Page 23 - Sphere No.33 (Jul 2013)

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Sphere 33
in the world to Austria in the next two years. Currently
3
customers are using 4.5 Petabyte of mobile data per month.
Marionnaud
European beauty and personal care giant, Marionnaud,
is HWL’s retail arm in Austria. Marionnaud entered the market
in 2002 and celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2012. The chain
now has more than 100 stores in Austria and over one million
members, which ranked No 1 in the country’s perfumery
business in 2012. Austrian customers value the personal advice
on choice of products that Marionnaud’s more than 600 beauty
advisors provide.
Effective marketing is the key of its success in this central
European country. For instance, being aware that the male
beauty product market is growing, the retailer has implemented
the new Marionnaud Men (pour homme) card last year with
the aim of increasing number of male customers by 15 per cent.
It has also carried out marketing collaborations both inside
and outside the HWL group. Strategic marketing support to
the brands consigning in the stores have also been provided
via varied communication channels, including billboards
and creative promotional campaigns. Successful marketing
collaborations between Marionnaud and
3
to synergise
business within the HWL group have also been launched. TV
commercials from suppliers have been broadcasted through
3
s network in 100 screens in Marionnaud stores, and both
companies have launched co-branded newsletters to
customers. These collaborations allow highly efficient use of
the HWL Group’s resources and generate synergised and
impactful marketing.
AGigantic Step Forward -
Acquisition of Orange by
3
Austria
To consolidate business in Austria,
3
recently took a major step that has
impressed both the European and
international telecommunication
industry – to acquire Orange
Austria. With the mobile data traffic
experiencing tremendous growth,
all prices are facing strong downward
pressure, which has posed great
challenges for Austrian mobile
service providers.
3
is, however,
well-placed to see these challenges
as opportunities, and the EUR 1.3
billion acquisition of Orange allows
3
to have a stronger position by making
the third-biggest mobile phone
service company stronger still.
Launched in 1998, Orange Austria
had a slightly higher market share
than
3
.
However, it was facing
a decreasing market share and
financial pressure from the necessity
of investment.
3
seized this
opportunity to combine the strengths
of both operators. The acquisition
was announced in February 2012
and approved by relevant European
authorities in December 2012.
3
will
gradually replace all Orange outlets.
The merger of
3
and Orange will
be pro-competitive for both the
group’s business and customers.
3
will enjoy lower investment costs in
placing additional frequencies and
base stations and higher efficiencies
brought by the cost synergies.
With a stronger market position
and larger customer base,
3
can
rollout LTE across Austria more
quickly, thus providing the access
to the fastest network to the
customers. Additionally, more
attractive offers, in terms of both
price and services, can be offered
to old and new customers. This
recent
3
acquisition reinforces
HWL’s commitment to this Jewel of
Europe, and to Europe itself. With
its new company name Hutchison
Drei Austria,
3
is ready to start a new
era in Austria’s telecommunication
industry.
(
Above)
The Group’s beauty chain, Marionnaud, now has more
than 100 Austrian stores.
(
Bottom)
The launch of
3
Austria is reshaping the Austrian
telecommunications market.