Analysis of Business Model of O'KEY Omni-channel Retailer

Retail is a crucial sector for the global economy. So, in 2016, it provided 31% of world GDP. In 2017, retail accounted for 16% of Russia's GDP. In addition to its contribution to GDP, retail is also of great importance for the level of employment in Russia. Thus, according to the Association of Retail Companies, 16% of people employed in Russia account for trade. The volume of retail trade in the world and in Russia is steadily increasing, but its growth rates remain at a low level (4.9% and 1.9%, respectively). Due to the low growth rate and high level of competition as signs of the maturity stage of the industry, retailers seek to find the optimal approach to the buyer, and therefore use technological trends that have a significant impact on the development of the industry. Among them are channel use methods that retailers use to interact with customers. The evolution of channels has led buyers to find the most comfortable among a large number of channels, but in the end they are not limited to one channel, but choose their various combinations. This leads to the fact that retailers seek to optimize the customer experience, and for this they introduce the omnichannel concept into the work of their channels and their interaction, which provides the buyer with a seamless shopping experience from channel to channel. Modern retail is entering a new evolutionary stage of development. The omnichannel building of seamless integrated trading is becoming a strategic imperative for the development of online trading, which is beginning to play an increasingly important role for retailers. An example of an omnichannel retailer is the O'KEY retail chain, which is the object of research in this work. O’KEY Group of Companies is in the TOP-10 of food chains in Russia in 2019, occupying a 1% market share. OK, in the course of its history, seeks to introduce the best and innovative practices into its activities. So, one of the first O'KEY retail chains began to develop the discounter format in Russia by opening the DA! Chain of stores, became the first grocery retailer in Russia to open an online store and one of the first Russian grocery chains to launch a mobile application, which soon became omnichannel. The company strives to keep pace with the development of technology and global trends in the development of retail. The introduction of new formats and new sales channels, the use of new technologies, as well as the introduction of omnichannel in one way or another is reflected in the retailer’s business model. The purpose of this work is to analyze the business model of the OKEY retail chain as an omnichannel retailer, to consider the possibility of its development in the context of the coronavirus pandemic based on the experience of other industry participants. In this work, recommendations for O'KEY were also developed that would help the retailer maintain a competitive position in the context of the active growth of online sales channels.