Esprinet opens a cash & carry in Barcelona and is committed to interactivity with the customer

Smart labels and a digital totem are the signage solutions that have been implemented in the new Hospitalet de Llobregat store inaugurated, yesterday by the wholesaler, and that seeks to facilitate the distributor's purchasing experience and allow greater control of product stock.

Esprinet inaugurated a cash & carry in Barcelona. Located in the Hospitalet de Llobregat area, it is the second to open in Spain and follows the same line as the Esprivillage in Madrid.. It has a space of 740 square meters of exhibition and 150 warehouse, and more than 4.400 references.

The Esprivillage Barcelona represents another step in the company's strategy that is committed to this model of direct sales to distributors and that, as José María García explains,, country manager of Esprinet Ibérica, “We will continue to develop. We have planned, in the near future, continue opening cash & carry although it is not yet determined where it will be. “We have chosen Hospitalet for our second center because it is the most suitable area in terms of number of distributors”.

The company's future forecasts seem to have their sights set on the southern area of ​​Madrid., although it does not rule out that this business expansion will focus on Portugal. “It is a market that is slower than Spain but after these years working there we have the experience and knowledge to bet on it”.

The cash & carry from Madrid has provided the company with a business of 15 million euros and they hope that this new establishment that they have opened in Barcelona will bring them a similar figure.

This company already has 17 cash points of sale & carry in Italy, spread across different areas of the country, where more than 6.000 customers make their purchases. “When opening the stores, In Italy distance is taken into account while in Spain more emphasis is placed on the advancement of the business”.

Promoting interactivity with the client

At a technological level, In this center the same smart label solution that the Alcobendas center has has been implemented, but, besides, has gone one step further and has installed a solution that focuses on interactivity with the client.

This interactivity aims to facilitate the customer's purchasing experience and allow what Esprinet calls 'intelligent dynamic replenishment' and which, as José María García comments, "will be marked by more than 1.300 distributors that are in the surroundings and who will be the ones who tell us what products are going to be sold”.

To launch this initiative they have had the collaboration of the company Nicolis Project who has implemented a digital kiosk, el btotem, that helps the distributor in their purchases and optimizes stock management in the center.

The btotem is built with a touchscreen that facilitates interaction with the customer. It can be programmed to perform different actions and makes it easier to search for products in the store, in addition to allowing interaction with other devices and browsing the point of sale intranet.
The totem that is installed in the cash & Hospitalet de Llobregat carry has a touch screen 22,5 inches, barcode reader and thermal printer.

At this information stand, the customer searches for the products they want to purchase and the information is sent via WiFi to the labels on the shelves with the different products.. Colored LED signals indicate where they are located., as well as if they are in stock. This solution allows you to manage up to seven operations simultaneously.

Thanks to the interactivity provided by this solution, it is possible to manage promotions, replacement dates, carry out actions on the products, indicate which items must be removed , help carry out different activities in the store such as picking, control items that are out of stock, and allow signaling of critical stocks.