The opening of the e&s Epping store represents the 11th store in the company’s network – and the 10th in Victoria – but importantly the first under JB Hi-Fi ownership.
“The Epping store is a stunning design and certainly I need to thank supplier partners for all their efforts in helping us design and create this spectacular space,” said e&s director Rob Sinclair at the official opening held last Friday.
Also in attendance at the official ribbon cutting for the 1800 square metre store located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne was JB Hi-Fi CEO Terry Smart and JB Hi-Fi COO Nick Wells.
Sinclair said the layout of the store – that was planned prior to the acquisition of the business by JB Hi-Fi – is very distinctive and unique.
“I am delighted with the design and layout – when you walk in – you see far into the store due to the openness of the sight lines,” Sinclair said.
“Typically, when you are displaying cooking appliances, there is the need to create taller displays and that delivers intimacy in some parts of the store which I really like, but when you walk into Epping you do have an open view into the sink, bathroom, dishwasher and laundry area that makes it feel very inviting. We do have this openness in other stores like Preston, but you have to get into the store before you find it. It is nicer to see this as soon as you walk straight in the door.
“In this store you will see we have created synergies between brand placements by positioning brands together to allow the consumer to be comparing like brands and like pricepoints. You will see Miele and Siemens and Neff positioned together, Smeg and Ilve positioned together and brands like Westinghouse and Whirlpool located together – so it has a very shoppable feel to it. There is no store like this in Northern regions of Melbourne – other than e&s Preston – and we are a long way from e&s Preston.”
e&s category manager Mark Meldrum echoed Sinclair’s comments.
“I am really proud of what we have been able to achieve in this store. This is a new market for us and customers in this area have not had access to a premium retailer like e&s before. We have Preston that is 20-30 minutes away and potentially longer in bad traffic. It is great to have our major supplier partners represented here with brilliant displays, a great range and layout execution that will deliver a tremendous shopping experience for customers.”
e&s Head of Property & Growth Don Blanksby said the store was comparable in size to the Essendon store – which currently represents the most westerly-located store in Melbourne for the retailer.
“We worked closely with Australian based architect and interior design firm Tehla Clarke to continue a local theme when it came to the use of materials and the layout of the store at reception, in the demo kitchen and throughout the bathrooms. We have used stone from the Pilbara at the front of the store as well as Australian timbers throughout. In the store we have 225 ovens, 120 cooktops, 86 sinks, 81 dishwashers, 42 toilets and over 100 mixer taps on display.”
Sinclair congratulated the new manager of the store Daniel Ryan – who has worked within e&s for 10 years and most recently was assistant manager at the Blackburn store. Ryan was a tradesman for 16 years as roof plumber and crane operator before joining appliance retailing.
“Dan is a classic example of our aim to hire as much as possible not from our industry – when you are in a high service and customer-orientated business – attitude is the thing that delivers the finest connection with customer and our job is to connect deeply with customers. I remember when I first met Dan who was incredibly nervous in his interview. He is someone who authentically cares about his customer base so deeply. We are now setting up a team with that same care and Dan has found some great people that have the same attributes.
“Dan was a strong sales consultant and worked under some of our best managers and it is now his turn to shine and he has brought together an extraordinary group of people. He was telling me about the last session of their training and how they have become so deeply bonded together there were tears everywhere around the excitement of moving into the showroom. That shows how connected they are as a group and connected to the e&s family and of course the infrastructure that JB brings to that.
“To Dan and his team your harmony and unity will show off to the customers what a great experience e&s can provide. You should be so proud of the journey you have been on and thank you for the time and patience for learning what we do at e&s – I am sure there is more to learn – so be patient as it will come. Have fun in this store, as I think we have created something very special – and congratulations on the sales we have made so far.”
Sinclair said the location of the store represents an important part of Melbourne market and accesses a specific customer demographic.
“Epping is located in the north eastern growth corridor of Melbourne. If you look at our Preston store – it is due north of Melbourne and this store is another 25 minutes north east from Preston,” he said.
“This store sits near some older properties that are still being renovated and in recent years the value of these properties has gone up enormously. It is important not to under-estimate the demographic of this area. They are family-oriented people who love to cook and entertain and engage with family – so they are very proud of their home and they invest over what their net household income might warrant as they want to have the best kitchen to work in – and if you move north from here there are new estates being opened, and these people are still wanting a quality fridge, a quality dryer and a quality washing machine. When you walk into an e&s store – you have an elevated experience within the supplier’s range of products and a team of people that can take that customer further up that range than would normally happen in this area.
“When we open any one of these stores, we stretch the skills of our supplier partners to personalise their displays for our customers. We know our supplier partners invest deeply into our showrooms and we would like to say a massive thank you to them. They help us bring these showrooms to life – there is lots of work, planning, design behind the scenes. There is also lots of pressure that we apply to make sure that what we are delivering for our supplier partners is unique compared to our competitors. Thanks to them for supporting us in our dream because what we have brought together is one of the best ever stores.”