Empty shelves, a bottle of gasoline and a girl factor: we open a store

In smart books on business, no, no, and yes, the idea slips that a startup must incite motivation in himself, not sleep at night, cut a product, and take risks consciously. But any risk should be based on numbers. Skydiving, in principle, looks like a tangible risk, but according to statistics it is a safer action than funny games at a construction site.

Non-disclosure of the parachute, as a rule, occurs due to improper styling before the jump - the business is no different: either you take into account the behavior and habits of the customers before putting the goods on the window (and before you even get the finished product), or you get a hit in person from reality.

About such thoughts visited us when the entire Ivideon video surveillance service, created for the Internet and on the Internet, decided to open an offline store. Why open a store if you feel good online, have not exhausted all the growth points in the Internet environment and do not want to receive fatal damage from risky projects?

It's time to tell.

Why we were optimistic: the global video surveillance market

The first Ivideon offline store appeared two years ago, the second one opens this fall. But before the first launch (and in the same way, before opening the second one), we printed out and hung on the wall all the graphs, inspiring at least some optimism.


According to IMS Research, the global market for video surveillance equipment, taking into account software, installation and services, should reach $ 30 billion by 2017. The volume of the cloud services market, which primarily refers to Ivideon, at the turn of 2016-2017, is projected to vary from 1.7 to 2.3 billion dollars.

The VSaaS (Video Surveillance as a Service) model, based on cloud storage systems, remains one of the main trends not only in the world of video surveillance, but also in the entire Internet of Things. The aggregate annual growth rate of VSaaS is more than 18% until 2020.

Russian CCTV market (billion rubles)


Source .

The Russian market is much more modest - the chart above shows the data obtained for 2014. However, the forecasts did not coincide with reality - in 2016, the market volume is 50 billion rubles, which is higher than expected. The demand for video surveillance services is growing. It is predicted that by 2022 the market volume will double, but even such indicators are not important for Ivideon, since there are no territorial restrictions for the video surveillance service via the Internet. Russia is only a part of the global market.

It seems that the progress train is heading in the right direction, and there is no reason to worry about the future. In such circumstances, we decided to continue to open new stores. Making this decision was not easy - Scylla was the experience of just one launch, a crisis erupted in Charybdis, and the narrow passage between them threatened to create a significant gap in the hull. Even the opening of an ordinary stall requires money. The money that we fully invest in the development of the service. Co-founders of the company Andrei Yudnikov and Vladimir Yeremeyev do not set themselves big salaries, and invest all the money in development. Vladimir rides with the employees on a corporate bus and further on the subway. The company spends money on salaries and servers. Failing in such conditions in at least one direction means jeopardizing the existence of the entire business.

Offline Store: Fear and Loathing

80% of customers of online retailers first select the product in an offline store, then look for it to buy online. At a time when prices in stores suddenly begin to rise sharply, and wages - like a lame duck - cannot catch them, there are even more reasons to watch goods on the Internet. The decline in income and the general situation in the economy are driving the market on the Internet.

Working in a crisis is like riding a bicycle that burns. In 2014, Russia was one of the largest B2C e-commerce markets in the world, but in 2015 the total retail market declined by almost 10%.

In practice, the phrase “retail sales in the first half of 2016 fell by 5.7%in relation to the corresponding period of the last year, "this is hiding: shops disappear. Moscow sets a record for the amount of empty space in the shopping center.

Last year, for the video surveillance market, it was not easy: the growth in volumes is followed by increased competition, which leads to the fact that camera prices are falling. This is beneficial for customers, not always for business.

Ray of light in retail

In general, we decided that since there is stable growth in the entire industry, it means that the idea of ​​opening stores in any crisis is not the worst thing that could come to our minds.

Of course, we are still not at that level online when every iron connected to the Internet knows our name. Ivideon is known in the video surveillance market, but if you catch 10 people on the street, they will all say that they have never heard of this brand. You could take a million rubles and give it to marketers: hold a contest in social networks, set up new features of email marketing, paste over the car with promo banners - reach several times more people.

Only mushrooms in Chernobyl can grow amid a general recession, but we have confidence that hundreds and thousands of clients do not spend whole days on the Internet, drop mailings to the spam folder, and are generally afraid to take a “pig in a poke” when it comes to buying surveillance cameras. The camera is not a service, it is quite material, it has specific technical characteristics and an appearance that is capable, it’s a miracle, not to fit into the interior.

Pros of shops

The arguments for an offline store sometimes sound like the arguments of supporters of paper books, theaters and steamboats: how pleasant it is to touch the goods with your hands. There are people who buy home surveillance cameras as a gift - the appearance of even the packaging is important to them. There will always be those who give 10 reasons why it is important to evaluate the goods first in the store, even if it is decided to make the purchase on the Internet.

A seller of flesh and blood will talk more about the product than the description on the site. He will answer questions faster than the fastest call center. And some, after ten minutes of persuasion, will agree to give a discount - try to get a discount from the technical support of the site.

Compared to a regular outlet, we see one important advantage in the store - Ivideon has a clear positioning: video surveillance via the Internet. All! We do not sell related products: only hardcore, only cameras and service. Of course, someone may have a spontaneous decision to buy a camera at home, but in most cases this decision is conscious and distressed. There is a problem that a person wants to solve, and he purposefully seeks a solution.

Andrey Yudnikov, CEO of Ivideon, summed up all the thoughts “to launch or not to launch”: “The Internet is not the only communication channel (although we are already used to thinking differently). Opening an offline store solves several problems at once. There is always a significant proportion of customers who are used to communicating directly with the solution provider, watch and touch equipment, and receive direct advice. Only after all these actions a person makes a purchase decision. B2B clients from medium and small businesses are just those who prefer to personally choose equipment, select the necessary configurations and communicate directly with specialists. ”

Well, do not forget that any offline store is a pick-up point at which each buyer can feel the goods and make sure that there are no defects.

Violation of the rules

Ivideon is an Internet service that, in theory, can exist without any equipment that the end customer can touch. But having written out all the pluses for myself, it was decided to go retail.

The opening of the first store was an experiment for us, before which no one at Ivideon had the proper retail competency. It was likely that we would just take and burn the money on a meaningless project. And worse, let us spend time on people who at that moment could be doing something useful.



Moreover - an idea came up to put a young girl at the head of the store. Engage in the development of a point where 90% of future buyers are harsh men.

Alina Skuratovich (she is in the photo above) became the head of Ivideon retail. Prior to that, she had experience working in a security company, where she first worked as a seller, then she was promoted to deputy head of retail. And yes, before Ivideon Alina did not open a single offline store. But she was well into the topic of security and knew why video surveillance might be needed.

Why Alina? If you have a high-tech business, try to go beyond templates. In communication with the client, the girl does not lose, but even wins. To do this, it is enough to show excellent knowledge of the product - and someone will just be pleased to talk with a girl on an interesting topic for him. Ivideon was originally built by young people under 30 who did not want to think in stereotypes. In this case, the question of whom to entrust the management of the store, girl or man, looked like a stereotype. Alina did not sit in the head office, and from the first day she went to do repairs with the sellers. Then, when one of the sellers left us, I worked in his place.

First start

The first problem we encountered is the choice of location. We went around the whole Gorbushka market in Mitino, visited a dozen shopping centers and business centers, thought about opening a street retail (a store on the ground floor of a residential building). In addition to just a convenient room, we needed a wide Internet channel. In the end, we came to Savelovsky, guided by the logic "do not break what works well." If human traffic helped others, then it will help us, and there is no point in opening a store in the industrial zone.

Convenient location - from the metro 2 minutes walk. In addition, there are shops and other destinations that also attract traffic past people passing by. The entire shopping center is filled with technical equipment, respectively, our potential customers come there.

Our store is located in the Savelovsky - Mobile shopping center, which opened a month before we entered it. The condition of the shopping center met our requirements: there are no stray dogs and garbage, everything is clean, bright and beautiful. Here is the address of the store, if someone wants to go into it.



The first two weeks we spent on the arrangement. Repair was done on their own. Alina, one of the sellers, and employees of the central office came to the rescue.



Nearby, of course, were the shops of competitors, but we decided to stand out by design (not to fill up the shelves with goods, but to observe a minimalist style). Everything was done so that the future buyer did not fall into a complex technological environment, but realized that the ideas of service simplicity were also implemented in the design.

However, the competitors did not particularly bother us - they sell cameras and other video surveillance equipment from different manufacturers, and we provide a service that others do not.


View of the entrance to the store. In this photo there is evidence that Ivideon is somehow connected with Skolkovo.

Once we decided on the place and design of the future store, we had to choose the “face” - the sellers. Alina’s appointment as a manager attracted customers and spurred their interest in Ivideon, but without good sellers, everything else could have burned out.



Word to Alina:

“I was engaged in the selection of sellers myself, I searched on HH.ru, through social networks and friends. There were special requirements for candidates: charisma, ability to communicate, activity and ability to sell.

Take the time to find the right people: for almost two years, since the opening, no one was fired from us. One seller worked from the beginning, he also helped to make repairs in the store and connect display equipment. The second worked for 6 months and joined the army, I worked in the store for six months instead, until I found another person who still works. ”

Another way to attract buyers' attention is a cardboard pug with a surveillance camera installed in it (here in the store visitors are shown on a large screen).

The second camera in the store is installed above the dog. Broadcast from it is displayed in open access.

Results and plans

There should be a story about a bottle, gasoline and engine oil. But she is not there yet. We did not burn out, and competitors did not burn our store.

About one million rubles was spent on opening the store. This money went to repair, purchase equipment and design. We beat off the investment? Yes, the store makes a profit and, moreover, the profit increases. Over the year, it grew by 70%.

Everyone heard a very banal phrase that the crisis is a time of opportunity, that the strong get up from their knees, and the weak goes to sell smoothies. In fact, this is the last opportunity to understand that those who think with old templates will go to the business cemetery in a year, where all burnt out startups fall.

Right now we are getting ready for the opening of our second store - this time in St. Petersburg. The store is launched by the same team, in exactly the same way. Further development of Ivideon offline retail is expected in two formats: both the addition of our new stores and the opening of stores in the franchise format. As for the franchise, the starting investment of customers in it will be the same as we had with us: from 900,000 rubles. (we got a million), turnover per month - from 500 000 rubles. in regions, payback period - from 11 months.