It’s Friday, the weekend is almost upon us, so let’s kick back and reflect on another eventful week for the retail systems space. Here’s your briefing on the most important stories from the past few days, including Hugo Boss, Currys, Ikea, McDonald’s, Asda, NewStore, The Fragrance Shop, Uber Direct, and M&S.
1. Hugo Boss XP loyalty programme heads Stateside after UK, France, Germany and China launches
After launches in the UK, France, Germany, and China, Hugo Boss is bringing its XP loyalty programme to the USA.
This integrates into the Hugo Boss app, combining traditional loyalty features like levels and points with Web3 elements.
Customers can collect and redeem tokens (NFTs) through purchases and interactions across various channels and with both brands. These tokens unlock exclusive products, unique brand experiences and special offers from Boss and Hugo or sponsoring and cooperation partners.
In a LinkedIn post, Jan Philipp Wintjes, Executive VP Global Omnichannel at Hugo Boss, said: “What makes XP different? It’s built for a truly omnichannel world: Familiar tier-based membership enhanced with Web3 and blockchain innovation; Frequent visitor tokens that reward in-store check-ins with exclusive access; One connected journey across online and offline touchpoints.”
He added: “For us, this is more than a loyalty programme, it’s a new era of engagement, designed to strengthen relationships, foster community, and set a global benchmark for customer experience.”
2. Currys connects with De’Longhi to craft coffee machine focused intuitive digital experience in stores
Currys has partnered with De’Longhi for an in-store campaign that aims to help customers find the right coffee machine for them, quickly and easily.
In a LinkedIn post, Naveen Sarvananthan, CI Technology Support Manager at Currys, said: “When you walk into any store, you’re likely to see a wall of coffee machines with different models and different features, which can be overwhelming if you are not sure what you are looking for.”
“That is why we have teamed up with De’Longhi to simplify the process and help customers find the right machine for them, quickly and easily. We are really proud of the tech we’ve built into the new De’Longhi tables that are now rolling into stores. While the fixture design looks amazing (big credit to the wider team!), I wanted to shout about the tech experience that brings it to life.”
The aim here was to build something that’s simple, helpful and works easily. Motion sensors trigger the screen to grab attention of customers as they walk by. Dual located screens mean the experience is always in view, no matter where they approach from.
A help me choose experience involves people asking curated questions to narrow down the perfect coffee machine. Customers can explore the full De’Longhi range from Currys’ website, in-store. It also recommends matching accessories and gives a quick overview of who De’Longhi are.
3. Chief Digital and Technology Officer Rachel Higham departs M&S in wake of devastating cyber attack
M&S Chief Digital and Technology Officer Rachel Higham is leaving the retailer months after a cyber attack hit its systems at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds.
Conducted by a group called Scattered Spider, this brought its online operations to a halt and resulted in empty shelves in stores.
A former WPP and BT Group executive, Higham was appointed by M&S in 2014. In an internal memo, it said she was “stepping back from her role…Rachel has been a steady hand and calm head at an extraordinary time for the business, and we wish her well for the future.”
At the time of the appointment, Stuart Machine, M&S Chief Executive, pictured below, said that Higham joining the business, along with Mark Lemming becoming International Managing Director, “reflected the importance of Digital & Technology and capital light International growth to the next phase of our transformation. As I set out at our recent Capital Markets Day, we have more to do in both of these areas and so much opportunity.”
4. Asda hits major milestone as Project Future sees food depots migrate to new SAP platform
Asda reports significant progress delivering Project Future – pitched as Europe’s largest systems implementation programme – which involves the separation of more than 2,500 systems from former owner Walmart and aims to lay the technological foundations for the grocery giant’s future growth. A recent milestone involved the retailer’s food depots.
In a LinkedIn post, Gemma McFarlane, Head of Portfolio – Supply Chain Systems at Asda, said: “After years of planning, problem solving, pivoting (and plenty of coffee), the Future Programme officially hit a major milestone last month.”
“We’ve successfully migrated integrations for 21 Food Depots from Walmart to our new SAP platform. The pace? Depot 1: October. Depot 2: January. Depot 3: April…then we hit full throttle and delivered 19 depots in just 15 weeks, including three in three days, which must be an industry first.”
Asda also converted the WMS of its electrical returns centre to Manhattan Active and integrated it to SAP, and did the same with the WMS of its general merchandise import centre.
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