Our colleague and friend Thierry Coeman conducts an interview with Dimitris Galanis, CEO of Praktiker Hellas, one of the leading DIY brands in Greece. In barely ten years and thanks to the combined support of the European Central Bank and an active export policy, the country has managed to weather the financial crisis.
The revival of the Greek economy is seen by many including Barclays analysts as a startling economic development. Without a doubt, the resurgence has been driven by a practical political vision, in this case the policy of the team around Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. However, this can also only be achieved with the energetic approach of visionary leaders who also have the ability to direct and mobilise their teams for this purpose.
“Each man delights in the work that suits him best”, Homer (800-750 BC)
One such visionary leader is undoubtedly, Dimitris Galanis, Managing Director, Praktiker Hellas, the Greek market leader in Home Improvement. https://www.praktiker.gr/.
In late 2020, Dimitris Galanis (Dixons UK, South Europe) was appointed as MD by Praktiker’s owner, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, a Canadian private equity fund. This strategic move was made to prepare Praktiker for future advancements and opportunities.
“Do the things you need to do”, was the instruction by Fairfax and Dimitris remembers it like it was yesterday, when he surveyed the investor’s expectations in Toronto. The message was clear to him, he was given ‘Carte blanche’ when he entered Praktiker’s Headquarters at Tavros.
“Man is the measure of all things”, Protagoras (490-420 BC)
Similar to many European retailers, Praktiker Hellas experienced a common challenge where important strategic decisions were often made with limited insights, and sometimes without access to updated data. This was also the situation at Praktiker Hellas prior to 2020, reflecting a common trend in the industry.
As a convinced believer in the critical importance of data in a retail organisation, Dimitris Galanis decided within the first few months of his preliminary research and field analysis, to create a management information system to facilitate the flow of information within the organisation to provide timely and accurate data to support managerial decision-making at different levels.
The next step was to set Key Performance Indicators ( KPIs ) per department for the customer-centric Praktiker organisation of the future. Those KPIs became the drivers for a holistic data policy, from the administrative department to logistics and from store operations staff to the marketing team. To this day, all operational and strategic decisions are based and made on current and up to date facts and figures.
The strategic decision to launch a Customer Contact Centre was aimed at prioritising the Greek Home Improvement customer and end user by placing them at the core of the organisation’s new strategy. The contact centre acted as a catalyst to enhance customer communication. With over 2,000 calls made every day, the contact centre serves as a hub for customers seeking assistance, advice, or information related to improving their houses, homes, and gardens. This initiative demonstrated the organisation’s commitment to providing excellent customer service and ensuring that customers’ needs and aspirations for a better living environment were met. At the same time, Dimitris constantly reminds his team that it continually needs to improve operations and customer service and that “We are still at the beginning of our transformation”.
“Three things support the perfection of man: character, learning and practice”, Plato (427-347 BC)
Under the title ‘Lifelong Learning‘, A substantial investment was then made in the Praktiker Hellas Training Centre. “On top of the new corporate culture, knowledge and expertise is paramount,” Dimitris says. “From now on, every team player in this organisation will enjoy at least five days of product and service training on an annual basis. The courses will include 12 modules in classes of no more than 25 attendees. The main focus for the staff member will to be recognised as an expert communicator for every omnichannel Praktiker customer. Over 32,000 training hours have already been provided in all categories, from construction to decoration, from power tools to smart home equipment.
“There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance”, Socrates (470-399 BC)
All these training investments are continuously measured and rewarded through a unique tool, namely RooL application, this is a software programme developed specifically for the company by a German provider. “RooL is a scorecard for each employee, linked to their individual KPI’s from their annual appraisal and aimed at achieving targets in terms of sales, product upselling, cross-selling and results of regular mystery shopper surveys,” says Dimitris.
“We communicate the results to each employee on a quarterly basis and immediately reward them with cash, a true motivation”, explains Dimitris. This overall process has been very successful and is now well established. “I meet every new employee here personally, in private. I want to see the fire in their eyes”.
“Your future will be good if you arrange well the present”, Isokrates (436-338 BC)
What is the long-term vision and how will Praktiker further distinguish itself in the Greek Home Improvement Market? “Together with Praktiker’s Management Team – myself, Christos, Maryam, Nikos & Neophytos, we have been mapping out the support base for the long-term development of Praktiker Hellas since last year using this ‘2024 Transformation Quadrant’:
- Transformation of our 16 stores
- Transformation of the marketing strategy: responding to customer needs
- Transformation of our staff: empowering all teams
- Transformation of our offer, from products to services, underpinned by a sophisticated sustainability policy and a performing e-Commerce platform, as well as a brand new click & collect counter in the stores.
Dimitris briefly outlines two of them: The transformation of the stores and the marketing strategy.
The transformation of the stores: This is an unprecedented turnaround that puts the focus on operational efficiency. For this, we now have a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solution – Microsoft Dynamics 365, a modern and feature-rich ERP, that supports multiple aspects of our organisation’s operations.
Also Spaceman, a unique automated planogramming process with diverse modules to support our needs, analysing performance and opportunities across planograms to help us make the best merchandising decisions.
The marketing policy transformation stands on three pillars:
- Fix the Job: offer a wide range for all supplies needed for Home Improvement.
- Improve the Home: offering unlimited inspiration to make a house a home. But also with an offer that responds to the ageing society and the specific needs of people with disabilities. With the ‘Open House’ concept we make a promise to allow anyone to improve their home. Praktiker tries hard to make everyhouse a home, especially the accessible and inclusive living room, bathroom and bedroom.
- Live outside: under the slogan ‘Urban Kipos’ (Urban Outdoor Living), we make the dream come true for numerous Greek flat dwellers to beautify and enhance their balconies and, depending on the area, equip them with creative amenities, including bbq’s and up to creating a ‘cinema’ feel by installing lounge seating outside.
“This, with the linking of operational tools, the motivation of our employees and the positive response from our customers, I can provide reassurance to the Canadian management: “We are on track,” Dimitris sums up.
The myth of Praktiker Hellas is revealed: the passion-driven dynamics and interaction between people, management and data management have created a rollercoaster effect in the Home Improvement market:
Practical Hellas in Numbers
Establishment: 1991
Current CEO: Dimitris Galanis
Owner: Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd, Canada
Number of shops: 16
Total shop area: 100,000 m²
Revenue 2022: €195M
Number of employees: 1,400
Number of SKUs per shop: 35,000
Number of SKUs online: 50,000
Number of registered customers: 6 Million
Thierry Coeman shares with us more than three decades of experience in the international Home Improvement Sector. He was the chairman of the Belgian DIY Association, a unique organisation which brought together retailers, independents and manufacturers much like Hardware Association Ireland.
He works with a network of European and Worldwide Stakeholders to share best practice while seeking
innovation in the art of facilitating the common interest focussing on customers’ needs. He is the author of the essay Hammertime, a provocative vision on the future of the Home Improvement store.
