WORLD RETAIL FORUM SPEAKER: FELIKS BOYNUINCEOGLU, MCDONALD’S

Feliks Boynuinceoglu, Director of Operations at McDonald’s Turkey, will be speaking at Keynotion’s upcoming 2nd Edition World Retail Forum. He will deliver an expert talk on the major consumer shifts and future trends in retail.

At his current position, Feliks is in charge of restaurant operations, franchising business, delivery, design, construction and loss prevention functions. Before joining McDonald’s, he worked in various industries and gained experience in QSR, retail, cinema exhibition and FMCG. Prior to his current role, Feliks worked in Mars Cinema Group, the market leading cinema chain in Turkey which is owned by major Private Equities. As Director of Retail & Marketing he designed the company’s retail and marketing strategy across different cinema segments to ensure that the company identifies and optimizes a clear path to aggressive growth. He also took a significant role in the M&A  period of the company to Korean CJ CGV Group.  Prior to Mars Cinema Group, Feliks worked in Starbucks Coffee Turkey in various operations roles. Feliks also worked in PepsiCo, Japan Tobacco International and different sales, audit and operations roles. He lives in İstanbul with his wife and daughter.

In the exclusive interview with Corporate Parity Felix shared insight into the recent developments and future of the Retail industry, as well as recent challenges, and the evolvement of the new Conscious Consumption concept.

What does Retail mean to you?

For me, Retail is a never-ending journey, where you can have completely different experiences at each stage. It’s amazing to see how retailers transform over time and keep delivering the brand promise to their consumers. It is rarely seen that such an old and well-established industry adapts so well to changing dynamics and trends.  However, if I need to define retail only with one phrase, I would pick the famous quote of Howard Behar, the legendary retired President of Starbucks, defining his own business. “We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee” This applies to every single retailer: Regardless of what they sell, they should be aware that they are in people business.

 One of the major shifts in 2018 Retail landscape?

Consumer habits and consumption patterns have changed significantly in many ways and the retail landscape will be shaped by these shifts. Consumers know the rules of the retail game.  They expect everything on demand and have a huge thirst for novelty. Each of them seeks meaning & belongingness. Most importantly, now they are poised to drive major shifts in how we buy and shop. In this new era all changes are triggered by the customers, not by the brands, and I believe this is the biggest shift in the retail.

How brick and mortar retail is changing in the age of e-commerce?

These two channels are becoming more integrated and cannot be separated from each other; however, traditional retail still dominates over e-commerce by creating 88% of the global retail volume. In many cases e-commerce channels provide convenience to the customers, while physical stores act as “Temple of the Brand” where you communicate all your brand messages to your customers and create engagement via experience. Best example for this is Apple Store across the Globe. Apple could sell its products via other retailers and e-commerce giants. However they preferred to open brick and mortar stores to support their brand and products in their own “Apple-Way”. Moreover, we should think on the lines of why Amazon and AliExpress are opening physical stores. My personal opinion is that for at least  couple more decades we will be seeing traditional retail outlets in the streets and shopping malls.

Can AI come to completely drive Customer Experience in Retail?

I still do believe that people element in retail is crucial. Artificial Intelligence should support and assist human expertise in delivering customer experience, but not replace it completely.

What do you think of the Conscious customer?

Conscious customers are the locomotive of any retail brand. They push the companies out of their boundaries and force them to innovate new ways of delivering better experience to their clients. They care about the community and the environment. Conscious customers are the main reason why biggest coffee chains are sourcing their coffee beans from local family owned farms, or one of the oldest sports apparel brands using recycled ocean plastics for their sneakers. If you delight your conscious customers they become brand ambassadors and for a retailer that’s the biggest asset.

Trends that are causing issues in retail?

With all my respect to personal data and privacy of the customers, I believe that the trend towards limiting the data collection and processing is one of the biggest challenges for retailers. Retailers should find more creative and “approved” ways to collect data about their consumers. Otherwise, all the loyalty programs are subject to become obsolete.

What will the retail experience look like in the next few years?

We will see more technology in every stage of the customer journey.

Don’t miss the chance to meet Felix, along with other best and brightest leaders in the Retail Industry. Download your brochure and register for the 2nd Edition World Retail Forum today to get a special Early Bird discount!

Also check our upcoming events page.