Interview Exclusive

NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show Europe sat down with keynote speaker and MediaMarktSaturn Group CEO Kai-Ulrich Deissner to find out how he intends to manage the transformation and why the German giant is just at the beginning of its journey.

Kai-Ulrich Deissner: The future of retail is omnichannel, and we are determined to actively shape it. The customer and customer experience are at the centre of our strategy and I strongly believe that you must always put yourselves in the shoes of the customer!

It must always be where our thinking starts and we are deliberately moving away from the traditional role of a product-oriented retailer. Instead, we are developing a customer-centric omnichannel service platform that guarantees outstanding customer service and experience.

As part of our omnichannel strategy, our innovative store concepts combine service, an assortment tailored to customer needs, and digital elements that enhance the shopping experience — such as a digital extension of the store shelf and our 90-minute delivery, which sets a new benchmark in non-food retail. Customers who order products online can have their order delivered to their desired address within 90 minutes — whether that's at home, the office, or even at a meeting point at the train station. We leverage our store network density to create a special closeness to the customer.

NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show Europe: What new store concepts are you focusing on?

Kai-Ulrich Deissner: Our philosophy is the right format in the right place. So, large Tech Villages in metropolitan areas, medium-sized stores with plenty of service and advice, smaller stores with a selected assortment in city centres where customers can also access our entire range and pick up goods ordered online.

In addition to the further roll-out of different store formats, the modernisation of markets, and the focus on more customer experience, we are putting a strong emphasis on advice and personalisation. With our new concept for personalised service, we are differentiating ourselves significantly from pure online retailers. Our philosophy is ‘my customer, my responsibility’. We establish personal relationships and are there for our customers throughout the entire customer journey, strengthening our relevance and significantly increasing customer loyalty.

At the same time, we have sharpened our market positioning and taken another decisive step towards becoming an integrated solution provider. For example, customers can book a consultation in advance, and online and brick-and-mortar retail are closely intertwined here. Customers indicate which category they want advice in and select their preferred appointment. On site, customers enjoy personal support from start to finish. They are welcomed at the entrance by a staff member and accompanied to their consultant. For particularly large or heavy products, they receive transport or carrying assistance. In addition, the consultant shares the store’s contact details in case questions arise afterwards. This means that customers benefit from shorter waiting times, more individualised support, and established relationships with the expert team in the store.

NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show Europe: Tell us more about the experience spaces and staff training?

Kai-Ulrich Deissner: Space-as-a-service is an important strategic growth area for us, enhancing the in-store shopping experience and creating additional experiences with constantly changing themes and innovations. Furthermore, we offer other companies and brands a comprehensive all-in-one package to showcase their products and solutions simply and easily within our store network. Thereby we optimise both space productivity and profitability.

Defined areas in the store are continuously filled with changing themes, products, and services to bring them to life. The current focus is on the further roll-out of experience zones and entrance statements in the stores as well as boutiques for partners in the TechVillage stores which, along with the Xperion stores, are MediaMarktSaturn’s flagship formats.

Across the group, there are currently 11 Lighthouse locations and more than 10,000 sq m of space already transformed into experience spaces in over 360 stores in six countries. By the end of the 2025/26 financial year, more than 750 of the group’s approximately 1,030 stores should have at least one of the two experience spaces and there should be up to 20 Lighthouse stores with boutiques in Europe.

We are also continuously investing in our staff, who are the first point of contact for our customers. For example, our BetterWay Ambassador Program has successfully expanded to our German stores this May, following our Hungary pilot. Our BetterWay Ambassadors wear distinctive green t-shirts and help customers with more sustainable electronics choices — from product recommendations to trade-ins, repairs, and energy efficiency advice.

NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show Europe: Tell us more about your retail media strategy.

Kai-Ulrich Deissner: Retail media is one of Ceconomy’s and MediaMarktSaturn’s key strategic growth areas —and this is clearly reflected in our performance. Our income increased by €30 million to €48 million in the 2023/24 financial year, already surpassing our original target for 2025/26. With formats such as sponsored product ads, sponsored brand ads, A+ content, and in-store, we offer a full-funnel solution — from awareness to conversion — thus creating measurable added value for our partners.

A central element here is our data-driven reporting, especially omnichannel reporting, which makes research online, purchase offline visible. Our retail media products are now live in 11 countries and help brand manufacturers effectively reach their target groups throughout the entire customer journey. We see that the demand for integrated, performance-oriented solutions continues to grow, both among our international partners and in national campaigns.

That’s why we are specifically investing in expanding our technologies, particularly in artificial intelligence and automation, to further drive scalability and efficiency. Our goal is to position MediaMarktSaturn as the leading retail media provider in European consumer electronics retail.

NRF 2025: Retail’s Big Show Europe: Where do you see growth in terms of channels and geographies?

Kai-Ulrich Deissner: We are very strongly positioned, we are number one or two in 9 out of 11 countries and our marketplace is developing extremely positively and is live in seven countries. To be successful in our business and truly accompany the customer from start to finish, we need to know them. Data is the gamechanger for that. Over the past year, we have expanded our focus to include key future topics such as data, customer value, and loyalty and through the diversity of our data – we have a base of around 45 million loyal customers and billions of data points – we can better understand their preferences and shopping habits. However, these efforts are just the beginning; we want to unlock the full potential of our data to achieve an even greater impact.