IADS Exclusive: Pyrénées, building a destination within the destination

Last May, the IADS had the occasion to travel to Andorra to visit the local landmark Pyrénées department store and meet with its leading team to understand where the company was heading. In Andorra too, the Covid-19 pandemic left its mark and forced retailers to rethink their business approach and positioning, especially in such a landlocked country normally living on touristic flows.

Even though the size of the business is relatively small when compared to other IADS members, the Pyrénées business case raises a set of interesting questions when compared to the rest of its local market:
-    What does loyalty mean for the Pyrénées customers? Is the game all about attracting local customers to the Pyrénées ecosystem, or making sure that tourists will return to the store? And what is the differentiation point: price, or selection?
-    How can a retail company stand out from the crowd in a country where the whole industry is based on duty-free product sales, from tobacco and liquor to fashion and accessories?

Given the specificity of the Andorran market and operations, such a visit was extremely informative as it helped to see another approach to differentiation and segmentation. Interestingly, in Andorra too, the game is not anymore to sell products (even at extremely competitive prices) but to provide a new, fresh and compelling experience both in-store and online. 

IADS provides its members with a weekly in-depth analysis on retail-oriented topics. This is an example of the themes the Association regularly addresses, and the topic of an article from the IADS members-only newsletter date 14 September 2022.