Including Ikea, Primark, and Etmana: last week’s biggest retail technology plays at a glance

RTIH rounds up the stand out retail systems deals, launches, deployments and pilots from the past seven days. Including Ben Sherman, Ometria, Flying Tiger Copenhagen, Deckers Brands, Legion Technologies, Collect&Go, Exotec, GO Outdoors, Nedap, InPost, and Manchester City.

Ben Sherman

Customer data and experience platform Ometria has added Ben Sherman as a customer.

The company says: “British brands don't get much more iconic than this. For over 60 years, the Ben Sherman shirt and brand have been a mainstay of youth culture; from the mods of the 50s to the Britpop stars of the 90s.”

“To continue cementing their fashion legacy, they needed a partner that would help them unify their data and, consequently, gain a full understanding of their customers.”

"Partnering with Ometria will give us a deeper and clearer understanding of our customers than we've ever had. We're excited to explore the entire customer journey, pinpoint different customer segments and their behaviours, and ultimately create personalised experiences that boost growth and loyalty,” says Steven Moriarty, Head of CRM and Insight at Ben Sherman.

Ikea

Ikea has announced the roll-out of new digital accessibility and inclusion initiatives.

This includes partnering with the Vantaa store in Finland to test out a live navigation tool to help blind and low vision customers. Additionally, the tool can help those who do not speak the local language by providing voiced directions in over 30 languages.

Ikea is also investing in an automated crawler to enhance accessibility checks across the company. This will complement the existing self-assessment guide and template that product teams already use, with the aim of ensuring more comprehensive and consistent accessibility improvements. 

Flying Tiger Copenhagen

Flying Tiger Copenhagen is launching a new app and customer club across 21 stores in Ireland. 

This is part of a global roll-out aimed at gaining deeper shopper insights and enhanced customer experiences.

It went live on Wednesday and customers who sign up via the app will instantly receive discounts ranging from 10% to 20%, applicable to in-store purchases

Andre Filomeno, Senior Vice President for "Customer & Digital" at Flying Tiger Copenhagen, comments: "We have seen a successful launch of the app across the Nordics, Germany and England in 2024. The roll-out to Irish customers is the first market expansion of 2025, and we're delighted to introduce the app here, as Ireland holds significant importance for our business. This launch will enable shoppers in Ireland to access exclusive discounts and offers." 

The Flying Tiger Copenhagen Club is free to join and the app can be downloaded via the App Store and Google Play.

Collect&Go

Exotec has been selected by Collect&Go, Colruyt Group's online grocery service, to further automate one of its warehouses in Londerzeel, Belgium.

The installation of Exotec’s next generation of Skypod system will aid the Belgian firm with the ongoing optimisation of its online grocery picking process.

Collect&Go has more than 200 collection points throughout Belgium, reaching more than half of the country’s households. The Collect&Go service has been operating for 25 years.

Kirby Risk

Tecsys, a specialist in supply chain management software, reports that Kirby Risk, an electrical supply, manufacturing and logistics organisation with over 40 locations across the US Midwest and Southeast, has selected its warehouse management system, Elite WMS for Electrical Distribution.

By implementing Tecsys’ purpose built WMS integrated to its legacy Eclipse ERP, Kirby Risk says it is enhancing warehouse efficiency, increasing inventory accuracy, and maintaining high standards in customer service.

"We are committed to providing reliable electrical supply solutions that help our customers stay ahead in a competitive landscape,” says Joe Hart, Executive Vice President at Kirby Risk Corporation and senior vice president of Operations at Kirby Risk Electrical Supply.

“Tecsys’ Elite WMS integrated to our Eclipse ecosystem provides us the tools to enhance productivity, reduce costs and ensure consistent, high quality service, reinforcing our position as a leader in electrical distribution.”

Primark

Primark is set to complete the roll-out of its Click & Collect service to all 186 stores across Great Britain by this summer.

From 26th February, Click & Collect will go live in a further 18 stores, which takes the number of locations offering it to 131, almost three-quarters of the retailer’s estate in Great Britain.

As part of the roll-out, people will be able to access thousands of Primark products through Click & Collect for the first time, across women’s, men’s, kids clothing and homeware.

The service also gives people access to new and expanded ranges they might not otherwise be able to get in their local store, including a clothing range which launched last month and has been specially designed around the needs of those living with a disability in partnership with adaptive designer and disability campaigner, Victoria Jenkins.

Deckers Brands

Legion Technologies is working with Deckers Brands, parent company of UGG, Koolaburra, HOKA, Teva, and AHNU, to better align the retailer’s workforce management with the evolving needs of its business.

By promoting data driven decision-making, automating key administrative tasks, and enabling flexible scheduling, the Legion WFM Platform is designed to enable Deckers Brands to improve its labour operations while simultaneously boosting employee satisfaction across its retail locations worldwide.

It supports efforts to streamline workforce compliance by helping managers navigate local requirements and jurisdiction specific scheduling insights.

The solution, built on the Legion AI framework, supports more than 70 workforce management use cases, including scheduling, demand forecasting, compliance, and frontline communications.

Etmana

GoWit, a specialist in retail media advertising, has announced a partnership with Etmana, an online fashion marketplace in Egypt and the Middle East.

Emrah Adsan, CEO at GoWit, comments: “We are thrilled to join forces with Etmana, a dynamic and influential online fashion marketplace in the region. As the leading retail media provider in Turkey and the MENA region, collaborating with more retailers and helping them explore the potential of retail media is of great value to us."

"It is particularly exciting to form another strong partnership with a leading online fashion retail shop across the region where we are highly active and influential. By empowering Etmana’s brand partners with our state-of-the-art self-service platform, we aim to drive exceptional growth, brand visibility, and customer engagement. We look forward to achieving remarkable success together.”

InPost

Parcel lockers specialist InPost is squaring up to Royal Mail with the launch of a new customer to customer product - Send.

"Our new service makes sending parcels easier than ever. No more labels, no more queues," says Neil Kuschel, CEO UK at InPost. "Putting both senders and receivers of parcels in control for the first time, Send makes standing in queues and buying labels a thing of the past."

Using the InPost app, customers can buy a QR code to post parcels from any InPost out of home point (locker or shop) and send to another OOH point or directly to an address. With no labels or printing required, parcels are fully tracked through the app.

GO Outdoors

GO Outdoors has been trialling body worn cameras at its store in Stoke to find new ways to deter theft and keep store colleagues safe.

This comes after the retailer announced its partnership with The Retail Trust, a charity that works to protect the lives of retail staff. 

Claire Cowie, Stoke store manager, comments: “Body cameras have been a game-changer. They’ve not only deterred theft but also increased confidence amongst staff that they are safe when they come to work. The added layer of protection has been well received by our genuine customers.”

“It’s brought a new level of trust and transparency to our store. Crucially, the business has been proactive in equipping us with these tools, enabling us to react swiftly and effectively to the concerning increase in retail crime we’ve faced.”

GO Outdoors will use the trial to inform future decisions at the company’s locations across the UK.

CAPRI GROUP

Nedap has been chosen by CAPRI GROUP to deploy iD Cloud for its brands Alcott and Gutteridge. The roll-out will encompass all stores across Italy, as well as Austria, Germany, Spain, Greece, Armenia, and UAE.

Marco Buono, COO at CAPRI GROUP, says: "RFID will enable us to achieve our strategic objectives of improving the overall customer experience at all stages of the buying process.”

“In such a competitive and volatile environment, reliable information is always crucial to meet our international growth objectives. Having the security of being accompanied by a partner with the experience and capabilities of Nedap in the fashion industry gave us full confidence that we were in the best hands to help us realise our full potential."

With the initial phase focusing on optimising in-store operations and customer experience, CAPRI GROUP plans to expand the iD Cloud implementation to loss prevention and supply chain solutions.

HAC

HAC, operator of 74 supermarkets in Oklahoma, USA, is deploying Local Express' Made-to-Order omnichannel solution at its 36 Homeland and 11 United stores for its prepared foods, catering and food services operations.

Homeland shoppers can now place customisable orders for holiday family meals, party trays, vegetable and seafood trays, butcher bundles and more from their home or office. The Local Express system also enables the retailer to optimise inventory and labour resources.

Flying TIger Copenhagen

Flying TIger Copenhagen has opened a new store in Morges, Switzerland located between Geneva and Lusanne.

The store is unique in that it's the first one opened by the retailer with a full concept from scratch.

In a LinkedIn post, Rene Klemmensen, Retail Manager at Flying Tiger Copenhagen, said: "The store is super optimised with everything from Beststore, which is our tool that ensures optimal store operations with good and healthy routines, and which makes it much easier for the manager and staff to manage the location and which ultimately benefits our customers with a high standard and not least world class customer service which is our top priority."

He added: "But it doesn't stop there. From week six to week 21, we're doing a total roll-out in all stores in this country so that by summer we'll be ready with the strongest schwitz we've ever had and not least super optimised stores with full concept and Beststore in all stores. And hopefully also new stores on the map and I can reveal that there are already more on the way."

Manchester City

Manchester City has announced a multi-year global tie up with Publicis Sapient, naming the company as its official digital business transformation partner.

Publicis Sapient will support the Premier League side's ongoing digital transformation strategy, leveraging its SPEED – Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering and Data & AI – capabilities.

As part of the partnership, the Publicis Sapient brand will be prominently featured across pitch-side LED advertising at the Etihad and Joie Stadium in the UK and across the xlub’s social media channels. 

Roel de Vries, Chief Operating Officer, City Football Group, comments: “As a club, we are continuously working to strengthen our digital ecosystem. We are therefore delighted to welcome Publicis Sapient as our official digital business transformation partner."

“Through the new partnership, we will benefit from industry leading software and innovative solutions that further reinforces our position at the forefront of technological advancement in the sport industry.”