Page 10 - HGR March + April 2019

8 NEWSLINE

Bumper Black Friday
for Hirsch’s customers

Commenting on Black Friday sales this Oyama Makhumsha, Sharitha Deokaran, Allan Hirsch and Zethembiso Buthulezi
year, Allan Hirsch, CEO of the Hirsch’s Lindsay Starkey and Teboho Pietersen.
group, the biggest independently owned
appliance and electronics retailer in
South Africa said “We had big dreams
and big plans for Black Friday, but one
has to take the state of the economy
into consideration, so some of our team
members were concerned with the goals
we set for Black Friday this year. We
were totally amazed, therefore, to find
that our sales were 25% up on last year.

“It just goes to show, that yes, the
economy is tight, but when there is
great value for money, people come
out. They wait patiently in queues from
as early as 11.00 the night before to
take advantage of the great deals. We
want to thank our customers for their
patience and our Hirsch’s and Suppliers
teams for their great efforts and
support.

3PAGE 7 on the Internet rather than buying a technology has made it easier than
personal usage licence; even transport ever to find one. Among Consumer Life
in 2019 as people become even more is less about owning a car than knowing respondents, 80% used a device in the
comfortable with these services. how you will get from one place to previous 30 days to search for better
another. deals online. Some 77% report that that
As with many other trends, the move they will be satisfied or even excited
towards sharing is driven by younger Today, Apple is generating an when they get a really good deal—a
consumers, who perceive shared services increasing share of its revenue from number that interestingly rises to 88%
to be more efficient, sustainable and services rather than devices, while among LSM 9 and 10.
affordable than owning assets. products like cars are sold with
wraparounds such as innovative It seems the film, Crazy Rich Asians
4. Pivoting from product to service financing and servicing plans. is right: “No one likes free stuff like rich
Related to the trend above, innovative people”. Consumer behaviour on Black
consumer brands are reinventing The trend is causing some interesting Friday bears this out: many wealthier
themselves as lifestyle services shifts in the market—for example, look consumers are online seeking bargains
companies rather than competing as at how Yuppiechef has expanded from on electronics for a thrill, while people
product vendors. Music today is more the online world into physical retail from lower LSMs head for the malls and
often consumed as a streamed service to offer advice and a showroom to its supermarkets seeking savings on day to
than as a physical product; people customers. day essentials. This trend will accelerate
increasingly use software-as-a-service in 2019 as digital comparison-shopping
5. Everybody loves a good deal rises.
Most people like a good deal, and digital

HOME GOODS RETAILER | MARCH / APRIL 2019