For this project we have decided on Cărturești as the selected company.

The commercial society

is known as SC Direct Client Service SRL, a Romanian organization that activates in the B2C
market. The main sector of activity is the retail industry, the company managing to become very
popular, by being positioned as a different bookstore, where customers, beside books, can also
purchase tea, music, office suppliers and games. The company also features an online shop with
almost 300.000 products. In this sense, Cărturești prides itself with a fast delivery, thus showing
placing customers at the center of its activity. Moreover, the company has went on to creating a
strong base of customers or a cultural community by developing a forum where clients can send
their feedback and also share ideas, opinions or participate in the events or book launches
organized by Cărturești.

The founder of Cărturești, Șerban Radu, stated that the company’s mission is to create a unique
experience, regardless of the shop.

The target market of the company is represented by young adults, people who have a preference
for reading and books in general, but who also would enjoy a true experience of a special place
like Cărturești. What gives Cărturești a competitive advantage is, firstly, the experience gathered
in their almost two decades (the company has been founded in 2000) and, secondly, the mix of
books, painting, music and art in general. Cărturești has also won many awards such as best
teashop in Bucharest (2013 TripAdvisor), Excellence Awards (2012), multiple Food & Bar
Awards (2011, 2012, 2013).

1. Assessing the information needs of the company

Since it has developed spectacularly as a book shop and due to the multitude of products it has
on stock, Cărturești disposes of huge amount of data. In this sense, it is required a very good
database which will allow the management of different stocks of goods and also the relationship
with suppliers, since there are many shops available in different cities.

It is crucial for the information to be updated and provide a functional flow. Also, Cărturești’s
database must have specific details about the consumers in terms of demographics,
characteristics, buying patterns, preferences. In this way, the managers will be able to build
profiles for the consumers and be aware of future trends. In terms of competition, it is important
to know customers’ preferences (by observational research) in order to build effective strategies.
In this sense, important elements are prices, turnovers, profits, debts. Also, the company should
be aware of other competitors that activate in the online environment, who may display lower
prices or promotions in order to attract customers.

Our research shows that Cărturești mostly imports their products from international distributors
and in this sense, a database that keeps the management updated with the governmental laws and
macroeconomic aspects (general state of economy, exchange rates, development of new
technologies and gadgets) would be very useful.