Jaan Ivar Semlitsch, CEO, Elkjop Nordic

A Bright Future for Omnichannel

We asked Jaan Ivar Semlitsch, CEO, Elkjop Nordic, where he sees the future of omnichannel sales heading:

I see a bright future, as long as the omnichannel retailers have a digital approach to everything they do, and focus on the customers and the growth. In addition, they have to improve online and in-store experience.

What do you imagine the balance between online and bricks & mortar retail will be in five years’ time, and what will be the keys to sales success?

I believe we will see consolidation in the market and that the big online players and the big bricks & mortar players will take a bigger share. The medium and smaller bricks & mortar players will fall out due to lack of scale, while some smaller pure players will be there fulfilling a niche value proposition.

What about mergers and acquisitions?

Will we see more “big pervasive” players or a multiplication of smaller ones? Yes, I think we will see M&A moves and also across industries. Amazon’s latest M&A in the US is an example of that. Since marketplaces are emerging, I think we will also see consolidation across industries. Some players will just disappear though, and won’t be attractive M&A candidates.