Milk-Agro operates 190 stores. Some are located where you wouldn't expect them. One such store is on Hellova Street in Košice. We spoke with its manager Katarína Červenáková about the store's specifics and its anniversary celebration...
Tell us, what were you celebrating?
Our store celebrated its five-year existence. We wanted to mark the anniversary last year but managed only now. At least it was a small jubilee.
How were the beginnings of the store and your role in it?
The store was established on September 10 five years ago. I joined these premises after the store had been operating for a year. I worked for Milk-Agro before but in another store that no longer exists. I started as a saleswoman, after six months became deputy manager, and after another six months, the store manager. Then I chose a new deputy who had already worked here as a saleswoman. The beginnings were really tough, but together with the deputy and my mother (also a saleswoman), we form a well-coordinated team, mutually respecting each other, aligned, and progressing. We move forward at our own pace. There were six of us here, sometimes fewer, but we ensured that our customers never felt a difference. We made sure to operate at one hundred percent.
What is the reason you keep growing and progressing?
The beginnings were really hard. Sometimes I stood helplessly behind the glass in the store, watching people pass by in one direction with empty bags and back with full ones. But they didn't come to us. Since our store is at the end of a dead-end street, strangers have no reason to come here. Only locals. And until they get to know us, they don't come in. They don't know we have great products. It troubled me that although I recognize these people by their walk, face, or clothes, I only know them from behind the store glass. They don't come inside. So we had to come up with something, find a way to get them into the store. I was convinced that once they taste our yogurts and get to know us a bit, they would stay our customers and things would take off.
There are quite a few people in the store, so you really came up with something...
We started doing promotions on our products and every week hung posters with some great price. People gradually noticed them, then read and responded to the ads. And they started coming to us. They got used to fresh vegetables and especially to the excellent selection of our quality dairy products.
The posters and ads are not just any; they are really very creative and colorful. You can't help but notice them...
It takes a lot of work, but we enjoy it and see that it makes sense. People notice the ads, come, shop, and are satisfied. And we are satisfied too; it's mutual.
So you know your customers almost by name.
Yes, many even by name. We are like one big family here. After some time, my colleagues and I made a weekly statistic of how many strangers came to the store. And in that week, no stranger came. You know, dead-end street...
It's nice but also very demanding. If you disappoint someone, it's hard to win them back, right?
You're right. We try to satisfy as many buyers as possible with our approach and work, and when we sometimes fail, we look for something new that would move us forward together.
What do you think your customers appreciate the most?
They like our posters and, according to them, they know what we are preparing for them. When entering the store, they often stop by the "grab baskets," where they can see new products at attractive prices or assemble a purchase for a regular lunch (laughs).
We still see balloons from the celebration here; how did it all go?
We prepared well for it. Together with our suppliers, we prepared a day full of discounts and gifts for our customers. We decorated the entire store and prepared for the celebration. Several days before, we raised customers' expectations that it would be a proper celebration. When it came, customers were "completely amazed" by what they saw here. Decorations, extraordinary discounts, great atmosphere, gifts. We ended up celebrating the whole week and reevaluating mutual coexistence (laughs). And to this day, we enjoy positive feedback on our work, quality products, and overall operation.
So if you want, you can do it, even if it's at the end of the world... We wish the entire store team good luck and many satisfied customers.
