What can we expect from SHOTS in 2022?
The start of the new year is always a good reason for people to start reflecting on the past year, but most of all to look forward to next year. What are your personal goals? What great things are you planning to do? And so on. Every SHOTS department took a look at 2022 and gathered their expectations. The most important words for this year? Growth and optimisation!
New warehouses – Let’s start with the biggest and maybe most drastic change for 2022: two new warehouses! This creates 22.000m2 of new ground. All this space is here to prepare SHOTS for the future. One of these warehouses will be for bulk only. “This way, we can live up to the great demand that there is,” says Hein Schouten, Sales & Marketing Director. The other warehouse will have a pick floor with a new and advanced pick system. John Willems, Logistic Manager, adds: “We already upgraded our current warehouse in December. With this new pick floor, we created space for 5000 new products.” But this still wasn’t enough. SHOTS is expanding their assortment massively, both with import brands and own products. This leads to a total of almost 20.000 products! “We want to provide our customers with a wide range of products,” tells Ard van den Brandhof, Purchasing Director. “That’s why we need to keep looking for new brands, but also intensify our collaborations with current partners.” Hein adds: “This extra space and all these new products will turn us into a one-stop-shop. Our customers can find anything they need under just one roof.”
Growth – More space and more products calls for a need for something else: more team members! The Logistics team tripled in size. But this isn’t the only department with a growing amount of team members. The financial department will double in size. Product development will become even more important than it already is. The focus is on new technologies, but also creating new items to fill up the gaps in the SHOTS assortment. Therefore, the Creative Department is adding new members to the team as well. “With more members, there is more knowledge,” says Leoni Buitenhuis, Art Director. “In this way we can stay on top of every trend and keep creating in the best way possible.” Another team that will keep growing in 2022 is the Marketing team. “Marketing is the umbrella of the Sales and the Creative Department,” explains Hein. “We really want to push sales by doing more and bigger campaigns.” To do so, the team needs some extra manpower. Inge Arissen, Marketeer, is looking forward to do this: “I believe that we will come up with better and more ideas when the team grows. But also by arranging more brainstorm sessions between all the departments. With the right creative outings, we can create momentum for all the exciting things that are about to happen in 2022!”
Optimising service – Great service has always been one of the most important cornerstones of SHOTS. In 2022 some changes are awaiting to further improve this service to the customers. Joost Bouten, Controller, tells: “We are investing in deeper and broader technological solutions, so that we process everything even faster than we already did.” Next to this, the tremendous growth at logistics will further optimise the service towards the clients. John explains: “We’re also starting with evening shifts for a filling crew. This way, we can ensure our customers with a 24 hour service.”
Personal contact – The one big word of 2021 was of course Covid. We all adapted to the situation, but we can’t deny that it caused some troubles. “Transport from China was quite a mess,” tells Ard. “But for 2022 we will do anything to keep control of the supply chain again.” And not only the supply chain was a mess, Covid left its marks among the whole industry. “We feel very sorry for physical stores who had a hard time keeping their head above the water,” says Hein. “Hopefully, 2022 will be better!” But what SHOTS missed the most was personal contact. They did a great job during their online Zoom Shows, but it’s not the same as face to face. “We really miss our customers,” says Hein. “We already started travelling a bit, but the whole Sales team can’t wait to get back in the road again like we used to!” This also means having a physical SHOTS show including a SHOTS party. “We need to catch up on a lot of parties in the coming year. We are now three times as big as we used to be, but all the new people have never witnessed a SHOTS party, that’s a shame!” As a last personal note, Hein likes to add: “We want to thank all of you who made our last year successful and we really look forward to 2022 and roll out all our plans!”
