Fit out with Coccodrillo

Coccodrillo is a seasonal quality aimed clothing brand designed for stylish children aged 0 to 14 years. Starting out in the 90’s, Coccodrillo is one of the key pillars of the CDRL group, which owns other brands such as Lemon Explore and Broel. As it stands, Coccodrillo apparel has 85 company stores in Poland, 159 partner points, and 200 foreign stores across Europe, Asia and Africa. The company also sells online, with their website, coccodrillo.eu available in 7 different languages. We spoke to Coccodrillo’s Marketing Manager, Paulina Żaczyk about the company's triumphs in the last year, as well as their vision for the future. 

How did you see the business change with the effects of Covid-19?

Covid changed our business as more and more customers started shopping via our online store. Turnover on our online channels is increasing. This year’s results (2021) were higher than pre-pandemic levels. Plus, we found that internet shopping hesitancy has reduced. For example, people are more willing to use online shopping due to the convenience and the longer opportunity to return goods. Ultimately, however, we assume that we need a network that is both online and offline. Therefore, we're strongly focusing on omnichannel activities that bind both the traditional and digital channels. Using online alone is not a sufficient solution and we see strong value in keeping our traditional trading stores.

Has Coccodrillo experienced a post-lock down revival?

We are pleasantly surprised by the reopening - customers have returned to our stores. Although, we don’t hide in the fact that this might not represent our future results. Afterall, the covid situation still overshadows the global economy.  

So has the company made up for lost time during the holidays? 

For Coccodrillo, Christmas isn’t our biggest season. Our peak sales usually happen at beginning of the school year. Around Christmas, people are mainly looking for gifts in the form of toys, which are not in our offer. Regardless, we start our season sale before Christmas, which customers are always anticipating, so we are never worried about the figures during this period.

What markets are you currently focusing on, and what areas are you looking to expand?

In the third quarter, the CDRL Group expanded its operations in two new markets – Moldova and Albania. In addition, two new franchise stores were opened in Slovakia, the company also acquired a master franchisee in Portugal.

COCCODRILLO BUSINESS CARD

A chain of children’s clothing stores

• Approx 250 stores
• Shops with an area of ​​at least 60 m ² 
• Shop fronts in towns with more than 25 thousand residents
• Cost of the investment is at least EUR 13,000