Hello GymBeam Dream Team,
since the end of the year is coming, I would like to present you what we are planning for the next year. This year was a preparation for rapid growth, we have begun to do things that had been disregarded from the start and have prepared great basis for a very quick growth. We have considerably improved the management team, some processes in the company, and the quality of work has moved just in the right direction as well.
For 2019, we have set four strategic goals:
- logistics point for delivery within 2 hours in Budapest and new level of eCommerce in Hungary;
- new brands and better quality assortment;
- expansion in Q4-2019: Poland and Slovenia;
- warehouse automation – new technologies that would make work more efficient and provide greater performance at lower operating costs.
If I had to describe the things that I was most pleased with, there would be so many of it, but for the most part: launching Croatian and Bulgarian market, a great number of new products, Just Whey – the best protein as evaluated by our customers, strengthening the IT team… This year we have sent nearly 3.4 mio products to our customers, and we have orders from roughly 1.5 mio people in our system. In the past, it had been proven, over and over again, that we can grow up to 100 +%, and as we currently have it well-established, we can set the target for the next year – that is, sending 5 million products with the revenue of 32 mio €.
My presentation on Xmas party in Kosice, Slovakia 2018
However, we also need to realize that this is just the beginning of our journey. Not only in terms of products, but also in terms of eCommerce in this region. The share of eCommerce in retail trade is only between 1% -9%, which is very little compared to Western Europe. Also, only 1% of FMCG is sold through e-shops and about 80% of books in our area. It will never come to an end, because we have to keep up with the changing technology, improve the services and proceed with our rapid growth.
Our new super-successful sub brand BeastPink
In times when we are doing quite well, we have to move the boundaries of our category and eCommerce as a whole, to new levels in this region. We want to distribute quality products to our customers in a more efficient way, saving them money, time, and, at the same time, providing an excellent customer experience. This fight for the new levels of retail and higher sales income also involves a number of mistakes, but we cannot deteriorate in the quality of our services at any cost. We must not look at someone who does things of poor quality elsewhere, and we must not forget about the comfort of the customer in the pursuit of profit. On the other hand, growth is a key element for us. Our Sport nutrition segment is “all or nothing”. Our company’s culture and values are what distinguishes us. We do not want to sell just anything to any customer at any price. We want to provide our customers with good service and serve them well. That is the reason why we need to develop by means of an outstanding service and better assortment at lower costs. We need to grow with the help of technologies, but not with deceptive marketing without value. We must be driven by the passion for better services and improvement of customer’s quality of life, but not by profit.
Xmas party in GymBeam Kosice offices, Slovakia 20/12/2018
It is all only in our hands. Thank you very much for your hard work this year, and as I have already said at the Christmas party, at the end of the day, GymBeam is only about people and the highest-quality team we have here. I hope that in our mission we will also find enthusiasm in 2019. I wish you wonderful holidays and pleasant time with your friends and families.