How Mooi Parfumerie keeps getting closer to the customer

Everything is online and available on demand. For a group of retailers it is therefore increasingly about what sets you apart. For Mooi Parfumerie, which still has a big focus on the physical store, that has been customer centricity from the very beginning. You succeed by striking the right chord, says co-CEO Dorian Hofs.

"Beauty is an experience and very personal too. That's why in our industry it is even more important to stay close to the customer and know well what they want," he says. The perfumery chain relies largely on franchisees. "Driven people. They know exactly what is going on in the local market, know their customers well and often even have a personal bond. Customer loyalty is a big part of our company's strength."

In its 15 years of existence, the perfumery chain has grown into an established name. With the merger of Mooi Parfumerie and Beauty X the count comes to 80 stores. The new parent company is called New Beauty Hub. Meanwhile the Mooi brand still stands for personal attention and luxury, with brands like Rituals, Clarins, Lancaster, Clinique, Estée Lauder and Lancôme. According to Hofs, the will to innovate is another driver. The chain was one of the first to bring innovative elements to the industry, such as an in-store beauty bar where customers are pampered.

More data driven

In 2020 the company also took the path of automation, towards a more data driven organisation. At Mooi, too, they realise that data plays a key role in the customer relationship, and that knowing who the customer is and how they move through the store is invaluable. All so that, as Hofs puts it, you can then act on the basis of insight.

Multiple POS systems

New Beauty Hub supports the franchisees across the country in areas such as marketing, data, automation and logistics. But the multi store business also faces various challenges. In efficiency, for example. "We had to deal with several POS systems, each with its own challenges. There was also no way to integrate them with other systems. There was no single central customer database. And it was rather difficult to arrive at one item database, with information such as product names, prices, categories, images, fragrance family and country of origin. That information was spread across different branches and checkouts. In short: we didn't have full insight."

The old situation meant Mooi didn't seize every opportunity to get closer to the customer. That has changed. Several stores within the organisation recently switched to a cloud based POS system in which not only the checkout, but also inventory management and loyalty functionality are fully integrated. Thanks to API integrations, other systems can be connected too. This way physical and online stores can be managed from one system.

One whole

Mooi can integrate its item database and ERP into Tilroy. Product data is visible on all checkouts connected to the platform. It gives Mooi speed and efficiency for the various franchisees, says Peter De Ranter, CEO of Tilroy. "Every store connected to the platform can share and view data, such as customer information. That makes it possible for the different entrepreneurs to move towards the market as one whole."

Mooi hopes to have more stores running on the platform in the near future. That can be done quite easily, says De Ranter. "Adding a new store is no longer an IT task. That makes growth and expansion a lot simpler and lets entrepreneurs focus on things other than technology. The customer, indeed."

Source: Retail Trends