Drogherie: Format Self-Definition

Valeria MIRONOVA, Elena ROSTOVAwww.torgrus.com

The drogerie format, popular in the West, is increasingly beginning to penetrate into retail business Russia. Despite the free niche, small initial investments and rich experience of Western retailers Russian operators face a lot of problems in the development of this format.

The network format drogerie (drogerie) appeared in Germany in the 1970s in connection with filling the niche of mass food stores. The operators of the drogerie market were entrepreneurs who relied on hygiene products, household chemicals and perfumes, which are in high demand at all times. Based on the fact that a fast-turning assortment can be not only in the food segment, a separate niche was identified - drogerie.

Classics of the genre. The main advantage was that the development of the format did not require large initial investments. Goods don't need drogeries special conditions storage, the logistics of this format is much simpler than food, as it allows delivery with less frequency, the implementation of the assortment in months and years makes it possible to reduce losses from written-off goods. Electric Energy spent mainly on lighting trading floor. At the same time, drogerie stores offer a wide range of products: the main categories are household chemicals, hygiene and cosmetic products are complemented by health products, accessories, jewelry, toys, underwear and a number of others. Thanks to a fairly free concept in the choice of assortment, which makes it possible to adapt to target audience, the format is enough short time became widespread in the West and began to develop actively in Europe and America.

At a time when people are saving money and reducing the number of trips to large hypermarkets and hardware stores, there are new prospects for the development of drogerie stores. This type of retail appeared in Russia not so long ago. But experts predict a good pace of expansion of drogery chains in the regions: 20-30% growth in the number of outlets and turnovers in the coming years.

Drogerie is a European format of non-food convenience stores where, in addition to household chemicals, household goods, cosmetics and tights, you can buy over-the-counter drugs and dietary supplements. Drogerie in the West is a great replacement for classic pharmacies, as the format of the institution is friendlier, it is more pleasant to go to it for medicines for coughs or mild colds than to a pharmacy, which is associated with more serious diseases. IN European countries the number of drogerie is comparable to the number of classic neighborhood grocery stores. In Germany, the retail format "drogerie" has more than 9 thousand units. In the UK, Boots alone owns over 1,400 drogerie stores.

“The format for Russia is quite young. “Podruzhka” entered the market in 2005, “Magnit Cosmetic” in 2010. Each of the trade formats in Russia has its own target audience. The latest Nielsen consumer sentiment study found that 78% of Russian shoppers enjoy shopping and perceive shopping as a pleasant pastime. Interestingly, the Russian consumer is consciously willing to pay more for the benefits of drogery," says Firuza Kozhageldina, Head of Corporate Relations non-food market Nielsen Russia.

According to Euromonitor International, the volume Russian market drogerie in 2013 was estimated at 59.8 billion rubles, in 2014 - at 65.7 billion, the forecast for 2015 - 70 billion rubles. According to consumer society"Drogerie - Soyuz", the average bill in stores is 250-500 rubles, the average traffic per day is 250-450 people. "Drogerie has a wider selection than a standard convenience store. I think if convenience stores and drogeries are relatively close and serve the same area, then there is likely to be a split in stock, and grocery stores either they will completely abandon household goods and expand the product line, or they will narrow down the representation of such goods on their shelves to a minimum, - says Ksenia Grevtsova, Head of Retailers Development at SHOP MAGAZINOV. - Drogerie is a convenience store. In order to survive and earn money, they will be forced to keep democratic prices for some groups of goods with a minimum mark-up."

The main advantage of this format is a convenient location and a wide range of products. 90% of drogerie buyers are women. "The audience of drogerie in Russia is completely different. There are "hard discounters" like "Ruble Boom", which are focused on the lowest prices and the low-income category of citizens. There are "Spektr" stores, which, after reconstruction, can outshine any cosmetic operator in terms of fashion. If you take a certain the average trend, then drogerie is not a store for the poor, - says Dmitry Kalachev, director of Trade House Vprok. - In my opinion, "beauty" (cosmetics, skin care products, hair care products) and household goods (cleaning, kitchen, shoe care products) that sell well and have a good margin".

There are prerequisites for further growth of the drogerie format, and experts are seeing a growth in the segment. Regional players see no other way than extensive growth. They spend a very measured financial policy, as a rule, have a low debt load, which hinders expansion. “Regional chains, firstly, cannot afford to have a large share of unprofitable stores (as a rule, new stores bring losses in the first year), and secondly, they have already experienced several crises and remember well how banks can suddenly close lending and leave the company in a difficult financial situation. At the same time, there are still entire regions where there are no significant network players, so there will be growth, and most likely it will be measured in double digits (20-30%) both in terms of the number of outlets and in terms of turnover," he believes Dmitry Kalachev.

According to Vladimir Kukushkin, CEO network of perfumery and cosmetics stores "BEAUTY MARKET", the capacity of the drogerie market in Russia is 12-15 thousand stores. By the way, the format is constantly transforming, and now many chains are moving into beauty - cosmetics, tights, goods that are difficult to sell in grocery retail, reduce the share of household chemicals, which just flows into hypermarkets. Drogerie began to select customers from the classic "perfumery-cosmetics" format, selling cosmetics and perfumes in the high price segment with a markup of 40-60%, which is significantly lower than that of large cosmetic retailers.

Photo: WG / Anton Petepletchikov / Inna Zubareva

The main factor that distinguishes Russian drogeries from European ones is pharmaceutical products. Nevertheless, there are already attempts to sell dietary supplements and parapharmaceuticals in our drogeries. “We are not talking about medicines that are sold exclusively in pharmacies. In terms of assortment, the bets are made on herbal teas, tonics, as well as cosmetics for body and face care, which are traditionally in demand in retail. In our opinion, this is a new and quite promising format for in terms of pharmaceutical products, it has every chance to compete for the consumer with pharmacies, especially in remote regions where the availability of pharmacies is low. etc.," says Natalia Prokopyeva, chairman of the board of directors of Evalar (signed a direct contract with the Magnit network).

According to Roman Ivanov, CEO of R&D Pharma, sooner or later the legislation will change in Russia and classic drogeries will become possible: “First of all, it will be necessary to change the mentality and capabilities of the target audience of such stores. As you know, these are middle-level housewives. Now in our country this category of society cares about how to feed their households. Currently, there is a steady decline in sales of parapharmaceuticals and cosmeceuticals in pharmacies. This is due to the crisis of macro- and microeconomics. I do not believe that against this background, drogeries will gain popularity in Russia. "

So far, the drogheri themselves adhere to this point of view. “I believe that in Russia it’s more likely not about legislative obstacles, but about the habit of buying and trust in the format. I know that one of the Moscow chains tried to implement pharmacy departments on its premises, but sales did not go. I still don’t see the prerequisites for such a scenario," sums up Vladimir Kukushkin.

When looking for a free niche for a retail business, you should consider such a store option as a drogerie. To use it, you need a capital equal to about 550,000 rubles, while the profit will be about 200,000. Drogery is a new format that is not yet very actively used in trade in Russia. However, in European countries this idea is very relevant and quite developed.

This article will analyze in detail the concept of drogerie, its significant nuances and key points, valuable recommendations for the implementation of such a format, possible difficulties along the way and ways to overcome them.

The term drogerie is commonly understood as a special category of stores that specialize in the sale of goods that do not need special storage. Speaking about the assortment, we will talk about household chemicals, cosmetic products, some medicines that do not require prescriptions from doctors. This format of stores deals with goods, the distinctive quality of which is the high frequency of sale.

Considering the main signs of drogerie, special attention should be paid to:

1. Goods of low price categories;
2. absence of perishable products;
3. goods intended for mass consumption;
4. fast moving goods;
5. selling products that buyers already know because of frequent advertising. However, the stores themselves contain virtually no advertising;
6. walking distance. As for, this includes the category of people living next to the store itself;
7. an area equal to approximately 100-140 square meters. This factor is the standard for this type of outlet;
8. current self-service format.

All these features help drogerie differ from ordinary hardware stores. As for the main positive points, the most important of them is the presence of an impressive turnover per 1 square meter. At the same time, the markup on the product is quite small.

Now drogeries can be seen only in some large cities, while in others they remain unknown. If you start implementing this type of business right now, then this, with a competent approach, will lead to a stable income.

Blitz interview with Gen. director of the drogerie network “Seven+I”:

Instructions for opening a drogerie store

The appearance of the first drogerie was recorded in Germany. This event was driven by the development of supermarkets and other food outlets and was observed in the 1970s. At that time, German entrepreneurs were developing a special scheme for involving small stores with fast-selling goods. The main requirement was the absence of special storage conditions.

As for other European countries, this project was accepted positively there, at present it continues to be actively used and developed. The popularity of this phenomenon is not affected even by the fact of a noticeable resemblance to an ordinary supermarket. However, there are some nuances here.

Often, drogeries are distinguished by a more favorable price, but the availability of the products offered also plays a role. People will not drive half an hour around the city to buy cleaning products in one of the supermarkets. The most convenient option in this case is to have small shop near the house.

Thus, the most important advantage of this format is the presence of an advantageous location. The turnover of such a store includes, to a greater extent, goods that were purchased regular customers living nearby.

Now Germany can boast of the existence of about 10,000 drogerie. Concerning Russian Federation, then at the time of 2017 there were approximately 97 functioning outlets. This fact testifies to the great potential of the project. Many analysts believe that our state is in dire need of this kind of stores due to the shortage situation.

The level of competition in this area is very low, this is due to the non-proliferation of the format. Now the main competitors of drogerie are supermarkets, hypermarkets, etc. There is practically no internal competition.

The demand for the drogerie format in European countries is not accidental. And although this niche is free in Russia, there are some negative aspects of the phenomenon that an entrepreneur may encounter in the process of business development.

Positive and negative sides

As for the positive points, here you should pay attention to:

• large target audience;
• low level of direct competition;
• a small format of start-up investments;
• low costs in the workflow;
• win over consumers due to its proximity and attractive prices.

Speaking of negative qualities, it is necessary to take into account:

• High competition with the category of stores that have an adjacent format;
• A large number of goods, because of this, special control and attention is needed.
• Small markup on products. If the turnover is characterized by low rates, then this indicates its unprofitability.

However, drogers still have more positive aspects than negative ones. They are within walking distance and offer low cost. Entrepreneurs very often manage to save on various things. For example, there is no need to create any special conditions for the storage of products.

Also, the transportation process itself is quite simple, it does not need to be carried out as often as stores with food products. Products have a long or no expiration date at all. The implementation period can reach both several months and a year. There are no situations of expired goods, so there is no loss either.

Material losses are very unlikely. As for the purchase of special equipment, it is enough to acquire the simplest set: various racks, stands, showcases. You do not need to purchase any complex equipment and expensive equipment.

Furniture items can often be obtained in good condition “from hand”, this is another tip for further reducing upcoming costs.

Key moments of assortment formation

As for the range of drogerie, it is mainly characterized by goods that have a long shelf life. Speaking about the categories of such goods, special attention should be paid to:

• household goods and household chemicals;
• cosmetics and perfumery;
• goods for personal hygiene;
• medicines sold without the need for a doctor's prescription;
• products that are included in the seasonal and promotional assortment.

European stores are full of products such as dietary supplements, and there is a high popularity in them medicines. However, Russia is distinguished by other statistics. The reason for this is the need to have the appropriate license for implementation.

What is special about drogerie? Photo: pexels.com

Most entrepreneurs do not like paperwork, so they prefer not to take medicines into account when compiling their assortment. As far as the range of drogerie is concerned, it can be adjusted to fit Russian nuances. As for household chemicals, the domestic market is in dire need of it; abroad, people prefer to use the services.

Speaking about the term itself, the dictionary unit "drogerie" is the name of a pharmacy store. However, the realities of our trading process do not allow us to freely sell medicines. Therefore, entrepreneurs fill stands with other goods, they deliberately do not waste time on the legalization of medicinal products.

Interaction with the supplier

As for the supplier himself, for him a client dealing with the drogerie format is considered an inconvenient customer. This is due to the fact that the purchase takes place in accordance with the most popular positions.

There are also cases when drogerie operators do not choose new products for sale, because it is more profitable for them to take only promoted products. This determines the high level of purchases of such a client. Suppliers do not consider it profitable to cooperate with a small and rather problematic customer.

Therefore, entrepreneurs involved in this format are trying in every possible way to find a solution to this problem in order to ensure regular purchases. For example, this is the reason for the creation of a special alliance called the Drogery Union. It includes some of the largest drogerie networks.

The reason for the creation was the increase in the cost of products by suppliers. However, combined purchases allow them to jointly achieve a favorable price. It is also possible to find a regional partner and offer mutually beneficial cooperation.

Another option is to look for some small supplier dealing with certain categories of goods. They are more loyal and very often make concessions, accepting the set of requirements of the entrepreneur.

An important feature is that the trading process should satisfy the needs of buyers as much as possible. This can be done if the store contains a full range of goods, about 94%. For the availability of all commodity items, it is necessary to carefully consider the logistics and supply chain.

The use of smaller suppliers will help streamline the process. In conclusion, we can add that if you want to open a drogerie store, you will have to devote time to analytics, planning systems and personal marketing.

To fill the sales area with products, which is about a hundred square meters, it is necessary to purchase at least 220,000 rubles. A competent calculation of the volume of future purchases plays a huge role. Shelves should not be completely crammed with goods, a balance must be struck.

However, a half-empty booth can also lead a potential buyer to think about a small assortment. With an overabundance of products, buyers do not want to spend time and effort on finding the necessary things.

Location and search for suitable premises for a retail outlet

Residents of high-rise buildings and private houses, which are located at least 500 meters from them, are considered the main goal of drogerie shops. The best search solution suitable places will become sleeping areas. They are characterized by a lower rental value, in contrast to the center of the settlement. This fact is a very significant positive aspect of this format.

Considering the totality of the main requirements for a retail outlet, special attention should be paid to:

• location on the first floors of multi-storey buildings, there must also be a separate exit to the street, its front part.
• area commercial premises, which will be at least 100-150 square meters;
• good lighting;
• a good visualization of the room is desirable: display windows, ceilings that are at least three meters high, an open layout that allows you to use the space to the maximum.

As for the cost of renting such premises, it usually amounts to about 50,000 rubles. The price differs depending on the locality. The figure presented is very general. Another important nuance is the presence of a separate exit to the street, so that it is convenient to load products into a mini-warehouse.

Registration process

To practice retail in the drogerie store you do not need to have any special permissions. To open a store, it is very important to collect a package of documentation, as well as the availability of a sanitary and epidemiological conclusion issued by Rospotrebnadzor, a permit issued by the fire inspectorate, and regulatory documents for the store.

To lead commercial activity it is necessary to go through the registration process as an individual entrepreneur, it is worth choosing a simplified taxation system. We will also have to deal with the transfer of all insurance premiums for working personnel in the future.

Nuances in the design and functioning of the drogerie

The theme of designing a drogerie store is characterized by its specificity, great value has an assortment. To properly decorate small rooms, you should give preference to racks and island racks that have trade elements. Appearance will not differ much from standard supermarkets.

It should not be forgotten that this type of store is distinguished by a small investment in the design of the interior and exterior. Simplicity is the best solution. The formation of the trading floor takes place in the same way as in supermarkets.

Since the trading floors themselves are not very large, the placement of high racks is possible near the walls, the central part should be lined with island racks.

It is also worth noting the existence of companies that sell equipment for trading in drogerie stores. There you can not only buy items such as standard racks, but also order the design of a trading floor. At the same time, they themselves will calculate in what volume it is better to purchase commercial equipment.

The cost of one wall rack will be about 8 thousand rubles, island racks will cost about 9,000. The area determines the amount of costs for the formation of trading floors. Having bought racks, you also need to get a cash counter, a POS system for a cash register and other equipment.

How to open such a store?

Since a drogerie is considered a self-service store, it should be provided with sufficient shopping carts or baskets. People should be able to shop normally even during peak traffic.

Often, entrepreneurs prefer standard baskets that can hold about 20 liters. To purchase all the equipment, you will have to allocate about 270-300,000 rubles.

Goods must be laid out on shelves in accordance with the principles of merchandising. The collection of the most sought-after things should be placed away from cash registers. People tend to make impulse purchases. It is best to place promotional or seasonal goods near the checkout.

Speaking about the working staff, it should be noted that the store is serviced by several people - the sales floor manager and three cashiers. They work in accordance with the shift, replace each other, some are in charge of cash desks, while others advise visitors.

Portrait of the target audience

As for the theme of the target audience, it is characterized to a greater extent by residents of nearby houses. Most of the clients are female. They are most often engaged in housekeeping, and their approximate age ranges from 26-45 years. Consumers are more loyal than the audience of a large supermarket.

What formats do Dixie, Pyaterochka use:

Application of advertising

Advertising is also in this case the engine of the trading process, so its use is highly recommended. Considering the most effective types of advertising in this case, special attention should be paid to:

• outdoor advertising (bright signboard, promotional posters);
• placement of announcements in elevators;
• flyers and coupons in the mailbox.

There are curious people who will come to you on the first day of opening with their acquaintances, and then the information about the opening will spread throughout the area. To further stimulate customers, it is necessary to arrange sales and bonus programs by getting people interested in favorable terms.

Conclusion

In order for such a business to become successful, it is very important to determine a favorable location. Sleeping areas are the best. In general, the creation of such a business involves relatively small investment which will pay off in a very short time. It is important to correctly assess your capabilities and future development prospects.

This article will talk about such a popular store format as drogerie. They have already gained considerable popularity in European countries, but in our country they are just beginning to develop and gain their demand. First of all, we will understand what such stores are, and then a brief description of them will be given.

What is the Drogery format?

So, drogerie is a small store with various cosmetic, perfumery, hygiene, household products, as well as household chemicals and a small assortment of food products. Sometimes drogeries may also sell over-the-counter medicines.

There are also many such stores in Europe, as well as various grocery discount points. For example, the German market boasts more than 9,000 drogeries. Such retail chains emerged after the proliferation of supermarkets and discounters with food products. It happened in the 1970s. We can say that this happened relatively recently.

The advantage of this store format, first of all, is that the cost of operating and organizing a brand is not too high, and at the same time, drogeries most often have a rather impressive turnover per square meter. retail space. And also the cost of developing and maintaining such an enterprise is lower than that of grocery stores.

Where are the savings from?

First, it is important to note that the savings come from the initial investment. So, in drogerie, almost all goods do not need special conditions for storage. This suggests that there is no need to purchase various expensive refrigerators and freezers that will be intended for one or another type of product. In the trading floor, it is not necessary to observe medium-temperature slides for arranging vegetables, yoghurts, fruits, etc. In addition, there are no low-temperature baths. Such a store does not need special remote units and a highly expensive air conditioning system.

The second savings factor can be called conventional logistics. Thus, by virtue of the fact that the drogerie assortment does not have any perishable products, supplies of goods can be made less often, and transport can be loaded more efficiently. It also reduces the availability of expired goods.

The next factor that helps to save money is less energy consumption. Since it mainly goes to lighting the trading floor, unlike grocery stores, where all energy costs are often spent on various units and refrigeration equipment. It often happens that the electricity limit simply does not allow the use of a particular room for arranging a grocery store, which cannot be said about the drogerie.

This format of stores, like food discounters, receives 80% of its turnover from regular customers who live close to outlet. At the same time, the network of stores should be dense, and its premises should be small. Those people who live within a five-minute walk from the drogerie will come here daily.

If we take into account the fact that the assortment of such networks is almost always the same, here the customers will be received by the one who first occupies a profitable premises. Thus, we examined the main characteristics of drogerie, learned what it is, and understood what advantages these retail chains have.

Drogherie: Format Self-Definition

Valeria MIRONOVA, Elena ROSTOVAwww.torgrus.com

The drogerie format, popular in the West, is increasingly beginning to penetrate the Russian retail business. Despite the free niche, small initial investments and rich experience of Western retailers, Russian operators face a lot of problems when developing this format.

The network format drogerie (drogerie) appeared in Germany in the 1970s in connection with filling the niche of mass food stores. The operators of the drogerie market were entrepreneurs who relied on hygiene products, household chemicals and perfumes, which are in high demand at all times. Based on the fact that a fast-turning assortment can be not only in the food segment, a separate niche was identified - drogerie.

Classics of the genre. The main advantage was that the development of the format did not require large initial investments. Drogerie goods do not need special storage conditions, the logistics of this format are much simpler than food ones, as it allows delivery with less frequency, the sale of the assortment in months and years makes it possible to reduce losses from written-off goods. Electric energy is spent mainly only on the lighting of the trading floor. At the same time, drogerie stores offer a wide range of products: the main categories are household chemicals, hygiene and cosmetic products, complemented by health products, accessories, jewelry, toys, underwear and a number of others. Thanks to a fairly free concept in the choice of assortment, which makes it possible to adapt to the target audience, the format became widespread in the West in a fairly short time and began to actively develop in Europe and America.