UK fashion retailer sets sights on growth through improved planning software implementation

UK fashion retailer sets sights on growth through improved planning software implementation

Contemporary British fashion designer and retailer of women’s apparel, Hobbs, is to implement the QuickAssortment planning system from speciality retailing software provider Maple Lake.

The ‘out-of-the-box’ deployment is designed to improve the planning process, enable better financial control and more targeted range assortments for its online, wholesale and store channels.

The retailer expects the preconfigured software to be fully implemented within five to six months, instead of the industry norm of approximately two years.

Alison Reupke, Hobbs head of product merchandising, said: “As we diversify into new channels we need a suitable technology solution to support our business and future growth. We look forward to using this new product and the benefits it will bring to standardising Hobbs’ processes.”

Supporting diverse inventory and store mix

Gaining improved planning flexibility and visibility enables companies to managing the increased pace of change within inventories, as more demanding customers expect up-to-the minute styles and fashion-led merchandise. It also gives the ability to shift from slow-selling lines to more popular products, to increase sales and reduce costly overstocks and markdowns.

Maple Lake’s chief executive, Mark Stone, said the QuickAssortment software works by taking sales data from existing systems to automatically produce a ‘hierarchy of needs’ to identify the most profitable lines: whether for individual stores, online or international sales channels. It can show users a forecast of stock and sales and the impact of, say, ordering more A-line dresses, or changing a particular supplier.

And he added that it could also suggest the ideal product mix and volumes before actually buying or allocating to stores. Alerts can even flag up anything likely to be a concern, such as low profit margin items, or missed sales due to stock-outs.