Leroy Merlin

Transforming a transactional retailer to an experiential brand

1 min read

Opportunity

Leroy Merlin, the multinational French DIY retailer with a presence in over 12 countries, supports people in improving their living environments and lifestyles by designing and achieving the homes of their dreams. The company enjoys tremendous brand equity but its roots were steeped in tradition, and as technology started transforming the retail category, the brand failed to evolve. Leroy Merlin sought Ideon’s help to transform it into the global DIY omnichannel leader it is today, with over 130,000 employees and 42 superstores.

Solutions

Ideon found leading US retailers were implementing technologies including digital mirrors, e-commerce options and lifestyle apps, and TouchID for purchases, and delivering immersive in-store experiences to ease the biggest pain points in brick-and- mortar shopping. As a result, Ideon began with a deep market research program including mystery shopping, field visits, roundtables and surveys to assess which brands, technologies and digital offerings were leading the retail sector and had the potential to change customer experiences. 

This illuminated the scale of digital offerings, enabling Leroy Merlin to key into the retail revolution afoot in the US, and to prepare for transition to a Why” experiential brand.

Ideon also identified three creative and empirical activations for Leroy Merlin to digitally transform the retail stores, including a new promoter app where customers can curate shopper lists; new personalized videos to guide customers in-store; and new DIY forums where “makers” (customers) can interact with enthused employees. Ideon also crafted a phased activation schedule to visualize changes to stores; build omnichannel prowess; and transform Leroy Merlin’s brand equity and bottom line over 3-5 years.

Results

Ideon transformed Leroy Merlin’s outdated “transactional” shopping strategy into a new, immersive, experiential one. Following Ideon’s work, Leroy Merlin’s parent company’s annual turnover scaled from 22.1 billion in 2017 to 25.6 billion in 2019 (Source: Statista). 

The company was thrilled with the results, and speaks highly of Ideon, saying, “Ideon helped us discover firsthand what technologies wow the average shoppers and what disappoints, and now Leroy Merlin is ready to take on transformative opportunities to deliver a completely integrated experience to our customers.”