you are losing your magic and special time. And just to allow us to focus on what we love to do, selling. So the idea of taking out all the administrative parts… It’s wonderful. You don’t need to waste your time using  your brain for it, because a machine or an artifIcial intelligence can do it for you… Taking in consideration it should always be a person behind that technology to control it and put some coherence into the results.

So, as I was saying, that allows you to focus on selling, customers, stores… all those things that we love when working in retail, that are our passion. And also it allows us to be more productive and to  make things better. In the end we have a limited capacity to make calculations about..I don’t know… footfall forecast for example, but a machine can calculate it faster and with more accurate results. A machine can understand and analyze three years in a row in one minute and give me insight that would take me at least one month or two to obtain.

ADARA
Exactly. I love a few words that you are mentioning. Magic that is within everybody that is serving the customer and loving what you do and everything that really just makes us human, right? That’s the special part and at the end, retail is a business from human to human, right? So that interaction I believe is very important. So yeah, I totally agree. And if we continue talking about digitalisation, you were mentioning ecommerce earlier, what’s your opinion about ecommerce? Taking in consideration as you were saying, how important is for a customer in this sector a personalized attention.Do you think stores could disappear in the future?

MÓNICA
No, no, never! I’m pretty sure about this answer. E Commerce has been growing for a year now. I remember numbers like 20% or 25% every year. Then in covid there was a boom because the stores were closed. And I think the second year after covid, ecommerce grew worldwide, like 31% even with the big growth that experienced during the pandemic… But ecommerce or any other option, will never give you  the experience that I store can. And even though we’re all using ecommerce, I was reading some numbers and I’ve read that 85% of the worldwide people buy at least once a year in an ecommerce or marketplace. But it’s only once a year. To buy fruit or cloth…you go to a store. And that’s every week or every month.Why? Because sometimes you just want that experience, you want to be there. So digitalization is key because everyone wants everything easier and better. Omnichannel is something that everyone should be targeting, it should become a goal for everyone. And I’m saying Omnichannel, not multichannel because we have many multichannel brands where you can buy ecommerce and return ecommerce, or buy in a store and return  in a store. We need omnichannel. I need to treat a brand, no matter where I’m buying, the same way. So I want to buy ecommerce and then return it in a store and be  able to buy from a store and Ecommerce. I don’t know. That is for me omnichannel. For me and for anyone… But  the store will never disappear. Also, I think that physical stores are becoming stronger in customer loyalty. If you are able to engage people in your store, they are always going to come back. That doesn’t happen with ecommerce.

Going back again to customer experience, and thinking about myself, if I go to a store and I have an amazing customer experience, I’m going back there. Not looking even for the price or for the product, just because I felt good being part of their little family that a store can be.

ADARA
Yeah, I totally agree, for me it is the same. Exactly the same. And the opposite too, right? You don’t get the right experience and… Chao

MÓNICA
Yeah, I I heard when I was younger…I’m not too old eh…but I heard that when you have a good experience you are going to share it with one person, but when you have a bad experience, you are going to share it at least with three. So ensure a  good customer experience is also really important for the brands if they want a good reputation.

ADARA
Yeah, absolutely. And in the end, you know, I totally agree that  digitalization or technology is and will be one of the main allies in the sector, retail in general, really in the next few years, but necessarily in harmony with the teams, right? Because, those changes in stores I understand that without the teams onboard It  would be unemotional, right?

MÓNICA
So people are a key part of a company. We cannot reject technology because it’s part of us. Someone said that a baby is born with an iPhone or a smartphone under the arm. And it’s true. I’m thinking about my little kids, but people is, what creates the essence of the brand. Focusing on the question you asked, technology and digitalization arrived to stay and be part of our life. And this is really important, because, as I said before, it makes our life much easier, so we have many  technologies, I don’t know, SAP, one track …that help us to make a part of our business  better. Another example, if we focus in Orquest for example, is a software that can make your planification, your schedule, and your KPI management much  better. It makes your life much easier because at the end is what I said before, it takes apart all those tasks that waste your time and stops you from focusing on what really matters: the customer, the experience, the selling part… And it does it much better than maybe 10 people put together but without replacing people with machines. For me this is key because at the end, people are the  most important part of a brand, they make our lives much easier. So, taking the right person in the right moment, for their right place is a key part. And I remember when I was trying Orquest, for example, and it was able to predict and to do footfall forecasts really precisely.  Sometimes even with a surprise for our people… you were able to plan the schedule and the number of heads, according to this forecast, precise forecast, this is the most important part. And just to be able to say “okay, if I put more people here, I will have more return”. And this is the most  important thing. In the end, we are brands and we want to sell more, to have better results, to be able to work with more people, to buy more things to sell…and just to make our company as big as possible.

ADARA
Great! Keywords there, that caught my attention, you know, that people and technology hand by hand, that’s the key, right? For the success of good implementation of technology, right? And yeah, that’s a matter of fact, that’s what moves us every day here at Orquest, improving  effIciency and employee satisfaction but never forgetting the change management piece, right? That’s very important. And everything that you have shared with us, Monica, I’ve loved it. I love hearing your story, it is very, very insightful. And as I was  saying earlier, I was very much looking forward to listening to you and to hearing your story first hand. I really, really appreciate you being here with me today. But before we say  goodbye, I would like to ask you about your philosophy in retail? What moves you  to do things the way you do?

MÓNICA
So, it’s a good question, you know? But If I had to answer in one word, I would say people. So… I’m a workaholic and this is really important, so… I try to be the same at work as I am in my personal life. I don’t know if this is good or bad…I’m not even going to think about it… But most importantly… I always tell myself that I have to do things during the day that make me go to bed feeling good about myself and say “today was a good day”. And it’s true that I’m very focused on numbers and  oriented to our objectives… but in the end, I have to say that what makes me most proud is the people. Being  able to say that I had a sales assistant working in Decathlon that became a store Director…I never was a store Director in Decathlon! I have grown a lot in other brands but not in  Decathlon. And I’m so proud! I’m so proud to have given these people these little tools to make them grow. I don’t know, they are like my little kids, you know. I’m proud of them. So in the end, my  philosophy is that people are the most important tool you can have. You need to take care of them.

You don’t have to lose the trends and everything  that is arriving. You need to take digital and technology as part of yourself because you need to grow with that. But the most important thing is that you need to be calm and good with yourself every day. Proud of what you did during the day.

ADARA
Exactly, exactly. Thank you so much, Mónica.

MÓNICA
It’s been a pleasure, so thanks to you guys!

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