Couple weeks ago Inditex, one of the world's largest apparel retailers, went public with their Zara deployment of item level RFID. Pablo Isla, the chairman and CEO, announced that Inditex has already installed RFID at more 700 stores in 22 countries and will complete the rollout of the Zara brand (nearly 2,000 stores) by 2016.
Loss prevention technologies are playing a key role in the deployment of RFID at Inditex. Included in the rollout are dual technology RFID / EAS hard tags, dual technology RFID / EAS point of sale detachers, and a hard tag global re-circulation program.
The Inditex announcement coincides with a ChainLink retail research study on RFID published earlier this year. The top three reasons identified by retailers for deploying RFID included loss prevention in stores, item-level/on floor replenishment from back-stock, and cycle (inventory) counts in stores.
Latest Retail Shrink Data / Why Do People Steal? / New Technologies
In 2012-2013, global retailers lost $112 billion to shrink or 1.4% of retail sales on average. The top 5 countries with the highest shrink as a percent of sales included Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, USA, and China.
This past week, Jack L. Hayes, published his 26th annual USA Retail Theft Survey. Highlights of this latest report:
Regular trips to Asia, retail customer meetings, APAC industry keynotes, and recent business articles confirm that economically China is going "Back to the Future".
Before USA surpassed it in 1890, China was the world's largest economy. By the end of 2014 China is on track to become the world's number one economy once again. This crowning achievement is arriving 5 years earlier than originally projected by the IMF.
It took 155 years for the UK to double its GDP with about 9 million people in 1870. The USA and Germany took 30 to 60 years with tens of millions of people. China and India, with 100 times the number of people than the UK doubled their GDP in one tenth of the time.
Asia Market / Technology Trends
By 2030, the majority of the world’s population will be considered middle class. China and India will have the largest middle class consumption as a share of the world's total population.
Emerging Markets, Technology Welcomes You to Modern Retail
Earlier this month had the pleasure to speak to 100+ business leaders from Central, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, and the Middle East at a conference in Budapest Hungary. This week's post summarizes some of the key insights from my presentation titled "The Future of Retail".
European Market Analysis
In EMEA, only the Middle East and Eastern Europe have 2018 retail growth forecasts that outpace the rest of the world. The Middle East is the only region in EMEA where 2018 GDP will grow faster than the world aggregate.
Russia is experiencing some spending slowdown, but it is still an attractive market. The country has become more mature in modern retail and consumers don't necessary fully cut spending during turbulent times. Moscow and St. Petersburg are increasingly saturated, but other cities offer opportunities. 42 cities in Russia have more than 500,000 people. Modern retail shopping space for the size of the country is still in short supply. The food sector is experiencing double digit growth and consumer electronics are growing 30%. Luxury brands see Russia as a key market with wealth increasing.
The brand consultancy agency Interbrand recently published the "Best Retail Brands 2014" report. Quoting directly from the document, following are key ideas from the 136 page report.
North America
Analysts predict that Amazon will soon carry more than 85% of the products sold at leading retailers, including grocery, at better prices, with more delivery and payment options.
A fully functional mobile presence is a given for every brand; the new onmichannel reality has led to a rise in "connected stores for connected customers."
While e-commerce sales continue to grow 10% per year, questions about the role of brick and mortar seem to be largely resolved.
The store is now a brand experience that drives revenue across all channels.
In an attempt to be closer to one of the global centers of technology innovation, a growing number of retailers are investing in Silicon Valley. Couple examples from the more than a half dozen retail companies making the IT move to California and the innovation gold they are trying to mine:
In February, Walmart opened its second technology center in Silicon Valley. "These centers are tasked with app development and digital coupon projects as well as creating seamless shopping experiences for consumers using online, mobile, social and stores."
In May 2013, Target opened a tech lab in San Francisco. In this center, Target is focusing on mobile apps, online search and social media development, all as foundation to ecommerce expansion.
The growing trend of retailers shaping their own technology development journey is not limited to California:
Throughout history, retail technology has evolved in waves. With the industrial revolution and mass manufacturing, the mom & pop store transitioned to the supermarket. The massive amount of data on shipping trends, i.e. what's selling, placed the manufacturers at the center of controlling the information to drive retail sales.
Bar code scanning in the 1970s transitioned the knowledge power base to the retailer. The planogram, i.e. what to actually place on the shelf for sale, was now a retailer decision.
As discussed in a previous post, we are currently in the middle of the next major evolutionary technology wave re-shaping the retail industry. The foundational elements driving the new retail megatrends include:
Every year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) trade event in New York seems to get bigger and more global. 2014 did not disappoint with over 30,000 retail professionals listening to 300+ industry experts and visiting a record 200,000 square feet of exhibit space showcasing the latest technologies. Brazil had once again the largest contingent of attendees outside the United States.
NRF is a great stage on which to reflect the " Big Ideas " that are reshaping retail. The top 10 from NRF 2014 include:
Product or service differentiation has always been a strategy adopted by the retail industry towards finding that winning formula for growth. Differentiation can take many forms and include price, product quality, store decor, targeted consumer audience, and the business model itself. Two recent examples of successful retail differentiation:
Zara and Fast Fashion
Forbes Magazine recently recapped the successful Zara business model. A team of designers and product managers in Spain oversee design, sourcing and production of specific apparel categories. These individuals monitor closely the sales process of each apparel collection -- from the time the merchandise reaches the stores to the real time customer response.
-- How Piggly Wiggly Built Today's Self-Checkout Legacy --
"An invention acts rather like a trigger, because, once it's there, it changes the way things are, and that change stimulates the production of another invention, which in turn causes change, and so on. Why those inventions happened between 6,000 years ago and now, where they happened, and when they happened , is a fascinating blend of accident, genius, craftsmanship, geography, religion, money, ambition..." (1) -- James Burke
On the journey to learn something new, we travel to Montreux Switzerland. After the creation of a Jazz Festival by Claude Nobs in 1967, the founding of the world-class Mountain Studios inside the local casino in 1975, and favorable tax benefits, this quiet Swiss Lake Geneva (or Lac Léman) town became a destination to create music by legends such as Queen.
The earliest settlement in Montreux dates back to the late Bronze Age. The name Montreux comes from the Latin word monasteriolum, meaning "small monastery". Over hundreds of years, the local language changed this Latin word into Mustruel by 1215, and later into the modern name Montreux.
Deep Purple got the inspiration to the song “Smoke on the water” here. The rock group Queen with lead singer Freddy Mercury recorded 6 albums here. The studio was inside the casino that burned down in 1971 that inspired the Deep Purple memorable song.
For Freddy Mercury, Montreux became his second home; a place where he could escape the spotlight and focus on what he loved most: making music. Today, his legacy lives on through the iconic Freddie Mercury statue overlooking Lake Geneva in this picture.
Being a fan of classic rock, I truly enjoyed my visit to Montreux and blasted “Smoke on the Water” in my ear pods on arrival. This particular pose with Freddy was a personal reminder that life is short and never forget to let your guard down and have fun.
Psychologist Mike Rucker once wrote that "Happiness is a state of mind, but fun is something you can do. It doesn't require education, money or power. All it requires is intentionality. If happiness is a mirage, fun is your backyard oasis."
My oasis is celebrating life, always having a positive attitude, listen to all types of motivating music, and living each single moment as it was my last. At the top of my voice, I will continue to scream that we are all champions of possibilities that must keep on fighting towards our destined end. Rock on my friends.
Confidence in physical retail remains solid this year. More than 55% of survey respondents said they feel confident or very confident about brick-and-mortar performance in 2026, while only around 20% expressed concern. - From Place AI Read more
The Number 1 country continued lead reinforces a broader trend: countries with strong institutions, high trust, and robust social safety nets consistently rank highest in life satisfaction. - From Visual Capitalist
Couple weeks ago Inditex, one of the world's largest apparel retailers, went public with their Zara deployment of item level RFID. Pablo Isla, the chairman and CEO, announced that Inditex has already installed RFID at more 700 stores in 22 countries and will complete the rollout of the Zara brand (nearly 2,000 stores) by 2016. 
lost $112 billion to 
going "Back to the Future".
Earlier this month had the pleasure to speak to 100+ business leaders from Central, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, and the Middle East at a conference in Budapest Hungary. This week's post summarizes some of the key insights from my presentation titled "The Future of Retail".
following are key ideas from the 136 page report. 
trying to mine:
supermarket. The massive amount of data on shipping trends, i.e. what's selling, placed the manufacturers at the center of controlling the information to drive retail sales. 
Every year, the National Retail Federation (NRF) trade event in New York seems to get bigger and more global. 2014 did not disappoint with over 30,000 retail professionals listening to 300+ industry experts and visiting a record 200,000 square feet of exhibit space showcasing the latest technologies. Brazil had once again the largest contingent of attendees outside the United States.
growth. Differentiation can take many forms and include price, product quality, store decor, targeted consumer audience, and the business model itself. Two recent examples of successful retail differentiation:
production of another invention, which in turn causes change, and so on. Why those inventions happened between 6,000 years ago and now, where they happened, and when they happened , is a fascinating blend of accident, genius, craftsmanship, geography, religion, money, ambition..." (1) -- James Burke
