Cegid tech powers The Latest experiential retail initiative

The Latest has opened a new concept store in Berlin, with plans for the UK and China to follow next year.

The 260 sq. m store features up to a hundred curated products, from manufacturers and brands around the world, ranging from hi-tech face masks to electric delivery bikes.

The Latest co-founder Dhi Matiole Nunes, comments: “None of the products on show are available through other bricks and mortar retailers in Germany (other than directly from the manufacturer, or online marketplaces).”

“All are quite new, with a degree of innovation that makes them different from anything else on the high street.”

“We provide the space and the expertise required for products that are so new or innovative that they’re not yet sufficiently appreciated,” he adds.

Manufacturers rent the space, paying a monthly fee for three to six months, with 100% of sales going directly to the brand (often using the manufacturer’s own e-commerce and distribution channels).

The retailer doesn’t buy or own any stock (although some is held at the store). It simply acts as a partner and middleman between the brand and the consumer.

The idea is to offer a platform and test-bed for new ideas without manufacturers having to invest heavily in their own stores, staff or retail PoS technology.

‘Experience Experts’ are on hand to explain things in detail, demonstrate and record feedback, rather than hard sell from a list of features already available online, Nunes adds.

"At the moment, the retail sector is undergoing a massive change. To have a future, retail needs to be redefined,” he comments.

“We believe that with the expertise of our Experience Experts, we can decisively shape the quality of the customer experience by taking consumers on an experience journey. We want to arouse curiosity and persuade through competent advice without sales pressure.”

Nunes adds that it doesn’t matter if browsing customers go away and buy on another platform, like Amazon.

What’s important is showing off the product and generating interest, as well as accumulating data on the consumer: registering and inviting them for future product launches and events; or recording their likes and dislikes and passing that information back to the manufacturers.

Cegid technology

Staff are armed with mobile devices and Cegid Retail’s software to help present features and get closer to the customer, including the ability to quickly process sales directly from the shop floor.

“Cegid provides us with a unified commerce platform to manage everything from frictionless payments, sales and Click and Collect to CRM, stock management and reporting,” says Nunes.

“It brings all our data and channels reliably together, providing accurate, up-to-the-minute information across our retail, social media and partner-linked businesses.”

“What we didn’t want was a mish-mash of different systems that don’t talk to each other and where it’s difficult to get data meaningfully together,” he states.

Cegid was chosen largely because its cloud solution was already being used in 60 other stores that The Latest backer Avantgarde manages across Europe, mainly in Germany, Austria and the UK.