Conceptbook hema

course code: 25XGAM603A CONCEPTING PLUS nikki schollen 2224247 nick roovers 2361388 erika kooijman 2208223 svenja van den eijnde 2332957

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INT RO DUC TION 2

Welcome!

What you are reading now is the concept book that has been made for HEMA. It shows the overall concept of the brand, their vision and mission, the target group and the strengths and weaknesses of HEMA. This report was made as part of the Concepting Plus assignment.

The concept book starts with a brief analysis of the brand and the company, exploring the history, vision and core values of HEMA. To get an insight in the customers of HEMA, the next part of the book is dedicated to a customer analysis.

The environmental analysis is there to get a better understanding of external influences on the concept.

A major part in the recognizability of HEMA is the design of everything it does. This is described in the Design Analysis.

The conclusion gives an overal insight in the strengths and weaknesses of HEMA.

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Introduction 2 Index 4

IN DEX

Organisation Analysis 6 Target Group Analysis 16 Environmental Analysis 20 Design Analysis 24 Principles for a Strong Concept

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Conclusion and Recommendations

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Safari Experiences 35 Personal Concepts 43 - Nikki 44 - Svenja 50 - Erika 56 - Nick 64 Literature 71

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DORMANT

ORGANI SATION ANA LYSIS 6

History On the 4th of November 1926 the Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam (HEMA) opened the doors of their first store, in the Kalverstraat in Amsterdam. Leo Meyer and Arthur Isaac started a simple store for all people where you could buy products for unit prices (10, 25 30 cents). From the beginning on they strongly wanted to show their simplicity, honesty and quality. In 1928 there were ten HEMA stores around the Netherlands. This increased in 1958 when HEMA opened new affiliates. Nowadays there are 500 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ger-

many and France, 40% are affiliate companies. In the 1950s HEMA was the first franchise organisation in the Netherlands and is still the largest franchise-giver of the country. So HEMA even opened stores in the Benelux and Germany over the last years. In 2012 they even opened their first station store at Gare du Nord, Paris.

We all know the ‘HEMA worst’.

The owner of the HEMA repurchased too many sausages and decides to sell them on the streets. Apparently this worked, the ‘HEMA worst’ has become a household (HEMA, 2016).

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CUSTOMERS AND EMPLOYEES

VISION

HEMA wants to have a positive Each week more than six million role in the lives of their customers. They see that the world consumers visit one of HEMA’s around us becomes more and 700 or so stores. They have no more busy and complex. People less than 10,000 people working have less to spend. The insecurity in their stores. At the support regarding economic uncertainty office countless specialists work on the products before they reach increases. HEMA develops their own products and services, which the stores at the HEMA’s head have quality. Products with good office. They make sure that the quality doesn’t have to be expenproducts have the right design, sive. Everybody should have the the right quality and the right ability to acquire daily products price. The 600 employees at the of good quality. support office and head office This is the philosophy, which support all the stores, bakeries made HEMA big in the Netherand distribution centre.

There are more than 250 employ- lands and abroad. Pretty, simple ees working at the central bakery and payable: HEMA makes simin Almere and HEMA’s six decen- ple things special.

HEMA is one of the most unmistralised bakeries right across the takable brands of the Netherlands country. The pastries sold in the – they strive to become Europe’s HEMA stores are made in their most unmistakeable brand and own bakeries. being more relevant because of At the distribution centre there expansion (HEMA, 2016). are more than 500 employees working: planners, order pickers, IT specialists, technical staff, team leaders, hands-on foreman, staff specialists and managers.

They make sure that all HEMA’s products are 24 hours a day available for the customers (HEMA, 2016)

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HEMA SEES..

“people have less to spend” HEMA THINKS..

“everybody should have the ability to acquire daily products of good quality” 9

MISSION

Since 1926 HEMA tries to make people’s life nicer and easier.

Without paying too much for it.

HEMA thinks good quality and a surprising design have to be affordable for everyone, whoever you are, wherever you are. A family who lives in a village, a student in the city or a successful businessman; all kinds of people appreciate products and services from HEMA. From a cup of fair-trade coffee, good makeup to pretty towels, you can find it at HEMA stores. HEMA makes simple things special. They also have an online shop, which you can use 24 hours a day (HEMA, 2016).

VALUES

The values of HEMA are part of their DNA. They reflect their heritage and it is the heart of everything they do. They help HEMA to create centric culture of cooperation and collaboration. The values are like a guide about the method that HEMA uses, together within their communities, with their business partners, to achieve great products and services for their customers.

The customer will always be on

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the first place, HEMA practice quality in everything they do, they do what they say, they keep things simple, they win together and every penny counts (HEMA, 2016).

AWAKENING

Hema’s slogan screams simplicity:

“echt HEMA.” LIVING

Living concepts of HEMA: Stores Distribution centre Head quarter Bakery Sweater/phone case with the famous sausage Inflatable ring Jip & Janneke Tompouce Insurances

CORE VALUES simplicity

optimistic

clear assessable dutch

no nonsense reliable unique authentic

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STRATEGY

To see which strategy HEMA uses, who take a look at the growingmodel from Igor Ansoff. Here, four grow directions are being point out. These directions are market penetration, market development, product development and diversification. By using these directions in the right way, according to Ansoff, you can gain more sales.

Market penetration; the organization tries to grow using its existing offerings (products and services) in existing markets.

Market development; a firm tries to expand into new markets (geographies, countries etc.) using its existing offerings.

Product development; a company tries to create new products and services targeted at its existing markets to achieve growth.

Diversification; an organization tries to grow its market share by introducing new offerings in new markets. (Spencer,2015)

MARKET PENETRATION

HEMA has changed a lot since they first started. They are not only present in the centre of cities and shopping malls. With more little stores in little villages and smaller cities they gained a bigger audience.

With a higher goal: in every city a

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HEMA. With more than 400 stores HEMA increased her market share.

MARKET DEVELOPMENTS The Netherlands is not big enough for HEMA in 1984 so they start a new market in other countries.

They started in Belgium because this market is comparable with the market in the Netherlands. Later on they expand to Luxemburg, Germany and France. This is new territory for HEMA. This resulted in the fact that they had to change their concept to fulfil the wishes of the consumer in these countries.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Besides the expansion in Europe, HEMA has developed new variants distracted from their formula. An example is the high-traffic formula. With this option they can help travellers in their needs.

DIVERSIFICATION

When every market is satisfied, HEMA has to find new ways to show their products. They have a choice, expanding in the European market or zoom in on more on specific locations in the Netherlands. They are still busy with this dilemma. (van Kessel, 2011)

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ZOOM IN

In our opinion HEMA wants to create an emotional/nostalgic atmosphere around their stores and products. HEMA is lively, in their products, which they design themselves.

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS

HEMA’s products are 100% HEMA. The idea behind every HEMA product is to make daily life easier and more fun. They are playful, optimistic and well made.

Design is form, but it can also be a feature of the product, the choice of material or ease of use. With the design HEMA wants to make sure customers enjoy the HEMA experience. If something is functional but not special enough, it’s not a HEMA design. When something is special but serves no purpose, it cannot be HEMA. Their products are recognizable; this is HEMA’s signature.

HEMA offers sustainable products.

They strive for transparency in its sustainability policy. Whether this is about the source of their production, their products or the additives in their food products.

HEMA wants to make sustainability conceivably to a wide audience, but also affordable and accessible

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(HEMA, 2016).

TRENDS & DEVELOPMENTS

HEMA responds to the sustainable trend whereby people nowadays try to eat healthier and care more about where their coffee came from. HEMA is smart by providing sustainable products.

As told before, design is a key component of HEMA’s success.

That’s why they run the HEMA Design Contest since 1984. This annual design contest helps students gain practical experience and brings the young designers to the attention of their peers and the public. HEMA aims to produce and sell one or more of the designs in its stores. The contest produced numerous ‘HEMA Heroes’ over the years (HEMA, 2016).

The sales volume online increases while the sales volume in the traditional stores decreases. Chairman Tjeerd Jegen says to NRC that he’s glad with this revenue growth.

He focusses a lot on international growth, he says that it’s important for HEMA to be less dependant on the Netherlands. Companies like H&M and Ikea can, thanks to their reach, do bigger and cheaper purchase and invest more in online.

Right now, there are ten HEMA stores at train stations in the Netherlands(NRC, 2016) Especially around November and December HEMA comes up with an extra late night shopping. It’s easier for people who are late from work to buy their Sinterklaas and Christmas presents.

COMPETITION

HEMA is in competition with a lot of stores but the biggest ones are Action, Xenos, Ikea and Blokker. This chain of department stores has a strong position within households and has therefore a strong preference by children and mothers. Couples that just moved in together and high-educated singles also prefer HEMA. Because of the strong position of HEMA within these groups, the competition is much lower here (Retailwatching, 2015).

Other stores that are in competition with HEMA are Bijenkorf, H&M, C&A, Blokker, Kruidvat and Zeeman. HEMA distinguishes itself from her competition by having a wider assortment in daily products. HEMA is not a warehouse where you can find three kinds of tape but a department store with a wide assortment where the consumer has just one choice. This choice contains good quality with a low price in a modern twist (van Kessel, 2011).

Marketing professor Gino van Ossel (2016) says, “the combination from low prices with an attractive product design is the strength of HEMA. They play that very well.”

HEMA uses its strength in cosmetics, which is a sector where for example Action scores lower.

They focus more in ordinary stuff with a reasonable price.

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TARGET GROUP

TARGET GROUP ANA LYSIS 16

The target group of HEMA has changed during the many years of existing. It all started with people with a low budget. It was a cheap store with not much of an appearance. When HEMA started to become more popular in the Netherlands, people appreciated it more and it became more attractive to everybody.

Nowadays, HEMA is for everybody: young and old, rich and poor, men and women, etc. The HEMA consument is a reflection of today’s society and is therefore hard to describe. Especially when you look at demographic data as age, residence and income.

They focus on every household and especially on the ‘manager’ of the household. This is because this ‘manager’ determines what they buy and where they buy it. With a limited choice of good quality, with a fair price, HEMA responses to the needs and wishes of the consument.

There is a difference between where HEMA is focussing on and which people are actually coming to HEMA. Because in practice, the store attracts more women than

man. Especially in terms of clothing, there are not many clothes for men. Besides the target group ‘women’ others groups such as children, people who like to cook and people who like small handy stuff come to HEMA. The age of this group is approximately around the 20 to 60. That is a very wide number, but that defines HEMA. They sell everyday products that everybody can use. (HEMA, 2016)

PERSONA

Besides the fact that HEMA is for everybody, there is a typical person who comes to HEMA often. So HEMA focuses on a wide group, but in that group mostly this person comes to HEMA: Name: Paulien.

Age: 36 years old Status: married Children: 2 children named Jop and Sterre Habitat: lives in a rental house in Tilburg in the Reeshof Work: works part-time at a children day care Personality: Creative, likes to sing and is a sweet person Hobbies: Baking (especially cupcakes) and biking on her colourful cargo bike.

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PAULINE

is a dutch women and is 36 years old.

She lives in the reeshof in Tilburg. She is very creative and uses that for her work at the children day care. She works there part-time so she has time left for her

two kids named Sterre and Jop. Recently, she is a single mom because her hus-

band left her.

Pauline lives with her two kids in a messy, but creative house. They have a bunny named Dotje.

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SUSTAINABLE TREND

ENVIRON MENTAL ANA LYSIS 20

HEMA feels like sustainability should be affordable and understandable for a wide public.

HEMA increases the range of sustainable products in the stores and put them within reach of their customers. Sustainability is an integral part of their business operation and production chain – they aim to create the best possible circumstances for people and the environment. HEMA is transparent in their communication. (HEMA, 2016) Consumers care more and more about buying sustainable products. They have the feeling they can make a difference with buying sustainable products. For 4 out of 10 consumers buying sustainable products and services is important. 30% of the consumers feel they can induce sustainable production of providers. Nowadays consumers are more convinced about their own influence and are less sceptical. Consumers see the importance of sustainable or socially responsible aspects when purchasing products or services. In 2014 and 2015 42% of the Dutch indicate this being important (Gfk, 2015).

A trend in sustainability is that consumers become more and

more aware. After the financial crisis people stand for things they are important in their opinion, like buying products with a good feeling. 42% of the consumers pay attention while purchasing products on sustainable aspects. This is hugely increased compared to 2010 when 30% of the consumers paid attention to this. Consumers became more critical about communication regarding sustainability. People became allergic for the term MVO (Maatschappelijk verantwoord ondernemen).

Research shows that 48% of the consumers’ distrusts ‘sustainability’ or ‘social responsibility’. A way for organisations to increase their credibility is to avoid these container concepts. It is important to be transparent as a company by showing whom you are and what you are doing (Artegroep, 2016).

POWER OF SIMPLICITY

HEMA shows simplicity in their products and values. The products and services they provide are simple and easy to use. The design beams simplicity in its shapes, details and colours.

HEMA beams simplicity, as well in their corporate identity, their logo is clear and easy to remember.

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The simplicity trend is not new, it developed last couple of years for instance in marketing, promotions and maximizing of the logo. The ideal logo is clear and simple. The power of simple logos is that it attracts people and they can identify with the organisation. People easily recognize logos from brands like IBM and Nike. Most of these logos consist of the following five elements:

1 2 3 4 5

Simplicity Memorable Timeless Versatile Representative

(Marug, 2016) Making things more personal Personalization is one of the biggest digital marketing trends brands are targeting today. Targeted messages aren’t going anywhere, and when considered in a vacuum they make a lot of sense. No one wants to engage an email or a piece of content that speaks to him or her in general terms. Nowadays an email that greets you, as “Sir” or “Madam” is not worth your time.

Personalization with a personal touch like calling someone by his or her name is very important.

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To show that they really know and understand their customers’ organisations need to collect customer data. The key is asking questions and getting data-based answers that improve how well they can deliver a personalized experience. (Skyword, 2016) Organisations need to understand customers’ needs. HEMA does not implement that much personalized products and services. It all seems very wholesale, not personal focused on needs and creativity of their customers. HEMA has one personalized element, the annual competition whereby anybody can design a product for HEMA. This gives people the chance to co-create and personalize their designed product.

SHARING ECONOMY

Sharing is hot! Collaborative consumption is becoming huge. People like to share things with each other. For instance if you need a party dress you can share another dress to save lots of money on a sharing website. Sharing is not something new, we did it over ages but now it became more popular.

People blame the financial crisis for this sharing economy, which is not totally true.

Research of Harvard University shows that sharing and giving causes people to feel happier.

People also share things like articles or promotions on social media, which gives them a happier feeling. (Gidesign, 2016) HEMA doesn’t respond to this trend, they don’t come up with events or products where or which people can share with each other.

FOODSERVICE DEPARMENT STORES

Department stores are not complete without foodservice, mostly a restaurant and a food kiosk as a section outside of the store. For instance HEMA provides this service. Former department store V&D offered the popular La Place DEPARTMENT STORES food department. Although V&D ARE ALIVE AND KICKING got bankrupt, La Place restauAlthough many people seems to rants and kiosks still exist within share the feeling that department several cities in the Netherlands. stores are dying retail is alive and People choose more moments to kicking. The raise of online shopeat during the day, many times on ping increases this feeling. Two oftheir way. That’s why food-to-go fline and online retail concepts are concepts became more popular. still going strong; ‘boutiques’ and These kiosks are located on loca‘speciality shops’. Also the concept tions with lots of traffic like train ‘department store’ are still attracstations and airports. tive for consumers, this not only HEMA offers food-to-go on ten includes HEMA and Bijenkorf different train stations through but also Batavia Stad, Amsterdam the Netherlands. 10% Dutch have Fashion Outlet and Hoog Catharidinner/eat outside. To go out for jne. Dutch Marks & Spencer CEO dinner in the Netherlands is 20% Marc Bolland quotes: “The sucmore expensive than countries cessful department stores are difaround the Netherlands. (Raferent than they used to be. They bobank cijfers & trends, 2016). emphasize more to experience; it’s HEMA offers their consumers an experience to visit a department good quality food for a small store. These stores looks incrediprice. Until 10:00 consumers can ble, the products look good with a enjoy a breakfast for only 2 euros. boutique style. In the Netherlands This breakfast is available in their is also space for department stores, restaurants, which are less attracjust not the way we are used to.” tive for people who want to eat (Marketing Tribune, 2015). something on their way.

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DES IGN

DESIGN MAP

ANA LYSIS 24

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HEMA is an organization that stands for simplicity and quality.

This results in a very simple and sleek design.

LOGO

The logo of hema is a visual mark.

Their logo is very normal and recognizable. It is a bright red square with white HEMA letters in the centre. The red square can also be an other colour if it fits the product better.

FONT

The font they use for their expressions is Ebrima. The thing that is remarkable is the fact that they only use capital letters in the logo but not in any other expression.

With this fact, they give the impression that the word HEMA is the most important which is very smart.

COLOURS

PHOTOGRAPHY

To show their products, they have pictures in the HEMA stores, website and as advertisement on the streets. These pictures are always very simple and often with a white background. The shape they use is very angular and squarely. They use three different kinds of photography:

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TOUCHPOINT WHEEL

Product-photography; the pictures are very functional with a white background.

Product-plus-photogra

phy; a detailed image of a

product, where the focus is

on the presentation.

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Sphere-photography; a

very alive view where it

looks like the product is

part of the everyday envi

ronment. (van Kessel, 2011)

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The colours they use are 12 bright colours with each an intense appearance. HEMA is not afraid to use bright colours and that is what makes HEMA often very recognizable. Keywords who fit the colours are: Bright, optimistic, fun and fresh.

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PRINC IPLES FOR A STRONG CONCEPT 28

ALLIANCE WITH THE VISION AND THE SYMBOLIC CORE VALUES

The alliance with the vision and the symbolic core values for HEMA is good. This is mainly seen in the advertisements and the way HEMA communicates: it’s all clear obvious and typical HEMA. Everyone who is familiar with HEMA knows what it stands for, and what the values are of the company and the products.

GENERATES ATTENTION HEMA isn’t something that’s always on the top of mind when people are questioned. However, HEMA stands out in their simplicity, and can generate attention with that. The simple, but often quirky way of advertisement is something that definitely catches the eye of the customer, but is not something that is particularly outstanding.

SPARKS CONVERSATION

the price and quality of the products. This is the power of HEMA. Also HEMA sparks the conversation with some unconventional items. For example the sweaters with the famous ‘rookworst’ on it, or the inflatable items that are characteristic to HEMA (tompouce, rookworst, etc.)

FITS THE ORGANISATION

The basic products fits the organisation really well, the simplicity and the communication is altogether really clear. There are a few exceptions though, which don’t completely fit the organisation.

These are for example the insurances that are available at HEMA.

EASY TO UNDERSTAND AND EXPLAIN

This is completely applicable to HEMA. This could be the vision, it is what they are and what they stand for, and what they communicate in everything they do.

HEMA is not a company who is always in the news, or which is always the cause of commotion.

However, HEMA usually sparks the conversation in a way that (new) customers are surprised by

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GOES TOGETHER WITH THE POWER OF LANGUAGE (IN WORDS AND IMAGES)

Everything is simple, the posters, the images, the font, the logo, the colours they use, the prices (rounded up, no numbers behind the comma, so €2,- instead of €1,99) and this is also how they communicate towards their target audience. However when you dive deeper into the website, the more business orientated HEMA gets on its website, the less clear its appearance is.

IS FREE OF DISCIPLINE

They stay true to their products but move on in time (for example with technology). HEMA isn’t a trendsetter, but when the needs of the main stream changes, HEMA could offer products which fits the customer’s needs.

HEMA develop their own products and services, which are of high quality and low in price HEMA responds to the trend sustainable products Their products are accessible for everyone Recognizable products

IS RECOGNIZABLE

This is true for HEMA as well. This comes back on every product and on every marketing outing. The simplicity in style and communication is everywhere. The usage of the colors (with for example the color red of the main logo) is easy recognizable as being HEMA.

HAS A LONG SHELF LIFE

Something that is applicable to HEMA as well. The products that are sold are timeless, and the concept of HEMA hasn’t changed much over the years.

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OPPORTUNITIES Expand their unmistakable brand outside the Netherlands Improvement in online shopping Personalization Implement the trend Sharing Hema to go

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CON CLUS ION AND RECOM MAN DATIONS 32

CONCLUSION

What shows in the research is that HEMA is, in general, a strong concept. However, there’s still room for improvement.

What HEMA does well is that they develop their own products and services, which are of high quality and low in price. The products are recognizable and are typical for the HEMA brand. As stated: ‘the combination from low prices with an attractive product design is the strength of HEMA.’ Besides that, HEMA responds really well to the sustainable trend whereby people nowadays try to eat healthier and care more about where their coffee came from.

The overal design of HEMA screams simplicity and is accessable for everyone. HEMA therefore has a broad target audience.

Besides all these aspects that make HEMA a strong concept, there is still room for improvement.

HEMA’s main goal is striving to become Europe’s most unmistakeable brand and being more relevant because of expansion (HEMA, 2016) Although HEMA is already one of the most unmistakable brands in the Netherlands, it could still be improved within Europe.

Although the sales volume online

increases, the sales volume in the traditional stores are decreasing.

There’s still a lot to gain for HEMA when it comes to online shopping.

Besides personalization being one of the biggest digital marketing trends brands are targeting today, HEMA does not implement that much personalized products and services. It all seems very wholesale, not personal focused on needs and creativity of their customers.

HEMA has one personalized element, the annual competition whereby anybody can design a product for HEMA. In terms of trends, sharing is hot!

Collaborative consumption is becoming huge. People like to share things with each other. HEMA doesn’t respond to this trend, they don’t come up with events or products where or which people can share with each other.

HEMA is serving food at a few train stations in the Netherlands.

For example until 10:00 consumers can enjoy a breakfast for only 2 euros. This breakfast is available in their restaurants, which are less attractive for people who want to eat something on their way. Providing a ‘HEMA to go’ could be a solution and target an even broader audience at the train stations.

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RECOMMANDATIONS

Following the aforementioned conclusion, certain aspects of improvement could be recommended when it comes to HEMA. Although not all of these recommendations are aproached from a negative side, thus the lacking of the overall concept, it also deals with improvements on the aspects that are already strong.

Recommended improvements + The unique HEMA-style, with products and services of high quality and low pricing. This could be expanded. + Sustainability, since HEMA has a sustainability strategy, they show what their products are made of and they show what their role in society is. This could be more elaborated. + HEMA is accessabe for every one, though most known in the Netherlands. International expanding could be an option, as well as improving the ‘ non-exclusiveness’. + Although HEMA has had a few ‘ridiculous’ promotional stunts, like the HEMA-sweater, this could definitely be a recurring thing to put HEMA back in the picture.

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- Sales in the traditional stores is decreasing. Developing a way of making shopping in a physical store attractive could be possible, or improving the online customer experience.

- HEMA has a lot of general products, they don’t provide much personalized products and services. A way of implementing a personal aspect to the overall HEMA-concept could be desired.

- HEMA doesn’t follow the trend of sharing; creating a consumer-journey where the emphasisis is on sharing your HEMA-stories with the people around you.

SAFA RI EXPER IENCES 35

Erika Kooijman:

VERKADEFABRIEK

On a Monday evening together with my parents I went to the Verkadefabriek in Den Bosch. This is a cultural place where you can watch mostly arthouse movies, enjoy theatre, cabaret or dance events.

The cool thing about the Verkade is that in summertime they organize outdoor cinemas in their ‘garden’. We went in wintertime so we watched the movie Neruda inside of the cinema. This movie is about the hunt of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.

The athmosphere in the Verkade is always jovial and comfortable.

When you enter you feel the warmth of the design, sounds weird but the building makes me feel very much like at home. The moment you enter you directly bump into ticket sales. This is a good location because nobody has to search for the place where to buy his or her tickets. Artwork is exhibit in the hallway, mostly photo series of photographers. In my opinion it is a good thing that the Verkade gives artists the opportunity to exhibit their artwork.

Verkadefabriek used to be a part of the Verkade cookies factory. They complement this kind of retro style in their retro. The corporate

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identity of Verkadefabriek shows lots of brown, yellow and red colors which they also implement in their website. The moment you enter the Verkadefabriek you can tell by looking at the interior that it used to be a factory. The building has many industrial details like the iron pipes on the ceiling.

The cinema itself was not very special. It’s like any other cinema. The seats are more spacious which makes watching a movie more comfortable. The cinema is smaller, there are fewer seats than a regular cinema, which makes it a more personal experience and caused less turmoil.

When I arrived my parents didn’t arrive yet so I went to the restaurant/café part to wait there for them. The moment I walked in the café/lounge part I felt comfortable.

There were mostly people above 50 years old. This is the targetgroup of the Verkadefabriek. I didn’t mind the age gap and sat down on one of the lounge couches. The café/ lounge and the restaurant are divided in separate parts. They have an open kitchen so you can literally see what the cooks are doing, what appeals to me. The bar is very big and that evening there was enough staff working in my opinion. The interior of both sides, the restaurant and café/lounge sides were totally different although they had the same retro style. I think, especially for their target group the amount of lights is not enough, its quite dark. Personally I thought the amount of light and the volume of the music/kind of music were perfect.

Positive and negative experiences:

NEGATIVE

- Target group is quite old (50+) - Too many impressions because of different interiors - Tables in café/lounge and restaurant are very small - Wardrobe is a mess, unorganized

POSITIVE

+ Good music (good choice, perfect volume) + Perfectly implemented corporate identity + Agreeable atmosphere + Personal feeling in cinema because (limited amount of seats) + Creating opportunities for artists to exhibit + Comfortable couches

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Nick Roovers

The bands played at the other end of the room, on a stage that wasn’t LITTLE DEVIL XL that high. There were two bars, This concert, although organized and drinks could be purchased by the Little Devil, took place in through coins, which could in turn the Dudok, opposite of the 013, Tilburg. This event was part of the be purchased before entering the venue hall. These could be purIncubate festival. chased by cash and pin transacEven before the event started, the tions. With the two bars present, pre-exposure was not really clear. there wasn’t a long cue for getting Although it was organized by Little your drinks. Toilets were a bit hidDevil, the event took place in the den behind the main bar.

Dudok, and besides that it was The bands played, and although also part of the Incubate festival? the lighting wasn’t really good, the This resulted in that tickets could sound was amazing: something be bought on many different ways: which is always the most importIncubate tickets were valid (but ant at a concert. The bands were of you could only get Incubate wrist- a high quality and played a great bands at the 013), but Little Devil set. tickets were valid as well.

After this confusion, walking POSITIVE straight ahead brought us to the + Bands were of high quality merchandise of the bands that + Sound was good played that evening. There was Lit- + Two bars, so no long cue tle Devil merchandise available as + Pleasantly crowded well. The wardrobe was positioned NEGATIVE at the end of this small alleyway, - Confusion about the profiling of resulting in a crowded area bethe concert (Incubate, Little tween each band and at the end of Devil, Dudok) the show.

- Venue was on the first floor, but To enter the venue, it was necesno elevator was present sary to walk upstairs. No elevator was present at the venue. Upstairs, - Signing (for toilets, wardrobe, etc.) could be improved a venue was readied which a maximum capacity of 550. It was crowded, though not too crowded.

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Nikki Schollen

EPIC ESCAPE WAALWIJK

For my experience safari I did an escape room in Waalwijk. An escape room is a place where you get locked up and the only way to ‘escape’ is if you solve puzzles and mysteries successfully. Mostly this is within 60 minutes. Ready in time? Great, you can get out. Not ready in time? Who knows what happens….

Together with eleven other ladies I arrived on an industrial space in Waalwijk. After we parked our cars en got out a co-worker from Epic Escape came towards us. He welcomed us and let us in. Once we were in, we could hang up our jackets en lock our bags up. He told us a few things about the rules and he actually immediately started a role-play.

walk into the laboratory. It was our job to finish the thing the professor was busy with.

In the laboratory everybody ran to a different side and it was all very chaotic. Everybody was doing things that did not even make sense and there was not much structure. After the first half hour had passed by, we did a few assignments correct but we still were not really far. Only in the last quarter everybody really worked together and we finally came to the solution.

Once the time was over, the co-worker came to get us and we could leave the laboratory. He quickly made a photo of our group and after we payed we left. We walked outside and once we were outside the experience was over.

He told us that a professor was working on a medicine because we were all contaminated with a special virus. We need to go to a small room to get scanned by a computer so we could go inside together with the professor. Once we were in this small room we heard all kinds of sounds. We heard the professor loose his mind and a few explosions. The door of the small room opened and now we could

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Svenja van den Eijnde

LOUNGE 8 POSITIVE

+ The person who worked there helped us very well and was very friendly. + The whole experience was very exciting and was really an experience. + It all felt very real because of the way they decorated it and how the story was told. + It was not too scary but it was just enough excitement.

NEGATIVE

- I never did something like this before, so when I came into the room it was all a little bit confusing. Maybe a little more information at first would be better.

- After we were finished, it was all over. It felt like when you are in a disco and the music stops and the lights go on. So very abrupt.

Together with my niece I went to the Sushi and Grill restaurant Lounge 8 in Eindhoven.

We reserved a table at half past six. We had to wait a little while until someone came to help us.

When there was someone to help, we were brought to our table.

I immediately saw that the tables were very close to each other.

Because of this it was really loud around us. Also, our table was very small, especially when you order the maximum amount of appetisers.

They also had really lovely cocktails. I think it’s a nice touch.

I felt pity about the contact with the servers. They didn’t look at you or speak to you. They just put the dishes on the table and didn’t even say what it was.

Underneath, I have sums up the positive and negative things about Lounge 8.

After we had ordered our drinks, we took a look at the menu. It was a very clear ordering list. When you still don’t know what the appetiser is that’s on the ordering list, you can look in the menu where the dishes are described.

The service of the food went really fast. It was nice that we didn’t had to wait that long for our food, because we were hungry. This is a nice thing about ordering sushi, if you want to wait for a while, you just wait with filling in the ordering list.

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41

POSITIVE

NEGATIVE

+ +

-

+ +

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The service was really fast Nice food, I didn’t have any thing I didn’t like Nice cocktails The ordering list was very clear

-

-

It was very busy inside It was very loud I missed personal contact with the servers The tables were very close to each other The tables were very small (too less space for the food/ drinks/ordering list/etc.)

PERSO NAL CON CEPTS 43

Individual part: Nikki Schollen

HEMA

HEMA is a company that wants to have a positive role in the lives of their customers. They see that the world around us becomes more and more busy and complex.

People have less to spend. HEMA develops its own products and services, which are of high quality.

Products with good quality don’t have to be expensive. Everybody should have the ability to acquire daily products of good quality.

HEMA makes simple things special. A few keywords that I think fits HEMA very well are: - Simple - Pure - Affordable - For everyone Besides the fact that HEMA is a really complete concept, there were a few pain points HEMA can still work on for the upcoming years: - HEMA has a Lack of atmosphere and experience - They do not really go with the trends ‘sharing’ and ‘personaliz ing” - In Europe they are not really growing well - The online web shop from

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HEMA is not very easy and nice to visit - The restaurant of HEMA is not complete and has a lack of expe rience

TRENDS

To see what’s happening in the world and to know which steps to make, I checked a few trends happening right now. The trends I have chosen are trends that are on different levels. These trends are at the level of organisations but also trends that play a part in the lives of consumers: - Sustainable - Simple design - Working together instead of a top down hierarchy - Social media (online marketing) - Family life (homely) - Being simple and authentic

VALUE FIT

To make a right concept that fits on very different level, I made a match with the values of HEMA, their pain points and trends in generally. The best match was: HEMA is pure and simple + HEMA has a Lack of atmosphere and experience + Simple and authentic, family life. I think with this value fit, I can make a concept that really is HEMA.

TOOL

To get a brighter insight of the target group, I have chosen to use the tool of the (info graphic) immersive world. The assignment is the following: Sketch the ultimate world for your target group. Questions you can answer are: what are their values? Where would they live? How do they move? How does their environment look like?

My target group is mostly women who want to make their lives easier because they are very busy everyday. They think it is important to be pure, real and honest.

For their daily product they shop in stores as HEMA, Blokker and sometimes the Action. They use their smartphones constantly and are often online.

They are not very happy with the way they look. Insecurity is a big problem in this target group.

Ultimate world: In this world there is no stress.

There is no time pressure and people are all very relaxed. It is not hard to shop because there is limited choice. But the products are still from good quality and not very expensive. People

who want to get in contact via a smartphone will not constantly bother them. At least one time a day, they will have a break and a moment for themselves. In this time they can relax and only think about themselves.

After that, the tool gives one extra assignment: Select the most useable ideas en simplify this to realistic plans for you organisation.

So with the world I created earlier I can create something more realistic that makes people less insecure and more relaxed and more confident. This can be in a HEMA store (than it is a world where you literally can step in) but also something that HEMA does or makes. They can make a product that is typically HEMA and will all the things I said before.

VISION

People are busy and have a lot on their minds everyday. Sometimes you just want your head to be a little emptier so you can think more clearly. For that, you can use a little help from HEMA. “ HEMA, makes your life easier”

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CONCEPT CARRIER

A way to come closer to the ultimate goal of making you lifestyle easier and to make HEMA more of an experience, I created HEMAgazine. HEMAgazine is a magazine that will come out every three months with simple and useful content that can be read for different purposes. These purposes are meanly: relaxation, gaining of useful facts (for example easy recipes) and gaining inspiration for you daily lifestyle.

The target group from HEMA is almost everybody but in practice, we see more women than men visit the stores. Also according to research in many cases in a household the women decide what to buy and were to buy it. That is the reason that the main focus from the HEMAgazine is on women. That means that the most of the content will be topics that interest women the most. These topics are mainly: fashion, cooking and lifestyle.

These topics are in a lot of magazines in the Netherlands so why do we need another one? This is because HEMAgazine will not be the same as other magazines. Research has shown that most magazines makes us unhappy and make us feel bad about ourselves. This is because of the content that is giving us a wrong image of how the world en

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people look. If we read that someone is having a perfect live and is always eating healthy and their kids never cry we feel bad about our own lives. HEMAgazine will not create a perfect world or will not body shame anybody. HEMAgazine will be pure and will show us the real world.

Examples of the content: An interview with a normal woman (this can be someone who works at HEMA). She is 43 years old and has three children. She is not ‘perfect’ and think it is hard to have three kids, two dogs, a house to clean and two jobs to support the family. She will give some tips about how she is holding up so that can inspire other people.

A recipe that is not complicated but very easy and quick to make. For this you can use HEMA products to make the dish and off course, overall it is not expansive.

An article about beauty with tips for creating a nice look. Also by using the beauty products from HEMA you can use good quality products for not that much money.

Details: The magazine is not really thick and will have around the 30 pages.

The magazine is free and you can get it in the HEMA stores.

It is not a replacement for the flyer but it will be an addition to it. Maybe the flyer can be made not that many times as it is made today.

CONCEPT NAME

The name of the concept is

HEMAgazine This name is inspired by another concept from HEMA that is HEMARKT. This is a special discount department of HEMA. Because of the low prices and many discounts it feels like a market and that why it is called this way. I think this wordplay is very catchy and it fits the company so I used it for my concept as well.

CONSUMER VALUES

The concept is based on two different consumer values: functional and emotional value. Functional value because the magazine is for functional use. It is full of thing you can use for daily life or inspiration. But besides the fact that this magazine has a functional value, it also acts in an emotional way. HEMAgazine is not like other magazines and will attract people who are sick of the regular ‘fake’ magazines. Because of this, HEMAgazine will have an emotional value as well.

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GAZINE For the design of HEMAgazine, the same elements of the HEMA brand design will be used. This is because that will not bring any confusing and for the magazine to be recognizable. So you will immediately feel that this magazine is from HEMA.

Maakt je leven makkelijker

For the magazine, the same font as HEMA is already using will be used as well. This is for the unity of the brand. This font is Ebrima.

3 simpele gerechten

10 Beatytips

voor een frisse look

HEMA already uses 12 different colors for their products. HEMAgazine will also use this colors.

This is because every color will be a different category. This will make it easier to flip throught the magazine. These colors are also in the table of contents so you immediately know where to look for wich category.

The photo’s that are in the magazine will be photo’s that contains real people. In regular magazines you mostly see pictures of people that are edited very much, but not in HEMAgazine.

Also the style of a object or person with a white background will be used in this magazine.

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4 kinderen

“Ik was er helemaal klaar mee” 49

Individual part: Svenja van den Eijnde

LIVING

DORMANT

HEMA have to distinguish themselves from their competitors.

They already have a wider assortment in daily products, but is this enough for the long term and to really distinguish themselves, to make sure that a customer will chose HEMA above for example Blokker.

CORE VALUES

I SEE...

the HEMA rookworst products like shirts, sweaters and phone cases are a success.

I THINK...

HEMA needs to distinguish themselves with one item that is recognizable for HEMA.

AWAKENING

‘Omarm de rookworst’ ‘Embrace the rookworst’

SIMPLICITY

NO NONSENSE DUTCH RECOGNIZABLE

The living concept of my personal concept will be a whole lifestyle around the HEMA rookworst, called ‘ROOKWORSTLAND’, just as simple as it is, because that is what HEMA always does. For example their prices are just 3 euros and not 2 euros 99 cent.

HEMA owes its fame to the rookworst, as you can read in our jointly concept, so the rookworst needs to get the lead. The rookworst is a part of HEMA and we need to embrace it, even more than we already do.

The rookworst is already very famous among the Dutch people. The Christmas sweater of 2015 was sold out in ten minutes (Brasser, 2015).

Examples of items of this living concept will be: - Food for the birds in the shape of a rookworst - A USB in the shape of a rookworst - A stuffed animal in the shape of a rookworst - Earphones in the shape of a rookworst - Agenda’s with a rookworst - Etc. And of course the items HEMA already has: - The Christmas sweaters

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- Shirts - Cutting board in the shape of a rookworst - Phone cases with a tompouce/ rookworst - Inflatable items - Neck pillow in the shape of a rookworst The tompouce of the HEMA will also be part of this lifestyle, but the rookworst will have the biggest role.

STRATEGY

There will be a big campaign around the rookworst and the tompouce of the HEMA. The campaign is about literally embracing the ‘rookworst’ and will also be called ‘embracing the ‘rookworst’ (in dutch omarm de rookworst). In the cities Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, ‘s Hertogenbosch, Groningen and Zwolle there will be hanging a huge ‘rookworst’. Two people can hang on it at the same time. The one who stays, will win an item of the ‘rookworst’ collection. The one with the highest score of the city at the end of the campaign, will win a year of free ‘rookworsten’ and ‘tompoucen’.

The ‘rookworst’ will be in these cities for a week, or maybe two. If they stay longer it will be not that special anymore.

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TOOL

Immersive world.

An immersive world is a place where you will be fully captured in what there is to see or to experience. A place you will not leave.

This is also what the campaign is about and how you need to experience the ‘rookworst’ department in the HEMA stores.

People need to be immersed in the vicinity of the ‘rookworst’.

Everything around them needs to be related to the ‘rookworst’. What they see, what they smell, what they feel, what they experience.

They need to embrace it, love it, so they don’t want to leave.

IMMERSIVE WORLD

The Big Idea of my immersive world is a world full of ‘rookworsten’. Everything people have for daily use will be there in the shape of a ‘rookworst’, or with an image of a ‘rookworst’ on it. This also counts for some products with the ‘tompouce’.

The story of the design in the HEMA is that you are walking the path to the world of ‘rookworsten’.

Every ‘rookworst’ wants to be ‘eaten’. He wants to be yours, he wants to go home with you and be part of your life.

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The experience. Every product for daily use will be in this ‘rookworst’ area in the HEMA. You embrace life, so you’re embracing the ‘rookworst’ because it’s part of our Dutch life. With the campaign, people are literally embracing the product. I want them to love the products of the ‘rookworst’ and the ‘tompouce’ by literally get that feeling. There will also be a ‘history of HEMA’ folder you can take with you, which explains how HEMA has started and which role the ‘rookworst’ has in this.

In the HEMA on the ‘rookworst’ department you get to taste a piece of ‘rookworst’ or ‘tompouce’, so you smell it. For the kids there will be an area with a ‘rookworst’ computergame. One kid is the ‘rookworst’ and the other one is the ‘tompouce’ and they need to catch each other.

CAMPAIGN

HEMA ‘ROOKWORSTLAND

The design of the immersive world in the HEMA is as you might expected, in the shape of a ‘rookworst’. There will be a bow with the text: Welcome in rookworstcountry. Everywhere you look are ‘rookworsten’ and ‘tompoucen’ and all these products lays in the shape of a ‘rookworst’. (see example shop next page).

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COMPETITION

How does this world stay special?

Every month there will be a new product in the collection and of course the special Christmas sweaters, every year with another design.

PRODUCTS

These are some examples of the products that will be in the section of Rookworstland.

The stuffed animal in the shape of a ‘rookworst’. This one will be very soft and literally to embrace it.

The headphone with a piece of a ‘rookworst’.

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The USB in the shape of a ‘rookworst’. Easier to find in your bag, because it’s not just a stick.

Bird feed in the shape of a ‘rookworst’, actually really easy for the birds, because they can stand in the middle and this way they also join the campaign of ‘embracing the rookworst’.

There will be a lot more prooducts n the shops that are connected to the ‘rookworst’ to make sure the Dutch people get the feeling of being embraced by ‘rookworsten’ in Rookworstland.

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Individual part: Erika Kooijman By creating a new concept first you need to learn about the organizations identity, values, vision, competition and trends within and around the organization.

That’s why this concept starts with the dormant part, followed by the awakening part whereby I mark the pain points of HEMA and the value fit. After the awakening part I will explain the living concept with corresponding designs.

DORMANT

HEMA History & Identity The Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam, or H.E.M. A., opened its first department store in Amsterdam on 4 November 1926. The founders of HEMA, Leo Meyer and Arthur Isaac wanted to open a department store for “ordinary” people. During that time products were priced at 10, 25 or 50 cents.

From the beginning the essence of HEMA was defined as: optimistic, clear, reliable, unique and typically Dutch. HEMA has almost 700 stores distributed over The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Great Britain and even in Spain. With 10,000 employees serving over six million visitors every week.

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HEMA express their brand in the essence: HEMA products are always high quality, well designed and sold at a great price. The simplicity of HEMA products is visible in the design, which is simple and clean as well as the prices.

HEMA doesn’t use for example prices like 4,99 euros but 5 euros.

HEMA VALUES

Optimistic > HEMA makes products that put a smile on your face.

Accessible > HEMA is for every

one.

Clear > HEMA products are easy to use.

Typical Dutch > HEMA products are no-nonsense with a smile.

Reliable > HEMA products are great quality.

Unique > All developed by

HEMA itself.

(HEMA, 2016)

VISION

HEMA wants to have a positive role in the lives of their customers. They see that the world around us becomes more and more busy and complex. Everybody should have the ability to acquire daily products of good quality.

HEMA makes simple things special (HEMA, 2016).

SLOGAN

‘Echt HEMA’ which means ‘Truly HEMA’. In the past they used the slogan ‘HEMA maakt gewoon bijzonder’, which means ‘HEMA makes ordinary special’ for a while. This slogan didn’t turned out to be successful so they changed it back to ‘Echt HEMA’.

trends: - Sustainable trend > customers care more about the background of products.

- Power of simplicity > customers recognize organizations easier.

- Making things more personal.

- Sharing economy > people like to share things with each other.

COMPETITION

AWAKENING

HEMA is in competition with several stores but the biggest ones are Action, Ikea, Xenos and Blokker. HEMA is very attractive for households. That’s why they have a strong position in the target group mothers. But also high-educated singles and couples that just moved are a target group of the department store (Retailwatching, 2015). HEMA offers products for daily use with their own simple design this is what makes them stand out from their competition.

TRENDS

Trends are important while creating a new concept for an existing organisation like HEMA. Some trends appear around the organization are more focused on customer level. Something becomes a trend worldwide, on macro level.

An example for this is the ‘live and eat green trend’. Other trends are very near to the organization and easy implement like simplicity in products. Some examples of

Pain points & chances During the research on HEMA I figured some strong and weak points of the organization. They have a strong vision and values which they implement perfect in their identity. Their products really are simple, easy in use, well designed and affordable. They have strong icons like Jip & Janneke and de famous rookworst (sausage) which gives HEMA a Typical Dutch touch, they are easy to recognize and unique. Some painpoints & chances that I mentioned are: Restaurant is old fashioned Some products are not known like the HEMA insurance and HEMA business The overview of the stores, they are not well organized HEMA can make the customer experience more exciting by organizing events in their stores HEMA could implement the sharing economy trend

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VALUE FIT

The value fit shows the fit between organizational values, target group values and trends. In my opinion the sharing economy trend is very interesting. This is why I created the value fit:

I created this value fit because all elements fit together. By using the sharing economy trend I can create a positive concept, which can could be useful for HEMA and its customers. With this value fit I can create a concept, which also gives a boost to the brand awareness. I use the trend sharing economy trend as a chance for HEMA to keep up with the times. Modernisation can be a chance for HEMA to attract younger people as well and lose a little of their old fashioned style. Nowadays people like to share things with each other. For instance your house, you can share and invite people to stay at your house with Airbnb.

HEMA can respond on this trend by organizing offline events in the stores and online videos.

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TRENDS

The sharing economy Sharing cities Seoul became the world’s first sharing city in 2012. Amsterdam officially followed suit early 2015.

There are numerous opportunities that grow out of the Sharing City initiative, such as: an increased sustainable- and efficient use of scarce resources, nurturing innovation of products & services, identifying possibilities of new means of existence and increasing social cohesion and safety.

Convenience is key Removing social friction for convenience seems to be the direction many organizations are taking in 2016 in order to reach more consumer segments. They will often do so by replacing the personal contact with automated services and we’ll see an increasing number of new intermediaries who will facilitate the exchange instead. An example is the key exchange service popping up around Airbnb and new services such as Peerby Go (renting stuff from your neighbours).

Healthcare Governments face huge challenges to keep their healthcare systems up and running due to the

increasingly aging population in western countries. The collaborative economy is built on trust, and the platforms that move within it are becoming savvier in establishing trust between its users (Amsterdam sharing city, 2016).

TOOL

Immersive World While creating a concept, which fits your target group, you have to empathize in their values and behaviour. I choose to use the tool Immersive World from Lucas Scott to define HEMA’s target group, I used an Infographic as an example (Concepting Plus – Immersive World, 2016). This tool suits my concept and personal interest most because it gives you the freedom to fantasize and emphasize about your target group.

EXPLANATION

An immersive world is a place where you can be taken by something you see or experience. It’s a place you don’t want to leave.

The immersive world can cause a personal effect. It can become a memorable moment whereby the experience won’t leave your mind soon. This process has two sides: you will be taken by all the influences around you. On the other hand you create feelings, which

results in happiness and joy that causes that you don’t want to leave the place. After this you will design your immersive world. How will you design this, which colours will you use? This is the last step. With this tool you can use the most useful outcome for creating a realistic plan for your organisation.

I apply this tool by answering the next questions about the target group: What are the values of your target group?

My target group will be the existing target group of HEMA, middle-aged women, mostly mothers.

Besides this group I want to attract younger people with my concept, women between 20-30 years old.

I think they might become more interested in HEMA when they come with something more modern. The values of this target group are that they care about their looks and want to look good (Marketingfacts, 2012). Probably they care about their appearance because of all the Instagram accounts of good-looking people. Another value of this target group is that they care about the sustainability of their clothes, they want to know who made their clothes and in which circumstances (Communicatie duurzaam textile, 2015).

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This group is very active on their mobile phones while checking out their social media and buying things online.

Where do they live?

This target group lives all over the Netherlands, in villages and cities.

HEMA attracts people from all different places and backgrounds.

Although HEMA has a typical Dutch character, their target group also consists of women with different nationalities. Esmee (35) lives with her husband and son in a small but cosy house in the centre of Arnhem. She explains that they live small because of the huge house prices if you want to live in the centre of Arnhem.

What kind of transport do they use?

They use their car or bike for going to their school or job. For this group the appearance of their transport is not the most important thing in the world. For instance Anna (28) owns an old Peugeot 208 that still works and makes her happy.

How do they live? What does their habitat looks like?

This group of people live in simple houses, not in huge houses with lots of luxury. These women live by themselves in a terraced house, still at their parents’ house or in a

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student dorm. Although they don’t care too much about luxury they want their house to look cosy and attractive. These women like small details in their house and assecoires although they don’t prefer an overkill of assecoires in their houses. Janine (31) likes colourful houses; she implemented lots of different colours in her interior.

She prefers pastel colours, especially mint green and soft pink.

LIVING CONCEPT

Customer values While creating a concept it’s important to take a look customer values. Without knowing the customers’ values you can’t create a concept. The concept I create will not only be attractive for HEMA’s existing target group: middle aged women (mothers) but also younger women. For younger people interaction and playfulness are important values. They like to share things with each other and dedicate time on their devices using social media for instance. People become happier when they share things, this is an emotional value (Gidesign, 2016).

VISION

“HEMA wants to have a positive role in the lives of their customers. Sharing things makes people happy!”

CONCEPT NAME

SHARY. The name SHARY is related to the word sharing. SHARY is a short name that sounds sweet and funny. This is what the concept is about, making people happy by giving them the opportunity to share.

CONCEPT SHARY

The concept SHARY is an event whereby customers can share and exchange products which they bought at HEMA, products which they don’t use anymore or never used with other customers. By sharing these products customers can get ‘new’ products that makes them feel happy. In this way there are no products being unnecessary disposed. These products will get a new destination in someone else life.

SHARY fits with the values of HEMA and its customers. This event will be communicated on HEMA’s website and their social media by posting videos of the event. Customers can post and share videos of their shared and exchanged products on social media. HEMA will choose a selection of the most unique, notable and funny videos to post on their own social media channels. The customer which video gets the most

likes and is shared most wins one year of free shopping at HEMA. This event is not profitable/commercial for HEMA; it doesn’t immediately yield money from customers. SHARY will boost the brand awareness and image of HEMA. This concept is not about profit it’s about creating an event that makes people happy. Customers don’t have to spend money, because it’s a concept where people share their products. These two values are the base of SHARY: happiness and getting the possibility to share and exchange instead of buying new products.

Where?

The event will last six months.

During these months SHARY will be organized every Saturday in HEMA stores in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Groningen, Arnhem, Maastricht and Den Bosch.

Concept carriers The SHARY event itself is one concept carrier that belongs to the carriers’ communication and product/service. Another communication concept carrier is the social media, SHARY will promote their events and share the videos made by customers via Facebook.

Pictures of the event will be posted on the SHARY Instagrampage.

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Individual part: Nick Roovers

INTRODUCTION

The individual part, created by Nick Roovers, will focus on a new concept for the Company of HEMA. For this concept, a different approach was used than in the main report. Instead of focusing on the company in the Netherlands, there will be developed a way for HEMA to cross the borders.

To get an insight in HEMA and the company in general, the individual part is started off with the dormant concept, what is HEMA? It gives a brief insight in the company and relevant trends nowadays.

In the awakening concept, a valuefit is made and a tool, which was explained during the classes, is used to get insight in the chances of HEMA and the target group as a whole.

The living concept will focus on HEMA-to-go, a new concept for HEMA to broaden the market on an international level.

DORMANT

HEMA & History HEMA was originally an acronym for Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam, the “Hollandic Standard Prices Company Amsterdam”. HEMA is a

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Dutch discount retail chain that started life as a dimestore on the 4th of November 1926. The store is characterized by relatively low pricing of generic housewares, which are mostly made by and for the chain itself, often with original design.

From the beginning on, simplicity, honesty and quality were the benchmarks of HEMA. In the years that followed the opening of the first store, HEMA grew strongly. Nowadays, there are 500 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and France, with 40% being affiliate companies.

Besides that, HEMA has a few trademarks which are recognizable for the company. For example the HEMA worst, which came into being after the company repurchased too many sausages and decides to sell them on the streets. Apparently this worked, the ‘HEMA worst’ has become a household (HEMA, 2016).

Values HEMA is a brand that is Dutch to the core. Together with this, there are a few core values that describe HEMA in its true essence.

Simplicity – The products are easy to use and have a clear design.

Clear – HEMA is no-nonsense, in company and products.

Accessible – HEMA is for everyone and is a brand close to the customer.

Dutch – Not only do they sell products that are typically Dutch, the whole concept has close ties to the Dutch culture.

Reliable – Although low in costs, products of HEMA are of great quality.

Unique – Products are typically HEMA because they design all products themselves.

(HEMA, 2016) (HEMA, 2016)

VISION

Since 1926 HEMA is trying to make the lives of people easier and more fun, without having them paying too much. Good quality and surprising design should be accessible for everyone. This is the philosophy which made HEMA big in the Netherlands and abroad.

Pretty, simple and payable: HEMA is making simple things special.

TRENDS

HEMA is one of the most unmistakable brands of the Netherlands – they strive to become Europe’s most unmistakable brand and being more relevant because of

expansion. (HEMA, 2016). To do this, they need to keep a close eye on trends varying from a customer level to trends that appear worldwide.

Because HEMA wants to expand their boarders, creating new markets around the world, HEMA needs to focus on the global market as well.

Globalization - HEMA wants to cross the borders (IDFA, 2016) Sustainable trend - customers care more about the background of products.

Power of simplicity - customers recognize organizations easier.

Making things more personal.

Sharing economy - people like to share things with each other.

Online sales – for physical stores to survive they need a different approach. boutiques’ and ‘speciality shops’ are things that work well nowadays, in comparison to the bigger department stores.

Food-To-Go becomes more and more attractive, since people choose more moments to eat during the day, many times on their way.

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AWAKENING

Value Fit For HEMA, the easiest way to expand is to go abroad. To look at chances for the company to expand, looking at expanding abroad, without taking a big risk (of investment) would be the most ideal. Combining the following values will result in interesting opportunities for HEMA. - Globalization and expanding abroad is something that will keep HEMA relevant, even around the world.

- Physical stores needing a different approach, pop-up stores, boutiques and specialty shops are easier to realize nowadays. Bigger department stores are not sufficient enough anymore.

- Customers are always busy, always on the go, resulting in FoodTo-Go concepts becoming more and more attractive.

TOOL

Immersive world To gain insight in the target audience, it might be beneficial to create an immersive world. To create an immersive world the main task is to sketch the ultimate world for the target group. Questions that can be answered are: what are their values? Where would they

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live? How do they move? How does their environment look like?

An immersive world is a place that is not physical, but it’s a place where you can go after seeing or experiencing something. It’s a place you don’t want to leave.

The immersive world can cause a personal effect. It can become a memorable moment whereby the experience won’t leave your mind soon.

To get an idea in the minds of the target audience, the following questions were answered.

What are the values of your target group?

The target group will be focused around (young) urbanites ranging from 20-40. These can be both male and female. Although it differs from the typical target group of HEMA (females, around 2035), there is a whole group of people who have yet to learn about the products HEMA provides. The target group are based around the world, in different countries, and are open to new things. They live fast lives; continuously traveling, always stressed and always busy.

They live and work in the big cities.

Where do they live?

This target group lives all over the world, mostly in cities. HEMA attracts people from all different places and backgrounds. Although HEMA has a typical Dutch character, their target group also consists of people with different nationalities, looking for something different, something extraordinary.

Although they live in the big cities, they are not used to being on the same place for a long time, whether its traveling to work, or in their spare times, they are always on the go.

How do they live? What does their habitat looks like?

Usually living at small apartments, this target group is living in the bigger cities for as long as they can remember. Born and raised in the bigger cities of the world they are used to the hectic life. Their apartments are cozy, and provide a place to come to rest after the long days of work. It’s basic, simple, but more than enough for someone who is out of the house most of the time.

What kind of transport do they use?

This group is hugely depending on public transport. Trains, busses, and trams, this group is always on the move getting from one location to the other. Although a part of the target group has their driving license, it is not beneficial to drive cars in the big city. Besides that public transport is usually faster than going by bike, therefore the public transport is the way to go when it comes to traveling!

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LIVING

Concept HEMA-to-go: bringing you the typical Dutch quality around the world. A moment to relax in a hectic day. Simple, authentic, accessible and clear.

Vision Concept To expand to the global markets, HEMA will introduce small popup stores in the big cities around the world. Providing typical Dutch food HEMA is known for to those who are on the way. From treats like Stroopwafels and Tompoezen to full meals like the Rookworst, they are all available.

Target Group Since HEMA wants to expand to a global market, the typical target group of HEMA doesn’t apply anymore and needs to be changed accordingly. The concept focusses on (young) urbanites ranging 2040 years old. They are ambitious and are well known to the hectic city life. In their stressful lives, they often ‘forget’ to eat. HEMAto-go wants to change this, providing simple, healthy meals focusing around typical Dutch treats.

Concept Carriers The HEMA-to-go stores will be the main concept carrier for this concept. Small, boutique-like These small stores are perfect for those who don’t have time to cook stores which are approachable for for themselves, but are fed up with everyone. They are selling typical the typical fast food. HEMA-to-go Dutch food, from Tompoezen to Rookworsten. These small stores, brings exclusive, authentic Dutch quality to those who are in need of besides serving as a store where it: for those who want some quality people can get high-quality food and a moment to enjoy good food in an environment where fast food is the norm, also serve another in the middle of a hectic day. purpose.

The concept will focus on small HEMA can use these accessible, stores on locations where people relatively cheap stores as market travel or work. Large train, metro research. If a shop works well, it and bus stations, airports or city might be beneficial opening more squares, everything is possible stores in the cities or countries for the pop-up stores, as long as a where there are a lot of requests lot of people are on the go at the for it. If it doesn’t work, it won’t location. cost as much as shutting down a complete department store.

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