J. Vasilakos: Two more Kotsovolos stores planned for Cyprus

Kotsovolos, one of the leading electrical and electronics retailers in Greece who recently opened its third shop in Cyprus, plans to expand further, with another two stores in Larnaca and Nicosia.

John Vasilakos, CEO & Vice Chairman at Dixons South East Europe (Kotsovolos), referred to the company’s rapid expansion in the Cypriot market during the recent Paphos store opening.

He said Kotsovolos chose Paphos to open its latest shop as it is an up and coming town that has been growing fast and the company saw it as a huge opportunity.

“We had been looking for a while for a location for a big shop, as our philosophy is to open shops with an area of over 1,500 sq.m. and this was something that we struggled with in Cyprus, as most shops are divided into smaller spaces so they can be rented out to smaller shops,” Vasilakos explained.

“But we finally managed to open a store with 1,500 sq.m. of commercial space, which follows our “shopping experience” logic, and hence is in line with modern retail, as if a consumer does choose to physically visit the store instead of shop online, they expect something different, more impressive and proper guidance from the sellers. This is our reasoning and also our competitive advantage,” he added.

Vasilakos said that despite being a small market, Cyprus is extremely demanding and difficult, which Kotsovolos likes to look at as a challenge.

As he explained, there is a lot of competition and the purchasing public is considered very technologically knowledgeable. Also, Cypriot consumers have a variety of different socio-political profiles, which differ from town to town.

“Even Cyprus’ foreign residents differ from town to town, which requires a lot of adapting and the implementation of a good logistics model,” said Vasilakos.

At the same time, however, the island offers a great opportunity for Kotsovolos to grow its B2B (business-to-business – a type of electronic commerce).

Asked about the company’s next steps in the local market, Vasilakos said that Cyprus “could definitely do with another two Kotsovolos shops”.

He added, “One shop in Larnaca and one more in Nicosia, when of course we can find space, which is hard as our requirements are pretty demanding. However, it is something that we will look into next year”.

According to Vasilakos, location is important for the company as its aim is to cover all geographical areas of the island. “Our aim is that every time we open a shop in a town, we ‘unlock’ the area,” he concluded.

The new two-story Kotsovolos store in Paphos is located at 102 Mesogis Avenue and offers a unique shopping experience along with the latest technological appliances and devices. It is wheelchair accessible and has a large parking area.

(Source: InBusinessNews)