How Omni-Commerce is shaping the customer trust engine behind Leroy Merlin’s national growth
French DIY retailer Leroy Merlin’s rise in South Africa is often attributed to its expansive stores, wide product ranges, and competitive pricing. But the true engine behind its growth is a trust-building, algorithm-assisted retail model that turns casual browsers into committed buyers.
Omni-commerce — a seamless shopping experience where online, in-store, and mobile channels are fully connected — ensures customers can browse, buy, and get support anywhere.
South African-born Claudia Krishna, Omni-Commerce Leader for Leroy Merlin South Africa, has spent nearly eight years helping shape the company’s hybrid customer experience, which blends digital intelligence with specialist in-store expertise.
Her background large-scale retail operations, customer journey design, and cross-functional leadership — skills that have been invaluable in developing a new retail model in a challenging market.
Working under CEO Frank Dufourq, she brings customer insight and operational excellence to the expansion strategy as Leroy Merlin grows beyond Gauteng into a national footprint. A standout in South Africa’s DIY and hardware sector, Krishna shares her perspectives in this article.
A Home-Improvement Market Demanding a Smarter Retail Model
South Africans are no longer renovating for design alone — they’re fortifying their homes against water outages, infrastructure strain, load-shedding, and rising maintenance demands.
Categories like backup water systems, solar solutions, home repairs, insulation, and DIY essentials have surged as resilience becomes a national priority.
Claudia observes this shift firsthand: “Customers aren’t just buying products anymore. They’re solving real problems in their homes — often urgent ones — and they expect us to guide them through it.”
At the same time, the South African consumer is highly digital. They check stock online, compare pricing across devices, expect seamless interactions at every touchpoint, and increasingly rely on guided selling to navigate complex home-improvement decisions.
“The customer journey is no longer linear,” Claudia adds. “People move between online and in-store constantly. They want consistency, expert advice, transparency, and zero friction — no matter where the journey starts.”
This convergence — resilience-driven demand plus digitally assertive shoppers — created a major gap in the DIY retail market. Retailers needed to provide expert guidance, digital convenience, and integrated services, not just products on shelves.
Leroy Merlin recognised the opportunity early, and it evolved into a repeatable, scalable model that continues to redefine home-improvement retail in South Africa.
The Trust Engine: How Leroy Merlin Converts Browsers into Believers
When Leroy Merlin first opened in Gauteng, customers often browsed out of curiosity rather than intent. To close this credibility gap, the brand developed a trust engine built on two pillars: digital intelligence and human expertise.
1. Digital Intelligence That Predicts and Smoothens the Customer Journey
Claudia worked closely with the implementation team to ensure that the advanced deep-learning algorithms directly addressed customer pain points and optimized the overall user journey.
- Guided buying recommendations using AI integration.
- Services integration at key decision moments
- Real-time stock visibility
- Seamless online-to-store transitions
This digital backbone ensures that whether a customer enters through the website or visits a store, the experience feels intuitive, personalised, and supportive.
2. Specialist Staff Who Deliver “Human Assurance”
Data gets customers in the door, but expert staff get the job done. The stores offer hands-on workshops and services like contractor bookings.
Staff are equipped with mobile tools to check stock, verify prices and sign up for loyalty cards anywhere in the store, making the physical experience fast, easy, and trusted.
This hybrid approach turned Leroy Merlin into a destination customers trust for complex, high-stakes projects.
The Data That Fuelled Expansion Confidence
The strong performance of stores in Fourways, Greenstone, Little Falls, Boksburg, and Centurion validated the model. Digital adoption was high, first-time visitors increasingly converted, and service bookings grew.
Coastal online traffic indicated significant demand outside Gauteng, particularly for water resilience, solar, and renovation products.
This data underpins bold expansion moves:
- R220 million investment in Cornubia (Durban) as both a flagship store and coastal logistics hub
- Alberton (opening April 2026) to penetrate high-density residential and contractor areas
- Expansion into the Western Cape, completing the national anchor footprint (date TBC)
Omni-channel insights help the leadership team evaluate where digital intent translates into real, physical demand.
Leadership Built for a Continental Vision
Claudia’s impact goes beyond operational excellence. She recently completed the International Executive Leadership Programme with UCT, in partnership with the Wholesale & Retail SETA — a programme focused on strategic leadership, transformation, and emerging-market competitiveness.
Her global travels and international exposure further enhance her understanding of retail trends, customer behaviour, and emerging-market opportunities, strengthening Leroy Merlin’s expansion strategy.
Training and human development are cornerstones of Leroy Merlin’s approach. In 2026, the company will open a Training Academy in Centurion, where staff will receive hands-on development led by suppliers, ensuring expertise and excellence across the national network.
A Human Connection from the Inside Out
As Leroy Merlin expands nationally, the strategy emphasizes continuity of care — from employees to customers. Claudia’s hybrid model ensures that while technology drives efficiency, the human element remains central.
This commitment is reflected internally through the new Centurion Training Academy and the ADEO global share scheme, which has turned over 800 South African employees into co-owners. CEO Frank Dufourq notes, “For the first time, every South African employee shares in the value we create together.”
By investing deeply in its people, Leroy Merlin’s mission is that every customer encounters a motivated, invested team. South Africa isn’t just ready for a new home-improvement leader; it is ready for one where the value placed on employees is mirrored in the service delivered externally — proving that true retail success and trust are built on relationships, not just transactions.
