Almost a year ago, Europe’s newest concept store Wow Concept opened its doors on Madrid’s Gran Vía Boulevard. It opened a new chapter in the career of Spanish businessman Dimas Gimeno, formerly president of department store chain El Corte Inglés. In just over 365 days, Wow Concept has generated sales of 50 million euros and is now in the process of launching a new round of financing to launch a second store in the prestigious Serrano area, also in Madrid.
On the last day of World Retail Congress 2023 FashionUnited had the opportunity to take stock in an interview with the founder and visionary behind Wow Concept.
The interview was conducted by Paula V. Pinuaga at the World Retail Congress and transcribed by Alicia Reyes Sarmiento.
“Make a lot of mistakes, quickly and, above all, cheaply”
As with any new adventure, this step comes with risks: “Getting the project going, choosing the locations, finding the talent” are difficulties inherent in this journey, which is virtually impossible to succeed without making mistakes close. You have to “make a lot of mistakes”, but also “quickly and, above all, cheaply”, Gimeno recommends, before he admits that in his case it “wasn’t as cheap” as he would have liked.
“In summary, the first year of the project, built from scratch, was marked by ‘a lot of learning and prepared us to face the present and the future much better, because we already have a little bit more than at the start.”
A second location in Madrid
The opening of the new Wow store, which will be housed in the premises of the closed El Corte Inglés on Calle Serrano in Madrid, is scheduled for the second half of the year. A somewhat hasty decision, made a little earlier than Gimeno thought was “logical” given that the first location only opened a year ago. But as the former chairman of El Corte Inglés explained to FashionUnited, “you have to seize opportunities when they present themselves”. He is convinced that the Serrano “is the best possible location in all of Spain” so “we couldn’t pass it up”.
The biggest challenge, but also “the best thing of all”, according to the CEO, is to ensure that two stores that are very close to each other complement each other and offer something completely different despite the common concept.
Impulsive customers instead of thoughtful ones
Madrid’s central boulevard, Gran Vía, is a tourist destination, meaning the clientele that visits the store is predominantly international. In transit, consumers show more “impulsive” buying behavior, which means that the design of the product offer and your offer in general must be strong enough to “convince customers who do not enter your store with the intention of to buy something”.
They are therefore customers who, motivated by an exclusive or special product, cannot pass up the opportunity to buy this product, knowing that they will not find it anywhere else but in the city they are in leave.
This learning process has resulted in a simpler in-store offering, focused on the world of streetwear and sneakers, as well as categories like accessories and beauty, which “has worked really well,” as Dimas Gimeno assures FashionUnited.
However, the second store, which will be located in the Serrano area, will present a “watered down offer”, as it is believed that the mainly local clientele will show a more reflective shopping behavior in the prestigious area of the capital. But at the same time, Serrano is an area where “luxury is booming,” according to Gimeno. That only attracts high-end tourism there, a trend Wow Concept wants to capitalize on so that the different trends can complement each other in a positive way.
How do you manage to increase the market value of a company to around 50 million euros in one year?
Gimeno summarizes the key to success as being able to create, in a very short time, a brand “that offers a unique, innovative and differentiated product range”, with the added bonus of a good location.
Although digitization is at the center of all industry talks right now, he thinks that while people are motivated to create their own unique technology solutions, “brands today are looking for the physical rather than the digital aspect as the digital is already more than covered “.
Today, brands are looking for physical stores that help them “create community and engage with customers in new ways,” he concludes.
This article was published on FashionUnited.com. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ