"Amazon originally came out of the book business, too"

Werbewoche: After the failure of Siroop, Coop decided to expand Microspot's product range and realign the home electronics store as a retail platform with a department store character. Why didn't you just change the name in the process?

Martin Koncilja: In terms of sales, we are the fourth-largest Swiss online store. That's why, from my point of view, it makes no sense at all to replace the familiar brand with a new one.

Is the IT-sounding brand Microspot fit to sell perfumes and gardening gloves?

I believe that the actual name itself is no longer so relevant today. What's much more important is what's behind the brand. Are the price, convenience and service right? Such factors are much more important to customers than whether the name fits the product range exactly.

So is there a commitment to that name?

Yes, this name stays. Definitely.

Visually, Microspot looks more like an electronics discounter than an online department store. Will the appearance be adapted?

In order to be able to address new customers, changes are certainly necessary. However, we will make them gradually and not all at once. Because it is also important for us to continue to be there for the large number of regular customers that we have in the proven form.

Is there a risk of diluting the brand and driving away regular customers by expanding the product range?

The danger would certainly exist with a "big bang" with a new name, new color and new values. But since we know exactly where we're coming from and are making all the adjustments gradually, I don't think this problem will arise. Amazon also originally came from the book sector, gradually transformed itself - and today you can buy everything on the platform.

Who is Microspot addressing today?

As things stand today, we don't have a clearly defined target group, but rather appeal to the broad masses. Due to the computer and home electronics range, we have addressed significantly more men than women in the past, as men are often more interested in these segments.

Now you are massively expanding your range. Are there more clearly defined target groups?

The strategy is to implement Coop's non-food platform with Microspot - with such a broad range that we end up appealing to every woman and every man in this country. That is the goal.

In the past, you have largely dispensed with image advertising. Why?

After all, we belong to Interdiscount, a traditional retail company. In the past, communication in the retail sector always focused on product and price. We have lived very well with the low prices at Microspot in this respect so far. We also liked to play the card that we were the cheapest and make a big fuss about it. The fact that price is simply a very decisive factor is also evident, for example, from the fact that many customers come to us via price comparison portals.

So you could afford to do without image advertising in the past. Will that change in the future?

Now that we want to broaden Microspot's reach and increase awareness, we naturally need to bring image, branding and a certain wit into the communication. In the future, price will be one of many factors. For example, convenience for the customer is close to our hearts - that's where we want to step on the gas much more in the future as Coop's non-food platform. Simple and straightforward handling of orders or returns is extremely important.

You say "NonFood platform from Coop" - will other Coop Group stores be integrated?

Most formats have their own store, for example Import Parfümerie or Bau & Hobby. Certainly, other formats will be present on the platform over time.

Are the others giving up their online stores?

No, they keep their stores.

What is the goal in relation to the competition, which is now quite powerful in Switzerland?

Together with Interdiscount, we are the market leader in home electronics. However, our ambition is to be one of the leading providers in the online segment as well.

Are there any plans to link Interdiscount stores with the Microspot portal?

No, that is not planned. We have the Interdiscount platform, where cross-channel is the big keyword in connection with the 200 stores - with great success. But there are no plans to mix it with Microspot.

Won't the Interdiscount online store become redundant sooner or later due to the strong Microspot platform?

I don't think so. Instant delivery, i.e. on-site pickup, is currently a very big topic. We're noticing this particularly in the high-frequency stores, i.e. at train stations or airports. There we have an enormous influx of people who need things immediately. We are fully committed to this in the future.

The Microspot claim is "The price is decisive". Will this continue to be the right choice in the future? Digitec Galaxus, for example, is pursuing a different strategy, focusing on community, content, and customer service, and is obviously having success with it.

As mentioned, price will remain a decisive factor. Whether this still has to be stated in the claim in the future or whether half of Switzerland already knows that we stand for low prices anyway has not been decided.

Are there any other community building measures planned after the Microspot blog?

The blog was the first step, exactly. Since 2018, we have had a major partnership with 20 Minuten in the area of content and post a video there every two weeks in which a gadget tester tests current devices from us. We want to focus even more on video content in the future. There's no getting around this topic anymore, and we want to focus more on it.

Are customer ratings or reviews also in the pipeline?

That is certainly one of the many ideas we have and are looking into. But at the moment, it's not yet clear what we'll tackle next.

Have you learned any lessons from the Siroop case in terms of marketing and advertising?

Because Siroop was also part of the Coop Group, we followed the case very closely. At this point, however, I would also like to emphasize that many things were done very well and correctly.

For example?

If you know what it takes to get a store like this up and running in a very short time, you deserve my full respect. In purely advertising terms, Siroop has also raised its profile extremely quickly. And of course we analyzed everything else that didn't go so well and drew our conclusions. But as a marketing manager, I don't want to tell a professional colleague what he did well and what he did badly.

Interview: Thomas Häusermann