STORES Magazine - February 2009 - (Page 44)

NUTS AND BOLTS / INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Shear Technology Replenishment system helps trim inventory management issues at Ratner salons BY LEN LEWIS he salon business is not always about cutting hair. Sometimes, it’s about getting the right products to the right place and cutting inventory. T This was the issue for Ratner Cos., a Vienna, Va.-based operator of nearly 900 salons. The solution was an inventory management and replenishment system from Tomax that reduced inventory 20 percent without creating out-ofstocks. Retail.net also increased employee productivity, manages all facets of salon management for Ratner, including handling client data, booking appointments and completing sales transactions. “It’s very difficult to increase new technology in the salon environment, so we relied on the centralized approach by Retail.net to deliver comprehensive applications,” says CEO Dennis Ratner, noting that capitalizing on real-time information would provide a higher level of service and value for customers. With Retail.net, applications and data are centralized in the salons, which are connected via a wide area network (WAN). This facilitates real-time transaction management and information collection, and the result is an integrated online solution that supports everything from merchandising through store execution. “For the past year, replenishment has not been an issue,” says Tim Lemieux, Ratner’s senior vice president and CIO. “People in the salons are getting the products they need and they’re really sold on the system.” Ratner has several banners to meet the needs of a varied clientele. Along the way it has also built up a brisk business in hair products, including its own 4044 STORES / FEBRUARY 2009 item Cibu private label line. The primary brand is the Hair Cuttery, an 800-store value-priced chain that offers a full complement of salon services on a walk-in basis (no appointment necessary). Fifty salons under the Bubbles and Salon Cielo names are more upscale, with the latter offering full spa services. Another 15 Salon Plaza stores rent booths to stylists “who want to be in their own business … bring in their own customers and charge what they want,” Lemieux says. (One other brand, Colorworks, is in the process of being closed. “It overlapped with other upscale brands,” Lemieux says, and “we decided to focus on doing fewer things better.” Ratner also divested some underperforming salons in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina in 2008 because “we felt our investment would be better spent in other locations. Considering the economy, it was a good move and provided some significant cash for refocusing our growth,” which is scheduled “People in the salons are getting the products they need and they’re really sold on the system.” — Tim Lemieux, Ratner Cos. http://www.Retail.net http://www.Retail.net http://www.Retail.net

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - February 2009

STORES Magazine - February 2009 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Are You a Pusher or a Puller? What Shoppers Think Online Retail Satisfaction 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Cover Story - Something’s Got to Give First Look Concept2Watch Online Partners Merchandising Sustainability Inventory Systems Drug Store Systems Business Intelligence Inventory Managment Online Marketing Supply Chain - Better Data, Better Decisions Returns Management - Identifying Fraud Data Security - Securing Intimate Data Anti-Shoplifting - Mall of Shame? Risk Management - Securing Consumer Confidence Loeb Retail letter ARTS Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar End Cap

STORES Magazine - February 2009

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