06 NEWS
OASIS IN DIGITAL STORE REVAMP O
asis recently opened a brand new fl agship store in London’s West End that
places digital technology at the heart of the shopping experience. The new store represents the culmination of a £7 million, 18-month programme of investment in its UK store portfolio that also included the roll out of Apple iPad tablet mobile devices to shopfl oor staff. The suite of iPads, outnumbering
the store’s fi xed tills, is equipped to handle transactions and also allow customers to fl ick through the brand’s latest online look book. Further
WAITROSE
PLANS SECOND BIOMASS ENERGY
CENTRE A biomass energy centre that will reduce carbon emissions by more than 1,000 tonnes a year is being developed for Waitrose’s new store in Bracknell. MITIE, the strategic outsourcing
and energy services company, has started work on the tri-generation plant, which will supply the supermarket with heat, electricity and chilled water.
This is the second energy centre MITIE has developed for Waitrose. The fi rst, at the retailer’s East Cowes store, will be up and running in December. The Bracknell plant, which will source woodchip from local sustainable woodlands and reduce the carbon negative store’s typical consumption of grid electricity by 69% and gas by 84%, is due to be up and running by the end of March. It is part of wider planned collaboration between MITIE and Waitrose, which will help the supermarket chain achieve a carbon emissions reduction of 15% by 2020/2021.
mobile point of sale innovations will be introduced in the store over the coming months as part of ongoing multichannel development work with existing supplier BT Expedite. Liz Evans, Oasis managing
director, commented: “The growth in multichannel – especially internet – retailing means customers are demanding more from physical stores: more excitement, outstanding service and a more personalised experience driven by new technology. We believe our Argyll Street store will lead where others will follow.” Ish Patel, Aurora Fashions Group
strategic development director, told Retail Technology magazine: “People may wonder– with digital cameras, mobile phones and even queue-
busting devices already available – why retailers haven’t embraced mobile instore in this way before. When we were building our mobile apps the iPad wasn’t around. But the huge acceleration we’re seeing in bandwidth, software and hardware means devices like the iPad have the simplicity, usability and ergonomics to do it all.” The retailer plans to roll out its new design concept to its store in Westfi eld Stratford City, which is scheduled to open in Spring 2012.
RIVER ISLAND OVERHAULS RETAIL IT MANAGEMENT
Fashion retailer River Island has overhauled its international store operations with retail management and business analytics software from provider Torex. The provider recently completed the roll out of the Torex Retail-J suite across 267 stores in the UK, Ireland and Benelux region to provide centralised control and management of electronic point-of-sale (EPoS) and personal digital assistant (PDA) operations. The Retail-J suite provides the functionality to control prices, products, promotions and inventory across the retailer’s international network of stores and facilitate the introduction of a gift card scheme, to offer added customer value.
The fl exible technology infrastructure also supports Payment Card
Industry (PCI) payment data and application security compliance, enabling quicker and more streamlined customer payment transaction times. Running alongside Torex Retail-J, Torex business analytics and loss
prevention software will provide River Island with a single source for all business critical data. These systems will monitor performance by store and by product across the estate to provide timely and accurate information on all business areas, allowing River Island to make faster and better informed management decisions while identifying issues such as shrinkage and internal fraud.
Chris Clubbe, River Island IT director, said: “Having realised we needed
an EPoS system that would meet the rapidly changing needs of our business, as well as the retail marketplace, we chose to work with Torex. Its Retail-J solution is fl exible, offers a huge amount of functionality and can provide central control across international markets. It has allowed us to introduce a gift card scheme while also providing a platform for our multichannel offering.”
RETAIL TECHNOLOGY NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011
◆ A number of retailers
announced they would offer free instore Wi-Fi access in the run up to the Christmas shopping period this year. PizzaExpress, Phones 4u and Ted Baker all signed deals with The Cloud, while John Lewis chose BT Openzone and House of Fraser partnered with O2 to offer free wireless internet as part of an integrated joint marketing campaign.
◆ Selfridges Group has extended its commitment to DigiPoS Store Solutions by opting to implement DigiPoS Quantum Blade tills across its Selfridges store in Manchester Exchange Square, and the new multi- touch, all-in-one Tocarre bezel-free display screens at its Brown Thomas store in Dublin.
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