Shutting up shop in tough times: here’s the retail technology news you might have missed last week
Failed to keep up with the breaking retail technology news last week? Then have no fear as RTIH has you covered. Here are the major stories that you need to know about. Includes John Lewis Partnership, New Look, TOMS, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Dsquared2, Getir, and Ikea UK.
John Lewis Partnership appoints Andreas Nicolaides to head up new customer planning team
Andreas Nicolaides will join John Lewis Partnership in October as Head of Customer Planning & Channels.
The retailer, which is currently executing a turnaround plan following a tough few years, says that his remit will include “modernising and optimising John Lewis’s marketing across stores and online in a way which deepens relationships with our customers”.
The role also involves boosting the use of marketing assets to deliver commercial value for the business.
Most recently, Nicolaides was General Manager at N Brown, a UK clothing and footwear digital retailer, with a developing homeware range.
Within this role he led a team of marketing, digital and commercial professionals and had total responsibility for trading and commercial performance.
UK retailers close stores and rethink new openings as Covid-19 lockdowns and ‘crippling’ business rates hit hard
The past five years saw Britain lose 6,000 retail outlets, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Local Data Company.
That’s 6,000 gone in the top 650 town centres in Britain, 2.8% of the total.
The BRC says that crippling business rates and the impact of Covid lockdowns are a key part of retailers’ decisions to close stores and think twice about new openings.
GXO Logistics wins fashion retailer New Look's Click & Collect business in the UK
GXO’s Clicklink service has been selected by fashion retailer New Look to manage its Click & Collect network serving all mainland UK stores.
“We’re delighted that New Look has chosen to partner with us to enhance its Click & Collect offering through our industry leading Clicklink service,” says Richard Ball, Managing Director, Clicklink, GXO.
“One of Clicklink’s chief benefits is speed. We offer next-day in-store delivery and enable the majority of New Look’s returns to re-enter inventory the following day, enabling faster consumer refunds and maximising customer revenues and margins through improved inventory turn and higher full priced sales.”
“Clicklink will improve the experience for New Look’s online customers. Last year, for example, it was still processing customer orders on 23rd December for next day delivery on 24th December. We're committed to providing this high level of service to New Look all year round.”
Shoes specialist TOMS taps Cart.com inventory management, 3PL and fulfilment offering
Footwear and lifestyle brand TOMS has selected Cart.com as its US fulfilment partner.
“Cart.com’s technology leadership and innovation culture make them an ideal partner for us, delivering on our standard of best-in-class service to every consumer we serve, in a complex inventory, supply chain and fulfilment environment,” says Magnus Wedhammar, CEO at TOMS.
“Cart.com’s software enabled inventory, 3PL and fulfilment capabilities will enable us to deliver best-in-class fulfilment, from checkout through the last mile, across our global product line.”
Shopping centres giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield rolls out Goodays Connect customer experience platform
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has shared the first results of its implementation of the Goodays customer experience management platform across 50 shopping centres in 11 different countries – including its Westfield London locations.
The Connect offering was deployed by the group in summer 2022 as part of a drive to re-establish a strong, emotional bond with customers after the disconnect caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
It provides customers at each shopping centre with a system to instantly leave feedback through a wide range of touchpoints – from in-centre QR codes at reception areas to digital and social channels.
Feedback is then routed to each centre team in real-time to take action and make better, data-based decisions on behalf of customers. The solution also enables the group to boost its reputation on public platforms such as Google My Business and Trip Advisor.
Retail technology big hitter Aptos appoints Chief Information Officer and Global General Manager
Aptos reports that Jeremy Grunzweig has been promoted to General Manager of its global business unit.
The company recently welcomed a new executive — Jason James — to its ranks. Serving as CIO, James brings with him over two decades of experience in cloud operations, cybersecurity, IT infrastructure and digital transformation.
Retail technology specialist True brings in ex-Future CEO Zillah Byng-Thorne as Operating Partner
Consumer, retail and tech specialist investment and innovation firm, True, has announced that Zillah Byng-Thorne will be joining the team as an Operating Partner.
Byng-Thorne was most recently CEO at FTSE 250 media and publishing company, Future, where she led a digital transformation of the business.
Prior to that, she held executive positions at global tech and retail companies.
She also served as CFO at Sage Group, the UK's largest software company, and held various finance positions at eBay, where she helped to drive the company's international expansion.
She is currently Chair of Trustpilot, Chair of M&C Saatchi, and NED of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
Criteo and Brandcrush team with Phuzion Media as they aim to make offline retail media shoppable
Criteo and its Brandcrush subsidiary have announced an image recognition tech powered partnership with Phuzion Media, allowing shoppers to find and buy products in-store and via print media using their mobile camera.
This eliminates the need for QR codes, watermarking, or any changes to the creative.
“The Phuzion platform is the natural downstream extension to our media inventory management solution,” says Matt Hurle, Co-founder and Sales Director, Brandcrush.
“Together with Criteo, we handle the buying and selling of omnichannel retail media and Phuzion makes it shoppable and plugs the data gap. It’s a win for the retailer, brand, and consumer alike.”
John Lewis adds Zyler Virtual Try-On solution to its fashion online rental service
Anthropics Technology, makers of the AI powered Zyler solution, has announced a partnership with John Lewis and rental specialist HURR, to introduce virtual try-on technology to the UK retailer’s fashion rental website.
The site, which lets customers rent dresses for a selected amount of time, now enables people to see how the dress looks on them online via a “Try it On” feature.
They upload a headshot and sizing information to try the outfit on virtually, from the comfort of their own home.
Luxury apparel brand Dsquared2 enlists Astound Commerce for launch of online flagship store
Dsquared2 has partnered with Astound Commerce to launch a new online flagship store.
Eager to exercise complete ownership over its online storefront and e-commerce operations, Dsquared2 says it wanted to provide “a high touch, fully localised, and seamless online experience where customers in every market enjoyed the same level of service and convenience if shopping locally”.
It required a swift turnaround time to implement its D2C solution, just 16 weeks.
Astound leveraged its proprietary accelerator, Launch360: Storefront, to reduce cost and speed time to market, upgrading the company’s legacy Salesforce Commerce Cloud implementation to a fast, modern reference architecture.
Ikea UK aims to get closer to customers with launch of new Plan & Order Point in Preston, Lancashire
Ikea UK has opened a Plan & Order Point in Preston, Lancashire.
This is a smaller store dedicated to kitchen and bedroom planning, which customers can visit for home furnishing advice and expertise to help design their ideal space.
The launch marks the third opening of this format in the North West of England, following its introduction in Aintree last December and Stockport in March. It comes as part of the retailer’s bid to become more accessible for customers shopping with it across the region.
The Plan & Order Point is situated in Deepdale Retail Park with a showroom that spans over 120 sqm/ 1,300 sqft.
It will also house a Click and Collect space, meaning that customers can order any Ikea product, either online or with help of co-workers in the Plan & Order Point, and pick it up from the unit, free of charge.
RELEX Solutions helps Getir ‘reap benefits of autonomous, adaptive, and unified supply chain planning'
Rapid grocery delivery firm, Getir, is partnering with RELEX Solutions.
This will see it gain an integrated suite of capabilities, including forecasting, replenishment and allocation, new inventory optimisation, clearance optimisation, and promotion forecasting.
RELEX tech will be used in all of Getir’s stores and distribution centres worldwide to enhance product availability and freshness while reducing food waste.
RELEX is also teaming up with delivery partner DemandTex, a consulting group that provides analytics and implementation services to retailers around the globe. This will play a significant role in implementing the solution and providing local support for Getir.
Mars teams with Valtech and commercetools for composable commerce powered D2C initiative
Mars is laying claim to “the world’s most comprehensive example of composable commerce in play for multi-brand enterprises going direct-to-consumer (D2C)”.
As a result of the deployed solution, delivered by Valtech in collaboration with commercetools, Mars claims to have boosted incremental in-year revenue for a leading snacking D2C proposition by 20% YoY.
“With our composable commerce platform, we now have the technology foundation to support mms.com, the largest D2C business in Mars Snacking,” says Jarid Lukin, Global Senior Director at M&M’S.
“This technology not only improves our ability to offer personalised M&M’S to consumers and businesses, but it also gives us the speed and agility to launch new value propositions to celebrate those you care about in a fun and meaningful way.”
London’s brilliant: Under Armour deploys connected fitting rooms at new Oxford Street store
Under Armour has unveiled a new Brand House on London’s Oxford Street.
The location, which opened on 20th July, is the latest in a series of Brand House openings following Westfield Stratford, Battersea Power Station, and Liverpool ONE.
The design of the Oxford Street store is inspired by the City of London and the London Underground. Existing structural elements in the space are cladded with hand crafted local tiles in black and white, with the brand logo applied to represent how Under Armour is strongly connected with London and its athletes.
"This renowned retail location represents our dedication to delivering an exceptional retail experience to our valued customers, and we are thrilled to join the esteemed brands already on Oxford Street,” says Kara Trent, Managing Director EMEA at Under Armour.
“We are a growth brand, and the Oxford Street Brand House marks an exciting milestone for Under Armour as we expand our presence in the UK and the wider EMEA region."
Lavazza distributor Bluespresso launches composable commerce store for Netherlands and Belgium on BigCommerce
Lavazza has launched a new store on the BigCommerce platform to support sales in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Through distributor Bluespresso, the brand offers coffee products to both consumers and business customers in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Its new site for the Netherlands and Belgium, developed by BigCommerce partner rb2, uses a composable commerce architecture and technology integrations.
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