Tous tackles new consumer habits by using its physical stores as small hubs – El Mercantil

On the other hand, they use AI to get demographic and interim sales data and thus know when and where more inventory is needed. In this way, “we have predictions that are analyzed with artificial intelligence, and this allows us to take dimensions for ourselves to ensure that the customer receives his orders on time,” assures the logistics manager.

In this sense, they seek to provide the brand experience by taking advantage of what is offline to offer an online option, where one stock is now available. “One solution is for customers to pick up the product from the physical store by buying it online or picking it up offline and picking it up at home,” explains Tous’ logistics manager. Mercè Valldeperas adds: “The internet needs to be offline and vice versa in order not to be overwhelmed, so e-commerce must be based on physical stores.”

In addition, they have implemented the Lean methodology, which eliminates parts of the process that do not add value and allows analysis of how layers of automation are added. “The few seconds you save in each process add up a lot of time at the end of the year, which is why we save on a small scale, and we exclude, for example, promotional or storytelling paper from the packaging because they are hand-crafted,” concludes Mercy Valdeberas. In this context, packaging is the most difficult to automate, which is why they promoted the paper-less/less-pack initiative, involving the customer in deciding whether it is a gift or not, thus avoiding documentation and bags in case the purchase is made a gift Resume.

According to Tous, its logistics center in Manresa is ready to ship more than seven million products annually, of all categories and to all stores in its network in Spain and abroad. Due to an increase in online sales, the jewelry company, controlled by the Tous family, is ending 2021 to reach the goal they had planned for the new year: to restore the numbers that were before the pandemic. The group recorded a turnover of 384 million euros in the last financial year, 37% more than in 2020 and only 2.8% lower than 2019. At the end of 2021, Tous had 703 stores worldwide, a figure similar to 702 establishments. Which closed in 2020 and compared to 748 in 2019.