BT acquires Fresca

BT has announced the acquisition of Fresca Limited, the specialist retail ecommerce service provider. Established in 2000 and headquartered in High Wycombe, UK, Fresca provides fully managed and hosted e-commerce services to over 20 retailers and e-tailers such as Mosaic Fashions (whose brands include Oasis, Karen Millen, Warehouse, Shoe Studio, Principles and Coast), Thomas Pink, Great Little Trading Co., Habitat, Moss, Phase Eight, Whistles and Harvey Nichols.

The acquisition of Fresca will allow BT Expedite to offer a comprehensive ecommerce platform, highly customisable web store front and the flexible integration capabilities of its e-commerce engine. Fresca's domain expertise and complementary technologies will provide BT Expedite with the platform to deliver an integrated multichannel shopping experience to retailers and customers.

Helen Slaven, CEO of BT Expedite, said: "We are delighted with the acquisition of Fresca. Through its existing products Fresca gives BT Expedite a full suite of solutions to support multichannel retailing. Fresca brings to us a strong product set and one of the sector's leading experts in online retailing. We look forward to working with retailers as their multichannel strategies develop."

BT is acquiring the shares in Fresca from the management and employees. The gross assets of the company as at 31 March 2007 were £0.85 million.

www.btfresca.com

IP-based cameras used in shopper counting solutions

Experian FootFall, the pedestrian counting services provider, has chosen a range of Sony's mini-dome, fixed and pan-tilt intelligent IP network cameras to strengthen its current sensor-device line-up which includes traditional thermal and laser imaging. This will enable remote monitoring of in-store activity through integration of a counting system and video image reporting.

With a client base spanning the retail, property, financial and transport industries, Experian FootFall counts and validates the equivalent of the world's population every year. Its counting devices provide the critical conversion rate of people purchasing goods or utilising services in relation to the number of visitors to the venue and accuracy and consistency are key.

Through their capability to distribute images over a network, Sony's IP cameras offer a remote video-verification facility, and provide near real-time analysis reports. The cameras can explain via video footage any count anomalies in the data captured from stores across the network without identifying any individuals.

As Richard Gallois, research and development manager at Experian FootFall, explains, "Sony's sophisticated image processing within the camera is unique within our industry. A combination of Sony's camera technology and image processing coupled with Experian FootFall's tracking algorithms and reporting options leverages the strengths of both partners. Sony's added value services, such as remote monitoring, bring a new dimension to the science of people counting. Integrating people counting with Sony's industry leading video systems is a logical evolution and will bring benefits to Sony's and Experian FootFall's customers. We envisage a rich future working with a partner as competent and technologically advanced as Sony."

Experian FootFall's Sony technology applications will be available from February onwards.

www.sonybiz.net
www.experiangroup.com

Perfumery opens new London store with Eurostop retail management system

Al Qurashi, a newly opened perfumery store in Knightsbridge, London, has chosen to use WinRMIS retail management system, provided by retail systems provider Eurostop. The store, a new venture opened at the end of 2007, sells natural essential oils imported directly from Saudi Arabia. An established company over 100 years old with more than 150 perfumery stores across the Middle East, it is known for its pure blends of Ambergris, Aoud, Musk and Taif Rose oils and is now expanding its operations with its first shop in the UK.

The company has invested in Eurostop's WinRMIS to manage its wide range of products and stock levels and WinPOS to capture sales data at till point. Eurostop was selected following its successful use in another of the company's outlets in Northern Ireland specialising in Italian Fashion Accessories. The store will be able to track sales and monitor best selling lines through the WinRIMS sales reports, ensuring that it maintains the most profitable lines and monitors stock usage.

Diana Wagner, general manager at Al Qurashi commented:"We wanted an efficient retail system that could support the store and sales from the start. We were already familiar with Eurostop's systems and knew that their solutions were ideal for an independent specialist retailer like us. They enable us to keep a tight watch on what is selling and what is not to determine promotions and customer preferences."

Philip Moylan, sales and marketing manager at Eurostop said, "Eurostop has proven experience and expertise in providing retail systems that support niche independent stores. Such businesses rely upon accurate, daily sales figures in order to be able to stock to meet seasonal and fluctuating demands with minimum wastage. Al Qurashi is an independent retailer that has recognised how important it is to invest in systems right from the start of setting up a business to ensure successful growth. "

www.eurostop.co.uk

Thorntons conducts reverse auction for suppliers

As part of a series of managed reverse auctions for Thorntons, Wax Digital has helped the leading high street confectioner to a significant saving on the cost of bouquets in time for Valentines Day - a saving of over 30% on current prices.

"We conducted an eAuction with a number of florists who competed to give us the best combination of price, quality and service for the supply of individual bouquets to Thorntons' customers," said Caroline Simpson, senior buyer, Thorntons.

"Each florist was invited to take part in the reverse auction event after submitting high-quality tenders for the contract - and the results were very successful. We finally chose a supplier who supplies beautiful bouquets at a saving of over 30% on current prices."

"Wax Digital's eSourcing platform has proved to be a highly effective procurement tool for our business, delivering significant and sustainable benefits to Thornton's, helping us to obtain more competitive pricing from suppliers and a greater knowledge of the market," said Simpson.

www.waxdigital.com