Ricky Lalchandani, General Manager at Plattino Universe in conversation with Review Central ME about their new electronics showroom at the Burjuman Mall in Dubai and their tryst with retail business
What made you enter into independent retail business in the age of ecommerce and hyper retail?
Even though ecommerce might have gain momentum over the years, but still there is a large part of population which like to touch and feel a product before buying. Dubai being one of the most preferred tourist destination in the world, buying products from Dubai is a big part of tourist culture.
We do acknowledge the virtues of online businesses and hyper retail, but independent retail stores also has its own purpose and utility to serve the needs of a customer. Our new showroom, Plattino Universe is designed to offer certain key lifestyle products, where hands-on experience is vital. And, also we deliver the much-needed service, and customer experience, which puts the customer at ease when it comes to buying high end technologies.
Why did you choose Burjuman Mall, and how has been the response so far?
Well, location is key for any independent retail outlet and given the successful nature of the Mall over the years and the proximity to Khalid bin walid road that is still the home for technology products shopping for both local and overseas customers.
On the convenience part, thanks to Metro, the Burjuman Mall is well connected with rest of the city, and the ample parking for customers at the mall presented us with several positive indicators that helped us to choose the Burjuman Mall.
On top of that, we were able to secure the showroom at a strategic location right between the Cinema’s and the Food Court on the 3rd Floor of the Mall, which drives big footfall. In addition, our showroom is extremely close to the entrance of Burjuman office towers from the Mall. So far the response have been very encouraging and we have decent number of footfalls that is increasing everyday.
How are you planning to drive more foot falls to your showroom?
Innovative thinking is key to drive footfall. Small and simple ideas are always more effective. We encourage our team to come up with newer ideas on a daily basis, implement them then and there and keep the momentum. The gaming experience that our outlet offers attracts families and also raises curiosity of people who pass by.
We run different online campaigns on our social media pages. We tag our customers too on the social media, which is a big hit with all the millennials. Regular announcements about new attractive offers at the outlet as well as broadcasting those announcements through our social media channels also drive customers to our showroom.
Our sales team is trained in such a way that it cultivates relationship with the customers, so that there are return customers as well as referral customers.
Which products are you currently offering, and what new products you intend to add in your portfolio in coming months?
The showroom houses a wide variety of products from leading brands like Google, Oculus quest by Facebook, Theragun for massage and wellness. Apart from this, you can find laptops, tablets, smartphones, monitors, headsets, speakers, cameras, photography equipment, speakers, motherboards, graphic cards, gaming gear, high end coffee machines and much more.
We constantly are looking for products that resonate with the requirements of our customers. We intend to broaden our wellness portfolio and add more world class products in the near future.
What kind of after sales support do you provide to your customers?
After sales support is very much driven by the manufacturers and we follow the same directives. Having said that, we have our own service center that is ready to serve any Level 1 support to the customers. With our close relations with brand authorized service centers, we can seek quicker turn-around time for our customers. Also, wherever replacement warranty is applicable and practical, we exercise that as well.
