Press Release - June 13, 2018

Fnac Darty publishes the first ever "After-sales Service Barometer", a ground-breaking study of product durability

  • Fnac Darty has launched a wide-ranging study to inform the public about the durability of household appliances and multimedia equipment, using innovative indicators. This barometer will be renewed annually to see how the industry is changing.

  • To mark the occasion, the Group has announced four commitments in terms of product durability to contribute to the transition to a more circular economy.

Conceived by Labo Fnac working with Harris Interactive, the after-sales service barometer is based on a survey of 27,543 Darty customers, and an analysis of 591,271 Darty after-sales service interventions in 2017, covering 15 categories of products. The study will be freely available in fullon the Labo Fnac website as of June 14.

This first edition of the barometer reveals:

  • - Repair is a major issue: currently, 55% of purchases are made after a product breakdown, although many brands promise to provide replacement parts for more than 10 years after purchase.

  • - The availability of replacement parts, which may be up to 11 years, is the decisive factor in the repairability of a product and is therefore expected to be a key criterion at time of purchase.

  • - More than one in two malfunctions is due to inappropriate use, lack of maintenance, or a software fault. So, over half of malfunctions are resolved without replacing any parts, and up to two-thirds of dishwasher faults for example.

  • - Product lifetime varies between three and more than 10 years depending on the product family. The reason for replacement may be because the customer wants new functionalities, or because the product has broken down.

  • - The most innovative brands are committed to offering longer availability of replacement parts. This allows their customers to extend the lifetime of their products. Apple, Bosch, Liebherr, Magimix, Miele, Moulinex, Samsung and Siemens all highlight for their respective products the fact that their replacement parts are available for up to 11 years after purchase.

  • - Simpler product design also allows some brands to appear in the Top 2-year reliability rankings.

PRESS CONTACTS

Alexandre André: +33 (0)1 55 21 54 46 -alexandre.andre@fnacdarty.comClaire Fournon: +33 (0)1 55 21 57 10 -claire.fournon@fnacdarty.com

About Fnac Darty

Operating in eleven countries, Fnac Darty is a European leader in the retail of entertainment and leisure products, consumer electronics and household appliances. As of end of December 2017, the Group, which has 26,000 employees, has a multi-format network of 728 stores, including 502 in France, and is ranked France's second most visited e-commerce site (nearly 20 million unique visitors per month) with its two retail websites, fnac.comanddarty.com.A standard-setting omni-channel retailer, Fnac Darty posted pro-forma revenue of €7.4 billion in 2017.

Press Release - June 13, 2018

This barometer forms part of the company's general commitment to the circular economy. As the leading repairer in France with 2.5 million service interventions a year and more than 2,000 after-sales service staff, the Fnac Darty Group is the first ever retailer to promise to extend the lifetime of its products and has announced four additional commitments:

  • 1. To publish a repairability score for the products tested at Labo Fnac. As of July 2018, this score will be

    available for laptops. In addition to being useful information for consumers, the score will also assist the company in thinking of ways to promote the circular economy.

  • 2. To post the Darty after-sales service technical knowledge base online. The result of more than 20 years of service interventions by the Darty after-sales service, this knowledge base will be gradually posted online at sav.darty.com starting this summer, and will allow consumers to benefit from Darty's experience to be able to carry out their own repairs.

  • 3. To promote technical support and repair of products regardless of their age. Fnac Darty undertakes to provide technical support for all products, regardless of where they were bought, and repair them provided replacement parts are available, even long after their warranty has expired.

4.

To publish the after-sales service barometer on an annual basis, in order to monitor changes in the repairability and durability of products.

"Making a proactive contribution to extending product lifetime is a major environmental goal for the company: as the leading repairer in France, the data that we collect enables us to work with our suppliers to improve the reliability of their products. As the largest collector of WEEE, we are involved in many initiatives, from our partnership with Envie, to our second-hand sales stores, and the wide-scale book collection drive in association with Libraries Without Borders. By reinforcing our commitment in this way, we are meeting the legitimate, growing concerns of our customers. " says Vincent Gufflet, Commercial Director, Fnac Darty Products & Services.

PRESS CONTACTS

Alexandre André: +33 (0)1 55 21 54 46 -alexandre.andre@fnacdarty.comClaire Fournon: +33 (0)1 55 21 57 10 -claire.fournon@fnacdarty.com

About Fnac Darty

Operating in eleven countries, Fnac Darty is a European leader in the retail of entertainment and leisure products, consumer electronics and household appliances. As of end of December 2017, the Group, which has 26,000 employees, has a multi-format network of 728 stores, including 502 in France, and is ranked France's second most visited e-commerce site (nearly 20 million unique visitors per month) with its two retail websites, fnac.comanddarty.com.A standard-setting omni-channel retailer, Fnac Darty posted pro-forma revenue of €7.4 billion in 2017.

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Fnac Darty SA published this content on 13 June 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 13 June 2018 15:12:12 UTC