EXPERT OPINION
Kazakhstan is that they are very dedicated to the fresh products , which influences Kazakhstani people ’ s purchasing habits . There are green bazars around the country . This is a strength of Ramstore with 50 % of the sales coming from the fresh products . When you enter our stores , fruit and vegetable is the first section that welcomes you . We feel confident about the other goods we sell in the store , but fresh stuff is our strongest muscle , I should say .
This is what differentiates us from others – committing to what customers prefer . Eventually , they show respect to the brand . So , green markets were the first thing I realized arriving in Kazakhstan . People are accomplishing their daily purchases at such markets . Then we thought through and adapted our strategy according to these preferences . Why should our customers go to bazars if we can fill their needs in Ramstore ?
You have renovated the first Ramstore shopping mall in Almaty and today it is ‘ All In ’. Can you share more details about the concept ?
Being the first shopping center here , it makes Ramstore the oldest one . But a shopping center gets old day by day . And people change too . Ages change , new generations come and go and their expectations are adjusting over time as well . Our management decided to make these changes in the mall in accordance with customers ’ expectations .
Ten years ago , for example , a shopping mall was only a prospect for people . Today our customers expect many other things . They anticipate a social life to happen , not just being able to buy some goods and go for fast food . They appreciate a place where they can ‘ do it all ’: meet with family and friends , have something to eat , get a drink , have fun .
Business is another constituent of the ‘ All In ’ concept . That is why we call it center , not the shopping mall anymore . This is a multifunctional trade complex . We have a business center here with Alfa Bank moving their office in . There are also street restaurants , cafes , a bar , a barber shop , a pharmacy , etc . Inside of the building we have a technology market as well .
As I said we decided to do this because of our customers ’ expectations . We also changed the layout , which makes it a totally new building . We spent around 20 million dollars to renovate . Ramstore as a brand made a strategic investment , even during an economic crises , which shows our commitment to investing in the country . We want to stay in the market and we are interested in contributing into Kazakhstan ’ s economy . We are gaining money here and as a circulation of funds we are planning to invest again into the development .
We see that our customers are happy now . The feedback about the ‘ All in ’ concept is very positive . Whoever I ’ ve talked to has said that they are excited about the change .
People have some nostalgia in relation to this place . So , we have something planned for them in the future – to bring back some activities . For instance , like the ice skating rink . It is symbolic for many people – for example , some couples met here . One of our clients mentioned his daughter made her first skating steps on the Ramstore ice , and she learned to skate and eventually joined the Olympics . So , we are ready to make surprises for our customers in the future . I hope we will have a fitness center here as well .
During the day the Ramstore ‘ All In ’ is a business center . When work hours are over , this is a meeting point for people and an opportunity to have a cozy dinner .
As per our Ramstore team , we are spending most of our time in this building and its premises , because we love what we do . This is our lifestyle ! At least , speaking for myself for sure . We enjoy experiencing restaurants outside the building in the end of the working day . So , our facilities are a good relaxation opportunity place for us as well .
What are the development plans for Ramstore in the upcoming future ?
The ‘ All In ’ concept is not our main direction . Our core business is retail . In retail we are specifically in the supermarket sector . So , we are planning to grow in this sector . We will be growing in this country and will be opening new stores each year . Our strategic plan for the upcoming years is to be opening stores : street stores as an example with an Express format as our focus . We are going after smaller stores with a limited assortment .
Today we have more than 16,000 SQA products in our big stores . But in the express format of street stores we have about 5,000 products – commodity ones for daily shopping . This is our plan – to grow in this segment and keep fulfilling the needs of our consumers .
We continue to follow our financial discipline as we develop feasible projects . We do take risks , but wisely .
supported by EUROBAK
55