Jean-Michel Grunberg

Jean-Michel Grunberg, CEO of Ludendo Group

For La Grande Récré, omnichannel selling connects with distribution development and brand content

Jean-Michel Grunberg, founder and CEO of Ludendo, has just announced a very ambitious plan to develop La Grande Récré’s distribution network, with support from a future majority shareholder. He spoke with Parlons Commerce about his outlook and the omnichannel dimension of his strategy.

Absolutely. For us, a presence across all channels means offering customers the opportunity to stay in regular contact with us. Naturally, we want to develop online and web-to-store sales, but we also aim to provide customers with information, advice and support, along with brand content. The physical relationship remains essential. To keep up with increasingly mobile customers, we must create a polymorphous network which includes local shops, regional flagships, seasonal stores and service centres offering very targeted products in places as diverse as petrol stations, Club Med Villages, hotels, etc. We hope to open several hundred such “relay” points and are currently in discussions with some big-name potential partners.

What do you mean by brand content?

We set ourselves firmly apart from retailers who position themselves solely in terms of volume and price. We don’t seek to rival such marketplaces and their 200,000 SKUs. We promote our brand by focussing on our promise to customers: we select products based on criteria of ethical production, safety and interest for the child. We have developed expertise in these areas and we also create our own products. So, our brand has real content and we want to reach out, share our values and explain our choices so that we can build consumer confidence. In such matters, technology can’t do everything. We invest in our corporate culture and staff training. This outreach must play across the entire customer journey – physical, digital or both at once – and the journey should be as comfortable as possible for all types of customers, whether adults or children. Right now, we are preparing a business plan to achieve an alignment of our vision of the brand with its perception among customers.

We have noted the rise in France of the Black Friday phenomenon of pre-Christmas discounts which appears to play in favour of Amazon. How can a brand that earns 35% of its sales in December adapt to this trend?   

In the world of toys, the Black Friday phenomenon appears to have only a moderate impact. Clothing is the sector where it is felt the most because consumers want to take advantage of sales which normally don’t start until January. My view is that we need to avoid excessive discounts, but we can’t ignore customer expectations. As concerns Amazon, our omnichannel strategy is the best defence, along with a rapid roll-out of our expansion plan. La Grande Récré plays a central and structural role in a rapidly evolving sector. Our brand has a strong identity and we are reinforcing what is already the best distribution network by opening exceptional stores such as the one at Parly 2 near Paris and soon another one at Grand Hôtel Dieu in Lyon. Increasing our market share is not an end unto itself. Our role is to help customers choose the right gift. This means doing a better job of selling our toys to customers who increasingly want to buy them to share moments of happiness with their children.