Industry News - September 26th, 2008
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RETAIL AND TECHNOLOGY NEWS |
REI Opens Second Green Store
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Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) opened its second prototype store to
test the performance of green building features, including technology
and environmentally friendly materials, and new retail design concepts
on September 26, 2008.
The store, located in Round Rock, Texas, is projected to consume 48
percent less energy than a typical store that meets industry standards.
As part of the company's prototype initiative, findings from the
working laboratory will help the company determine how it approaches
green building design and construction in the future.
Among its features, the Round Rock store will generate a portion of its
power from a building integrated photovoltaic system, solar panel
installation and a solar hot water system. These features will generate
13 percent of the store's electricity and heat 70 percent of the
store's water used for restrooms and employee showers. In addition,
Solatubes will diffuse natural light, offsetting electrical consumption
by an additional five percent as an automated lighting system dims or
turns off unneeded artificial lighting throughout the store. All
additional power needs will be met through green power, specifically
energy generated from biomass digesters.
Other features that improve the store's performance include building
insulation; mechanical equipment and controls that monitor and regulate
the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, saving 25 percent
of energy consumption; a 'cool' roof designed to reflect the sun's
radiation and save energy by lessening the store's need for air
conditioning by 10 to 15 percent; and water-efficient plumbing
fixtures, which reduce water usage by 30 percent.
The store's appearance will differ greatly from more traditional retail
designs because of the incorporation of recycled and sustainable
materials. Sunflower seed husks, recycled tennis shoes, carpeting
manufactured through a climate-neutral process, and reclaimed wood from
fallen trees are incorporated throughout the store on the floor,
perimeter walls, fixtures, displays, benches and table tops.
"The green building practices incorporated into our Round Rock store
help us to dramatically reduce our energy consumption, save natural
resources and provide a better experience for employees, co-op members
and customers," says Sally Jewell, REI president and CEO. "This store
will not only have reduced operating costs, but we've significantly
reduced our dependency on fossil fuels."
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Blue Nile Adds Bill Me Later |
Blue Nile customers now have the option to pay for purchases with Bill
Me Later when shopping online or over the phone. Blue Nile also is
offering customers that pay with Bill Me Later no payments for 90 days
on purchases of $250 or more.
As an online retailer of diamonds and fine jewelry, Blue Nile is
continually looking for ways to make it easier to complete important
purchases, especially during the holiday season.
"We chose to launch Bill Me Later now to give customers the option to
finance their important purchases and pay for them at a later date,"
says Diane Irvine, chief executive officer, Blue Nile. "Customers can
benefit from the convenience of Bill Me Later, further enhancing their
Blue Nile experience now and throughout the gift-giving season."
n less than six months, Jones was able to launch the first two brands,
Easy Spirit and Nine West, as well as get other sites, including Jones
New York and Bandolino, well underway. Jones will now leverage the
functionality and development environment that is already in place to
quickly launch additional brands on an as-needed basis.
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Fujitsu Consolidates North American IT Divisions |
Fujitsu Group announces it will establish a new company, Fujitsu North
America Holding Inc. to strengthen Fujitsu's solutions business base in
North America. This new company brings together Fujitsu Consulting,
Fujitsu Computer Systems Corporation, and Fujitsu Transaction Solutions
under one unified corporate structure and is scheduled to be
established on October 1, 2008.
The move is designed to generate greater synergies among the three
companies by consolidating their IT strengths under one structure. This
will enable the organization to respond to client needs with integrated
suites of IT services and solutions from Fujitsu. Bringing together the
application services of Fujitsu Consulting, the system platforms of
Fujitsu Computer Systems and the retailing solutions of Fujitsu
Transaction Solutions will foster greater collaboration, integrate the
Fujitsu Group's strengths in IT services and system platforms, and
enable a unified approach in providing clients with a broad portfolio
of products and services.
Fujitsu has appointed Farhat Ali as its new president and CEO of the
new company. In this capacity, he will lead the business synergy effort
of the new operation while continuing with his current responsibilities
as president of Fujitsu Computer Systems.
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Aéropostale Extends E-Commerce Partnership with GSI |
Aeropostale extends its e-commerce agreement with GSI through 2018.
Aeropostale will continue to benefit from its full-service, integrated
platform, including e-commerce technology, order management, customer
care and fulfillment, and interactive marketing services through GSI's
marketing services division, gsi interactive.
As part of this contract extension, Aeropostale will gain digital
solutions including usability, Web design, interactive technology, and
product photography. gsi interactive, which is the full-service digital
marketing and design agency of GSI, will also be Aeropostale's primary
e-mail service provider for the company's e-mail marketing campaigns.
"We have been very pleased with the growth and evolution of our online
business since launching with GSI in 2005," says Julian R. Geiger,
Aeropostale's chairman and chief executive officer. "We are excited to
continue working with GSI to maintain and build upon this growth, while
focusing on delivering the best shopping experience for our customers."
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Puma Adds Workforce Management
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In an effort to maintain and enhance levels of service, Puma
selects Kronos for Retail, a workforce management platform from Kronos.
Puma deploys Kronos applications for sales and labor budgeting,
optimized scheduling, time and attendance, absence management, and
workforce analytics across all U.S. Concept and Outlet stores. Puma
also uses the system to develop additional processes, optimize
workforce alignment to customer demand, simplify compliance, and
improve store productivity.
"Puma selected Kronos for its retail industry expertise, coupled with
its ability to provide a complete solution for enterprise workforce
management," says Jay Piccola, president and general manager at Puma
North America. "Puma is a growing, multi-faceted, sport lifestyle
brand. Given these complexities, we need a partner that understands our
business and our brand. Kronos for Retail will help us achieve
operational excellence at the store level and therefore create an even
more positive customer experience."
Optimized store scheduling is critical for maximizing customer
satisfaction. Puma can schedule effectively by ensuring that the right
people with the right skills are in the right places at the right
times. The retailers also uses Kronos for Retail to integrate labor
budgeting, forecasting, scheduling, and reporting, leverage historical
sales, customer demand, and store profile data. The system also is able
to derive annual and weekly sales and labor plans, which, combined with
actual labor spend, will enable enterprise visibility and control of
store productivity in real time.
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