Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2016 - 19

Labistour: We're looking at implementing
new technology systems that will enable us
to be more flexible in the way we do things.
Our basic systems today can cope with
inventory management and we can track
items once a sale has been made. But all of
the tracking still requires labour. We still
need to throw labour at the analysis and
the batch transfers. Someone still needs
to make it happen for the information to
integrate. Ideally in the future, the system
will be able to do that for us, and we can
take people off those tasks and put them
into customer facing roles. But the key in
my mind is to not let the technology be the
driver. The customer has to be the driver.
Des Roches: If I were to comment on

technology in general I would say: The
smartphone has changed everything. We
know it is a powerful way to communicate
your brand via social media. Our website
and email has been a wonderful tool for
communicating with our current customers. But, we struggle with how to gain new
customers and drive business into our
stores and online using social media. We
find there are a lot of promises for clicks and
impressions but not a great deal of quantifiable experience that results in bottom line.

Lawson: We're a 95-year-old company. From a structural point-of-view, we
haven't really invested in robust technology systems to support the business. So about two years ago, we started talking about the investments we
could make and, of course, how those investments would ultimately help our
customers. We're right in the middle of an ERP update, a revamp of our supply chain system and our POS system. Again, it's all being considered and
implemented with our consumer and their needs in mind.
Green: The implementation of any kind of technology needs to be driven

by the needs of your customer and also has to be to be rooted in the culture
of your company. We will be investing heavily in technology over the next
few years to help drive our business. Whatever investments we make, from
innovation and efficiency to growth and strategy, the technology has got to
make sense for us, and for where we are going.

68%
Saving time and money
40% consider themselves
early adopters, and 68 per
cent agree connected devices will save them time and
make their lives easier.
Source: 2015 survey by Primus and
Ryerson University

Letts: We equipped our store staff with tablets three years ago to assist them

in customer service. The adoption of the device by our employees was slow.
We were late in implementing e-commerce into our business, launching in
English just 15 months ago and in French in November. We are working on
enhancements to current technology and prioritizing new projects.

Jones: We've taken a look at quite a few technologies and tested them. But

the adoption from our consumers has been low. We look at possible investments every day to try and figure out what makes sense for us and our customers. There are so many other places in retail to put your money. We need
to make sure that wherever we invest is making the most sense for us, our
customers and the business.

www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

Canadian adopters
Study cited 44% of Canadians
are somewhat or very likely
to adopt connected devices.
Source: 2015 survey by Primus and
Ryerson University

THE LOSS PREVENTION ISSUE | CANADIAN RETAILER

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Holiday 2016