California Apparel News

NEWYORK—The show floor aisles were packed—as were the seminars and paneldiscussions—at the Jan. 13–16 run of the NationalRetail Federation’s BigShow at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, where exhibitors reporteda strong turnout of retailers looking for technology to help build or maintaina competitive edge.

“The whole retail industry hasbeen ripe [for new technology]; there’s a lot of old technology that has beenaround,” said Paul F. Magel, president of the application solutions group for Computer Generated Solutions.“Consumers are forcing them; they’re demanding that omnichannel experience atretail.”

New York–based CGS introducedmobile point-of-sale software for MicrosoftDynamics AX Retail, which will support AppleiPod and iPhone platforms. With Mobile POS, retailerscan perform point-of-sale transactions—such as sales, voids and returns,bar-code scanning, processing discounts, and searching for item or priceinformation—“on the fly,” according to the company.

Newmobile applications were key for ECVision, as well. The Iselin, N.J.–based company introduced a product safetymodule with mobile applications, allowing auditors to conduct and post auditsin real time, said AmyDeCicco, marketing associate for the company.

DeCiccosaid the show’s attendees were focused.

“This year, people are comingin with a game plan,” she said. “People want to get things moving. They are goingstrategically to the vendors they need to see. It’s a competitive market. Fromlast year to this year, they really need something to get ahead.”

Jordan Lampert was at the showdemonstrating how his company’s software helps streamline inventory managementand staff efficiency.

The chief operating officer ofDover, N.H.–based Truecount dropped a sealed box on a reader,and instantly a list of the content appeared on a nearby screen. In addition tothe actual contents of the box, the software compares the contents to themanifest and indicates how much replenishment inventory is needed on the salesfloor.

“You can see how fast inventoryis received, moved to the floor and sold,” he said. In addition to the laborsavings from tracking inventory receiving with RFID rather than using a hand-heldscanner, there’s a “sales uplift” as well, Lambert said. Truecount helpsmanagers “make sure employees are doing what they’re supposed to be doing on thefloor.”

Lampert founded the companywith Zander Livingston, who previously led AmericanApparel’s RFID initiative.

“[We] built a very simple butpowerful interface,” Lampert said. Truecount’s intuitive design was creativewith retail employees in mind. “In retail, it has to be simple because there’shigh turnover in stores,” he said.

Another new development on theshow floor was AdvancedPricing Logic’s software program, which allows retailers to optimizepricing based on several “influencing factors,” such as supply, salesperformance, seasonality and competition.

Dave Leonard, chief executiveofficer of the Seal Beach, Calif.–based company, describes it as “anevangelical product.”

“There is an ROI in the demo,”he said. “The hardest thing for us is getting prospective clients to wrap theirminds around pricing science versus [just] looking at their competition. Oncethey see it, they’re convinced. They can see the value."

APL primarily works withhardlines retailers such as hardware and electronics stores, but the softwarecould be applied to large apparel retailers, as well, Leonard said.

This was the largest-ever BigShow, with 27,600 attendees, according to Matthew Shay, president and chiefexecutive officer of the NRF, who welcomed the group at an early session onJan. 14.

Last year, the NRF’s messagewas on the retail industry’s position as a major employer of 42 million peoplein the United States. This year, the organization is focusing on innovation.

“Today’s retailers are on theleading edge to deploy new technologies to reach customers,” he said. “Thelines between bricks and mortar and online are converging because that’s whatcustomers want.”

Shay also outlined somechallenges to the industry and urged retailers to use their clout as major employers—“retailersemploy one in four U.S. jobs”—to influence change.

“As businessmen and -women, youdo have influence in the community to talk to your political leaders,” he said.

Among the challenges facingretailers, outlined by Shay, are reforming the corporate tax code, continuingto open international markets and immigration reform.

“For many, this country hasbeen a place for entrepreneurial promise,” he said. “We need an immigrationsystem that ensures we can contract the brightest, most-skilled workers—whereverthey come from.”

Outgoing NRF Chairman TerryLundgren, the chairman, president and chief executive of Macy’sInc., introduced the event’s keynote speaker, Nobel Prize winner and formerUnited Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

“You may ask why a Nobel[Peace] Prize winner is speaking to us today,” Lundgren said. “Peace andprosperity are closely linked. One of the pillars [to peace] is economicgrowth."

Annan underscored retail’s rolein the global economy. “The retail industry has an important role to play,” hesaid. “We live in a world where population is growing very fast. We need to beable to create new jobs.”

Stephen I. Sadove, chairman and chief executiveof Saks Inc., waselected on the opening day of the convention to succeed Lundgren as NRF chairman.