Carlos Costi President of Red del Hogar: “we see a future with great changes”

Optimistic. In this way, the vision of Carlos Costi, president of Red del Hogar, could be qualified, who chooses to begin the interview by underlining that, "after a very difficult year of pandemic, at Red del Hogar we had significant growth as a group, since we incorporated more than ten new merchants who saw the need and importance of being part of our purchasing group. When the quarantine with social, preventive and mandatory isolation due to the coronavirus was decreed, in March of last year, commercial activity was completely paralyzed. Even though in our group members had already been developing sales through the online channel to a greater or lesser extent, at that time it was very difficult to deliver, due to the permits to circulate, the logistical issues and all the impediments that existed at the beginning. However, when this was solved, the evolution of sales was exponential," he insists.

By Hernán Murúa

The delay in the renovation of homes was combined with surpluses due to cost savings.

We had ended 2019 with relatively low sales and everything indicated that 2020 would be the same, or more difficult. However, the pandemic changed what we had planned. We understood that changes in consumer habits and the impossibility of buying in stores due to COVID-19 accelerated the online sales processes. The retained demand of previous years and a context of confinement in which people reduced other types of expenses also helped our sector to benefit from the increase in sales of household appliances.

How did you face this new scenario?

The pandemic generated resounding changes in ways of working. Red del Hogar had to reorganize and adapt from the beginning of the pandemic to meet the requirements of members and suppliers. Regarding commercial management, we immediately changed face-to-face negotiations for virtual ones. Our commercial management worked hard to ensure that all members of the network were supplied and suffered as little as possible from merchandise shortages. It was not an easy task, but to a large extent we have achieved it. The most complex thing was achieving the supply of products. Fewer imports and closed factories in Argentina and in the world generated a lack of inputs and merchandise.

How did you reorganize online sales?

From the group we have been helping to organize and develop Internet sales. We continue to focus on professionalizing and training online and counter sales teams, helping our merchants adapt to the new consumer. During the pandemic, consumers were forced to turn entirely to the online world to buy a product and merchants had to venture in some cases and in others improve their digital sales strategies. Our members changed the infrastructure in those areas. Today we can say that they all managed to turn to online and telephone sales, allocating greater attention and human resources to social networks and e-commerce.

What forecasts do you have for the future?

Together with the marketing team, we will continue working so that businesses provide the best service, providing all the necessary tools so that the sales team of each location is fully trained with the purpose of increasing sales and keeping customers satisfied. From a commercial perspective, it is expected to achieve regularization of the supply of merchandise. The supplier companies took various measures to face the year in a different way, so we trust that in 2021 improvements will be seen in that regard. If we continue in a pandemic, it will be a year of great challenges. We will look for the best way to accompany the members, being attentive to all their needs, providing constant advice, achieving supply and better prices for group purchases and transmitting the news of our sector minute by minute. We see a future with great changes. We will work to adapt to them. We will surely continue to strengthen sales in the online channel and further professionalize our people. We project Red del Hogar with great growth and many more members.