This article aims to introduce you to Florent Coves, and iConcept. More precisely, Florent's vision of Apple and iConcept
So during my interview I asked him to keep in mind this question "How does Apple and more precisely iConcept manage to stay competitive in a market already very saturated in Pau by the big distribution groups?" when he answers me because, let's say it, this question is the main thread of the interview.
We started with a very simple question : Can you briefly introduce yourself, your full name, your age, your current position in the company ?
Florent is 39 years old, married with three children, and within iConcept he is the manager of the Pau branch.
Once the presentation was done we could start the interview, and the first thing I asked him was to tell me about his vision of apple.
He replied to me that Apple is for him a company that has defined for nearly 15 years our way of life, it has disrupted all our lives since the release of the iPhone that has imposed a new standard in this industry.
iConcept has been bought a few weeks ago by the Italian leader, C&C, so logically I asked him if his vision of iConcept has changed, he simply answered “no” because even if the C&C/iConcept alliance made us become the biggest APR (Apple Premium Reseller) in Europe, C&C has the same vision as iConcept on the work and on its collaborators so nothing changes and nothing will change except maybe the logo.
Following these answers I asked him how he saw the company and the agency of Pau in 5 years, for him, and I completely agree, iConcept and the agency will be bigger, more fleshed out, there will be more staff. Given the growth of the last 2 years under Covid, I can imagine a larger agency within 5 years.
The question that followed was more focused on the future of iConcept, I asked him: do you think the current market will allow iConcept to remain competitive for years to come, especially with its new position as European leader?
And for him and according to the C&C policy we will stay on the same methods and working conditions, as he said before, we have the same vision of work and man in general, so nothing should change.We will be, he thinks, a subsidiary of this group.
I then asked him if iConcept and all APRs in general are an advantage for Apple and why?
Yes, because we allow Apple to expand their local service areas without having to build beautiful and expensive stores to do so and that's a huge advantage for Apple because they don't have to locate in small towns like Pau, so it's much less expensive, but it brings all the benefits, like exposure in small towns, the brand is well represented, nice stores, Apple doesn't own the buildings or pay rent.
To end this interview well, I asked him how would you write iConcept in 3 words?
He answered me with pride "Service and Service." Anyone can sell Apple products, that's the only difference with our competitors, because we know perfectly the products we sell, that's one of the advantages of selling only one brand, when people come to buy an Apple product, they know why they are buying Apple, we offer them a real warranty on their products and the most important of all is that they have access to an after sales service and competent technicians trained by Apple, that's what makes the biggest difference and our biggest advantage over the competition.
It was a short interview but rich in details and explanations, and after all that Florent told me, I'm sure that iConcept and its collaborators have good days ahead of them for a long time.
Very good topic