Energy Choice
                            

Matters

Just Energy Has Funnel Of Over 700 Retail Storefronts

Includes Nation's Dominant Retailer

February 14, 2017

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Copyright 2010-17 EnergyChoiceMatters.com
Reporting by Karen Abbott • kabbott (at) energychoicematters.com

Just Energy has a funnel that, over the next 16 months, will bring the retail supplier into over 700 storefront locations, the company's Chief Sales Officer Morgan Smith told EnergyChoiceMatters.com in an interview.

Currently, Just Energy has a physical presence in four (soon to be six) Fry's Electronics stores, including four in Texas (including the Dallas/Ft. Worth and Houston areas), one in Illinois, and one in California.

Additionally, Just Energy will, starting next month, have a presence at a Canadian Tire location in Alberta. Canadian Tire is one of Canada's dominant big box, mass merchandise retailers, whose namesake stores sell various home products, in addition to automotive goods and hardware (in addition to owning several specialty stores as well). Moreover, Canadian Tire has developed unique loyalty in Canada, with its own "money" (loyalty program) that is so widely used that a Moody's report said it could be described as a "sub-fiat" currency.

Other types of stores in the Just Energy pipeline include home services and big box retailers and some mid-size to smaller hardware and home services stores, Smith said. Additionally, Just Energy may target specific shops and locations whose traffic dovetail with its ethnic affinity brands, such as Amigo Energy and Tara Energy.

With the storefront locations, the goal is to provide a series of home services products whose foundation is the commodity, but which beyond that provide different vehicles to provide the customer with comfort and control, Smith said

Smith said that the storefronts provide the opportunity to present shoppers with a trusted energy advisor who can talk with the customer about their bill, show different plans that might fit their lifestyle, and at the same time give customers ways to conserve both energy and water

Smith, who spent a decade at NRG in channel sales, including alternative channel development, provided some lessons learned from other supplies' forays into retail locations.

"The key is to find strong retailers whose brand resonates with shoppers," Smith said. Smith cited convenience stores as location that would not fit this goal.

In contrast, a store with a strong customer brand would provide an opportunity for the retail supplier to present the customer a bundled offer which included a $100 gift card at such store, that the customer could use right then on their shopping trip. That also provides additional revenue for the retail partner, Smith noted

Smith also noted that storefront sales are not necessarily a first interaction transaction. In a grocery store, for example, which shoppers may visit a few times per week, the pitch may be, "Here's a $5 coupon, next time you're in, bring a copy of your energy bill, we'd love to analyze it to see if we can save you money."

Just Energy's initial storefront locations are kiosks, but Smith said that as the company expands, it will use additional models, including kiosks shared with other home service providers, and dedicated/leased spaces within stores, with such leased spaces typically ranging from 400-500 square feet. The latter model provides shelf space, Smith notes, for Just Energy's growing suite of home services and bundles, which right now includes an ecobee smart thermostat, LED lighting, solar, and, under a new exclusive relationship, Skydrop smart sprinklers.

Smith said Just Energy's expansion into storefronts is driven by its desire to diversify its sales channels, and from its movement to home comfort and management products that can't be articulated in the seven seconds that a resident may give an agent at the doorstep before deciding to close the door, or the 10-20 seconds a customer may given an agent on a cold call.

In contrast, customers walking past the storefront location are already in a receptive, shopping mode, Smith noted.

"Retail becomes the most meaningful sales channel because the funnel of companies that we are going after are multi-national," Smith noted, with the stores it will be entering having international operations in Just Energy's other current (or expansion) worldwide markets, and Just Energy will replicate its storefront model in its international markets.

With Just Energy targeting being in 700 storefronts within the next year and a half, "that really does become probably the second-most meaningful channel in terms of overall acquisitions. When I layer on what can be done in the United Kingdom or Germany, it does become the most meaningful channel globally," Smith said

In terms of other sales diversification, Just Energy is also strongly developing a realtor-based channel, with various realtor organizations, particularly in the U.K., where Just Energy offers a concierge service offering to assist customers in setting up their various home services.

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