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METRO Group Expands RFID Roll-out
METRO Group is deploying Sirit's INfinity 510 UHF RFID reader
and Reva's TAP 331 appliance as part of the recently announced
expanded rollout at METRO Group's Real brand hypermarket stores.
The 200 Real locations will be equipped with Checkpoint portals
powered by Sirit readers at the loading doors to track incoming
goods. Reva's RFID network infrastructure will be installed
at each location to provide device management and data processing.
Sirit's INfinity 510 readers will be used to track pallets
and cases as they arrive at the stores to improve supply chain
efficiency. Reva's TAP 331 appliances will be used to manage
the distributed network of RFID installations, to produce
accurate data from each site, and to provide rapid operator
feedback during logistics operations. This 200-location rollout
builds on last October's successful implementation during
which Sirit readers were deployed at 100 Real hypermarkets
and Reva TAPs were installed at all RFID-enabled facilities.
"We believe in providing exceptional customer service,
and that starts with having the right items in the right places
at the right times," said Dr. Gerd Wolfram, managing
director of MGI METRO Group Information Technology. "RFID
is a powerful tool for improved inventory management which
will have a positive impact on customer experiences at our
Real stores. Reva and Sirit deliver the RFID infrastructure
we can rely on today and in the future to build even more
value for our customers and operations."
METRO Group has been a pioneer in the use of RFID in the
retail industry since 2004 when the company announced it would
begin using RFID throughout its supply chain to improve inventory
visibility and to enhance the customer's shopping experience.
Both Sirit and Reva Systems have been involved in METRO Group's
RFID activities from the outset, having been involved in the
Future Store Initiative, several pilots, and now the Real
expanded roll-out.
Burlington Coat Factory Selects Business Intelligence and
Data Warehousing Application
Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse selects QuantiSense for
its business intelligence (BI) and data warehousing solution
and has begun implementation within its merchandising operations.
With almost 400 stores nationwide and aggressive growth plans,
Burlington embarked on a BI and data warehousing initiative
in order to gain more merchandising insight, further streamline
its reporting process, and continue to improve the quality
and timeliness of its analytics. Burlington Coat Factory operates
a complex merchandising mix that includes more than 10 million
SKUs and multiple divisions, ranging from apparel and footwear
to baby furniture and home décor. The company sought
a BI solution that would put analytics and reporting in the
hands of business users, allowing them to quickly access critical
business information.
Burlington Coat Factory evaluated 13 vendors and chose QuantiSense
based on the company's exclusive focus on the retail industry,
the use of industry standard hardware and software components,
the ability for QuantiSense to handle the complexities of
retail, and the ability for the QuantiSense software to be
quickly implemented.
"Businesses today can't afford to wait 18 months to
implement a solution," said Brad Friedman, Senior Vice
President of Information Services, Burlington Coat Factory."QuantiSense
showed extraordinary responsiveness to our needs and quickly
rose to the top in our evaluation process."
QuantiSense software provides the retail-ready, online analytical
tools that will help Burlington continue to improve its merchandising
analytics. QuantiSense will enable Burlington Coat Factory
to improve the consistency and timeliness of its data through
role-based dashboards, exception reporting that pinpoints
problems and opportunities, and QuantiSense Playbooks, which
capture retail best practices and guide users to take immediate
action to improve their business. QuantiSense will source
data from Burlington's homegrown systems as well as NSB for
planning.
The QuantiSense application provides both IT and business
benefits to Burlington Coat Factory, including:
* Strong merchandising analytics: The QuantiSense application
will give Burlington Coat Factory the merchandising analytics
it requires, out of the box."QuantiSense has a very thorough
understanding of merchandising," said Tara Newhall, Vice
President of Merchandise Planning Operations, Burlington Coat
Factory.
* Elimination of manual reporting tools: Through dashboards,
exception reporting and Playbooks, QuantiSense software will
eliminate the need for Excel spreadsheets and manual aggregation
of data for reports. The QuantiSense application will allow
Burlington's users to "work how they think," with
stream of consciousness navigation and drill-down capabilities.
* Fast implementation. Burlington Coat Factory closely evaluated
the underlying technology of the QuantiSense application -everything
from installing the software to the ETL (Extract, Transform
and Load) processes - in order to determine the resources
that would be required for implementation.
"We evaluated the overall level of effort required
by both the vendor of choice and our internal resources to
get the decision support application up and running,"
said Friedman. "QuantiSense will bring us a fast time
to market in business intelligence."
JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Reports Record FY 2007 Results
JoS. A. Bank Clothiers announces record results for its fiscal
year ended February 2, 2008. Net sales reached a record of
$604.0 million in fiscal year 2007, representing a 10.5% gain
as compared with net sales of $546.4 million in fiscal year
2006. The Company ended fiscal year 2007 with no debt and
$82.1 million of cash.
Fiscal year 2007 contained 52 weeks and fiscal year 2006
contained 53 weeks, consistent with the National Retail Federation's
4-5-4 week calendar. Total net sales and Direct Marketing
sales comparisons presented herein use the actual number of
weeks in each fiscal period. Comparable store sales comparisons
presented herein use the corresponding weeks in the comparable
prior fiscal period.
Comparing the 52 weeks of fiscal year 2007 with the 53 weeks
of fiscal year 2006, total net sales increased 10.5% to $604.0
million from $546.4 million and Direct Marketing sales increased
13.1%. Comparing the 52 weeks of fiscal year 2007 with the
first 52 weeks of fiscal year 2006, comparable store sales
increased 3.8%.
American Apparel Deploys RFID at the Item-Level
American Apparel rolls out radio frequency identification
(RFID) at the item-level. The apparel retailer tracks individual
items as they are tagged at the company’s manufacturing
facility in Los Angeles, received in its retail stores, stored
in the stock rooms at the stores, and then placed onto the
sales floor and ultimately sold at the point-of-sale (POS).
By using an item-level RFID system, American Apparel is able
to fulfill its vision of consistently offering merchandise
in every size and color on store floors at all times, creating
a more rewarding customer experience and simplifying the inventory
process for in-store staff. Store associates can now take
inventory much more quickly and with greater accuracy. Replenishment
activities have been dramatically improved resulting in on-floor
availability at over 99%. Weekly inventory processes can now
be accomplished with just two people in two hours instead
of requiring four people for eight hours as previously needed.
As a result, store associates have more time to service customers
and improve store merchandising in order to make sought out
items easier to find.
Known for its vertically integrated business model and “Made
in Downtown LA” clothing, the company deploys the integrated
solution delivered by Vue Technology is comprised of TrueVUE
hardware and software products, fixed and mobile RFID readers
and antennas from Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility business,
and tags and printers from Avery Dennison.
The initial deployment of American Apparel’s roll-out
took place at the company’s Columbia University location
in New York City. To date, over 40,000 individual pieces of
merchandise have been tagged so that store personnel can use
fixed and mobile RFID readers to track inventory on a real-time
basis, contributing to a well-stocked store and improving
customer service through timely responses to customer questions
regarding in-store merchandise.
“American Apparel takes pride in being a vertically-integrated
manufacturer, distributor and retailer of fashionable, high-quality
basics, and we embrace any technology that allows us to further
realize this vision to better serve our customers,” said
Zander Livingston, RFID technology director for American Apparel.
“We look forward to deploying the technology on a larger
scale so that our entire organization can leverage the value
of RFID to improve overall inventory management processes
and enhance our customers’ shopping experience.”
By deploying the technology in additional stores, American
Apparel expects to increase sales and customer service by
having real-time visibility into product at nearby stores,
enhancing the intra-store transfer process to balance stock.
Furthermore, the retailer will be able to respond more efficiently
to market behavior by using RFID to record and report on purchases,
not only within one location, but across a region of stores.
American Apparel plans to implement its RFID inventory system
across each of its 17 stores in the New York metropolitan
area over the next three months, with plans to eventually
deploy the solution to an additional 120 North American locations.
Deb Shops Implement Nationwide Loss Prevention Service
Deb Shops implement a full-service program designed to tackle
loss prevention at all angles, from detection through examination,
awareness, resolution, compliance and prevention. The system,
by LP Innovations, provides Deb Shops with access to a nationwide
network of loss prevention specialists trained to reduce the
stores shrink and operational costs; increase the presence
of LP experts in each store; and enable the organization to
adopt a proactive stance against shrink.
Specifically designed to help retailers protect profits,
LP Innovations program provides Deb Shops with the following:
Control & Compliance Audits & Store Visits
Target Store Program
Associate Training & Awareness Program
Loss Prevention Awareness Kits
Exception-Based Reporting Solution
LP101 Training Meetings
“We chose to partner with LP Innovations because of
their reputation to respect and seamlessly integrate into
corporate cultures such as ours, and their commitment to customer
service‚ said Barry Susson, Chief Financial Officer of
Deb Shops. “We look forward to leveraging nationwide
talent and expertise to strengthen our operations and improve
our profitability.
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