Retailers are beginning to notice that technology’s role is one of an enabler. Essentially, information technology can speed up processes and deliver cost saving benefits to the company. So how to extract more benefits from IT you ask? Ask the experts, The Silicon Review “10 Fastest Growing Retail Companies 2019.”

1. Technology Business FeaturesLeadership CIOs
Interactive E-commerce
Marketplace by the world’s
influencers and stars.
RELEVANT
Robbie Antonio | CEO
www.thesiliconreview.com
Fastest Growing
1
Retail
Companies
SR 2019
U.S. Issue July 2019
The future ahead for retail: the latest tech trends in the industry / Pg No - 08

4. Best,
Vishnu Vardhan Kulkarni
Managing Editor, The Silicon Review
editor@thesiliconreview.com
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Anusha
Retail is detail!
Retail is one of the most volatile industries, and
Information Technology continues to reshape
retail in interesting and unexpected ways. With
the increasing globalization of retailing, both in
terms of their points-of-sale and their points-
of-supply; the IT spend in the retail sector has
increased significantly. IT plays an increasingly
important role in the management of complex
retail operations.
Market knowledge, as well as control of data
and information, is the key to obtaining a
competitive advantage in the retail sector.
Markets are continuing to grow and become
more complex; the simple process of retailing
has started to deploy more advanced retail
information systems to cope with all the
transactions involved.
Retailers are beginning to notice that
technology’s role is one of an enabler.
Essentially, information technology can speed
up processes and deliver cost saving benefits
to the company. So how to extract more
benefits from IT you ask? Ask the experts,
The Silicon Review “10 Fastest Growing
Retail Companies 2019.” Which are
not only distinctly ahead among the peers,
but are helping other companies to gain
momentum along with them. The companies
that are enlisted provide most innovative and
customized solutions in retail, digital marketing,
and e-commerce sectors, and these companies
distinguish themselves from peers by their
ability to forecast future retail trends.
Success recognized to the fullest!

6. CONTENTS
Let’s do good,
Together: Kesko
Mikko Helander
President & CEO
Digital Selling
Solution Designed
for Today’s Industry
Grapevine6
Wayne Gomes, CEO
Retail Tech, Inc.
provides retailers,
grocers, hospitality
chains, and third-
party maintenance
companies their
ideal Point of Sale
solution
Robert Spinner, CEO
Synergizing the
best of online
shopping and
in-store
experience
Brickwork
David Munczinski
CEO
A Truly Nordic
Shopping Centre
Company: Citycon
F. Scott ball, CEO
Connecting people
through fashion
Farfetch
Jose Neves
Founder & CEO
The digital-first
online retail
group: Findel plc
P B Maudsley, CEO
Helping retailers
to resolve
overpayments
and revenue
leakages through
data analytics
Discover Dollar
Subrahmanya Rao
Founder & CEO
A one-stop shop for
air conditioners and
its components for
consumers: Amber
Enterprises India
Ltd
Jasbir Singh
Chairman & CEO
Leveraging Artificial
Intelligence for
Visual Search and
Object Recognition
LexSet
Leslie Oliver Karpas
CEO & Co-founder
10
38
18
46
14
42 50
34
54
Vol - 1.3 | ISSUE - 1 | July 2019 (U.S. Issue)
30

7. FEATURE ARTICLES
A Synergy of Brick & Mortar Stores and E-Commerce
Could Be the Future of Retail
Retail Industry needs A.I. to Transform and Merge with
the Current Trends
The future ahead for retail: the latest tech trends in
the industry
‘Woke-Washing’: ‘An Unhealthy Attempt of Disseminating
Purposeful Message’
Sustainable Living Brands: Unilever’s X-Factor for Growth
5 things to know about safety in Amazon warehouses
Jeroen Wels: ‘FLEX Experiences Creates Radical
Transparency in the Opportunities We Have’
Trends in shopping are being stimulated by growing
competition in retail
“In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is a failure. In a busy
marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible.”
Cashier-Less stores: The future of Retail?
Ways to Maximize Your Success by Minimizing Your Retail
Space
8
28
44
16
36
52
12
32
48
20
40
56
22
COVER STORY
Robbie Antonio, CEO
Interactive E-commerce
Marketplace by the world’s
influencers and stars.
RELEVANT
Retail Therapy; How therapeutic it actually is

8. The future ahead for retail:
the latest tech trends in the
industry
I
n this digital era, everything is
driven by technology and the
Retail industry is no exception.
With the boom of e-commerce,
technology has drastically changed
the face of shopping and has
brought innovative ideas to the
market which has caused major
disruption in the Retail industry.
An ever-changing landscape, retail
has experienced something new
every year and the retailers who
are willing to change and adapt will
survive!
Let’s look at the tech trends which
will change the retail world in the
future.
Augmented Shopping
Gartner indicated in a report that
around 100 million consumers are
anticipated to use augmented reality
in their shopping experience. While
AR has been around for some time,
its adaption on mobile platforms
has lead to AR being used by retail
consumers.
Today well-known brands are
using AR to increase customer
engagement. Lacoste, American
Apparel and Uniqlo have opened
virtual showrooms and fitting
rooms to allow customers to try
products in virtual spaces. Zara
also has joined the race and is using
smart mirrors that read RFID tags
on clothes that have been pulled
from racks to provide suggestions in
a fashion closer to what consumers
see from online stores rather than
brick-and-mortar locations. Ikea
is using an ARKit-based app to
encourage customers to visualize
what new furniture will look like in
a room while moving their phone
cameras around in real time.
Staff-free and cashier-
less stores
Freeing staff members up from
menial and time-consuming tasks is
an important part of re-imagining
the retail landscape in the coming
years. The tools that will allow this
digital transformation include RFID
tags, computer vision systems,
machine learning, IoT devices, and
facial recognition.
One of the most promising concepts
in this area is the cashier-less
Amazon Go store chain. Despite
being not completely staff-free, it
still allows smartphone-wielding
customers to shop quickly,
without time-consuming lines and
checkouts. Vendors in the merchant
terminal industry are also getting
onboard, with Mastercard showing
off unmanned checkout technologies
for use in convenience stores.
Using smart shelves, sensors can be
utilized to tie physical products to
a customer’s virtual shopping cart.
IoT-based systems can then identify
when they and the items exit the
store, at which point the sale is
registered to their credit card.
Voice-enabled shopping
to reduce the sales cycle
The boom in voice-activated
systems has largely been driven by
companies like Amazon and Google
with their Alexa and Google Home
products, respectively. A handful of
competitors, especially Sonos and
Apple, are also driving innovation.
The ever-evolving IoT technologies
will also help smaller competitors
to enter the market. According to a
survey by NPR and Edison Research,
53 million Americans now have at
least a single smart speaker system
at home.
Integrating voice into any device
is easy thanks to the advent of the
Amazon Voice Service. You can
expect to see many products that
will bear the label “Alexa-enabled”
in the near future. This idea found
its way to the Internet of Things
products like smart mirrors,
which deliver varied content in an
engaging manner.
Societal adoption remains the
strongest headwind against voice
technologies. There are continuing
security concerns, and access to
systems is a worry, too. In particular,
parental controls need to be
dependable enough that families are

9. happy to leave speakers sitting
around their houses.
Omnichannel retail
to deliver seamless
shopping experiences
The new age of omnichannel
marketing means that customers
expect a seamless experience
across all channels. They see
items on websites, visit stores,
whip out their phones and start
looking for help. They visit a store,
see an item, save it to their phone,
go home and want it delivered.
They stay online, purchase and
expect a pickup in the store.
In other words, none of the
channels are distinct or
meaningful to them. Look at the
role mobile-based visual search
plays in customers making
buying decisions. Pinterest Lens
lets a user pull out their phone,
snap a picture and find related
pins on the platform in a matter
of seconds. The platform has
experienced 100% year-to-year
growth, indicating interest in
visual search is there when
there’s an app that can do it well.
This also means that other
seamless omnichannel
interactions are open for use.
People are happy to click online
and collect items in the store.
According to a report from the
National Retail Federation,
89 million customers use a
combination of online and
in-store shopping over the
post-Thanksgiving runup for
the holiday shopping season.
Especially enticing for retailers is
the report that omnichannel users
spent $93 more than average
customers.
SR

10. Let’s do good, Together
Kesko
K
esko is a Finnish trading
sector pioneer. The firm
operates in the grocery trade,
the building, and technical trade
and the car trade. Its divisions and
chains act in close cooperation with
retailer entrepreneurs and other
partners.
The firm’s chain operations
comprise some 1,800 stores in
Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, and
Poland. Combining online sales and
digital services with its extensive
store site network, Kesko enables a
seamless customer experience in all
channels.
Together, Kesko and K-retailers form
K Group, whose sales (pro forma)
totaled approximately €13 billion in
2018. K Group is the biggest trading
sector operator in Finland and one
of the biggest Northern Europe.
Kesko employs some 41,000 people.
Kesko’s strategic business areas are
grocery trade, building and technical
trade, and car trade. They are areas
where Kesko has strong expertise
and market positions and they offer
good potential for profitable growth
in the long term.
Corporate responsibility is a
strategic choice for K Group and
integrated into its daily activities.
Responsible purchasing, product
safety, the environment, and good
corporate governance are key focus
areas for its corporate responsibility
work.
Customer and quality –
in everything we do
Kesko was formed when four
regional wholesaling companies that
Our vision is to be the
preferred choice of customers
and the quality leader in the
European trading sector.
Mikko Helander, President & CEO
10 July - 2019

11. had been founded by
retailers - Savo-Karjalan
Tukkuliike, Keski-Suomen
TukkukauppaOy, KauppiaittenOy,
and MaakauppiaittenOy - were
merged in October 1940.
Establishment of Kesko
The new Kesko company started
operating at the beginning of 1941.
The need to purchase goods for
the shareholder-retailers and to
support their business operations
and start cooperation among them
resulted in the forming of the
K-retailer group. The active building
of the K-store network was started
and joint advertising was launched.
The K-emblem was introduced as
the new group’s symbol.
Period of growth
The rationing of goods and
regulation of imports retarded the
growth of trade during the first
years of the 1950s. Towards the
end of the 1950s, when restrictions
were removed, the building of
specialty store networks was
started to complement the general
stores. Kesko played a significant
role in developing the store formats.
At first, the main emphasis was
on establishing a hardware store
network and a warehousing system
for the hardware products offered
by Kesko. In addition, big efforts
were made to develop trade in
agricultural supplies and machinery.
A new course
The retail trade in foodstuffs
underwent great changes during the
1960s. As Finnish people became
less self-reliant in terms of their
daily grocery needs, fresh foods
were added to stores’ selections,
and the trend was for general stores
to evolve into food stores.
Information technology
spurs growth
In the 1970s Kesko continued to
grow steadily, in the foodstuffs
trade in particular. A new store
format - the supermarket - was
successfully launched. Further
steps were taken to strengthen
the specialty store network. The
responsibility for developing store
formats was transferred to the
commercial divisions. Kesko and the
K-retailers entered the retail trade
in the fields of home and specialty
goods and hardware products. The
Kesport chain was established. The
first Citymarket hypermarket was
opened in Lahti in 1971.
New investments and new
owners
The 1980s represented a period
of heavy investment for Kesko.
Building projects included new
business premises for the branch
offices in Turku and Oulu, a new
central warehouse and several
large retail stores. The share
capital was increased to finance
these investments. The number of
shareholders grew by 20,000.
Chain operations start
Kesko was changed significantly by
the establishment of new grocery
store formats and the transfer to
chain operations. Centralization
continued. The number of district
units dropped to five, and they
mainly engaged in the grocery trade.
The forming of chain units and
profit groups, and the incorporation
of operations created a more
customer-oriented, profit-targeted
operating model.
A time for
internationalization
Entry into the Swedish and Baltic
markets that had started in the
mid-1990s gained momentum
at the turn of the millennium.
Major spearheads in the
internationalization process were
the retailing of hardware and
builders’ supplies and the K-rauta
format. Kesko also expanded its
agricultural business to all Baltic
countries, becoming a market leader
in the area in a very short time.
“Our mission is to create welfare
responsibly - for all our stakeholders
and for all society.”
SR
11July - 2019

12. Retail Industry needs A.I. to Transform
C
ustomer behavior is a major
concern for all retailers today.
Gone are those days where the
retailers use traditional methods
to connect to the customers. It
was very simple and easy back
then, but now everything has
changed. People want more techs
and more understanding of the
situation, which brings us to their
behavior. The lack of patience has
made customers lazy and thus
expects the retailers to understand
their behavior. In simple words,
a customer expects the retailers
to understand what they need,
what they want and what they
might need in the future. This has
been a major concern for many
retailers in the world. The demands
of customers have just increased
drastically. Depending on the region
the demands vary, but one this is
common that is human behavior.
This is where Artificial Intelligence
can play its part.
Retailers have to explore the
artificial Intelligence vertical since
it is evolving and companies that
belong to other industries are
coming up with better tech. Also,
A.I. is said to aid other verticals in
terms of growth and development
of their existing tech. Retailers
should consider A.I. for human
behavior so that they can provide
better services. Further, catching
up with the recommendation
engines is the current demand. It
is important to keep in mind the
fact that Recommendation Engines
are currently redefining customer
experience and it also shows
the retail business value chain
transformation, which is shaping up
and is undergoing a transition. A.I. is
further said to enhance the supply
chain aspects of retailers’ business.
It all leads to data-powered
disruption of retails.
Another key factor that is ruling
today’s industry is Data. Firms
owning the best and highest number
of data often find themselves in a
safe zone where one can implement
the existing data collected. When
you talk about retail it is evident
that the retailers will have an
extensive amount of data procured
through regular business. But
smarter retailers are completely
aware of the interaction between
the business and customers.
That is the loyalty and additional
customer revenue. It is said that
by implementing A.I., retailers will
have an operating margin of about
60 percent. But then again only
data and building reports are not
enough. One needs to go beyond
summarizing customer behavior at
an aggregate level. Although, many
would say insights are important
but retailers need systems that will
take actionable decisions through
data and that is more important.
The insights on the behavior of the
customers are way immense than
we imagine. It has now become
mandatory that the retailers handle
customer queries with meaningful
dialogues that are targeted for
individual customers to honor the
shoppers’ preferred level. Thus,
improving the mode of engagement
and also the retailers don’t end up
losing the customer. Summarized
reports are not enough for this move
to happen. It needs technology to
power it and A.I. seems to be the
only option. Although there are
many other options to choose from,
the best option, for now, seems
to be A.I. Not all techs today can
understand customer individuality
and actions in minutes. It is A.I.’s
core and the main reason why A.I.
was made in the first place. Our
current situation clearly shows
that we live in a data-driven
generation where the decision
making is extremely pervasive and
useful if made right. As a result, the
word’s traditional commerce and
e-Commerce are currently merging,
which is making many players in
the current market to follow an
omnichannel. Where data is playing
its part by reconstructing retail and
surely within a few years we will
see a huge difference in how retail
industry functions. Companies like
Walmart, Amazon have already
played their cards. Walmart
procuring Flipkart and Amazon
procuring Whole Foods seems
evident that even the big players
know what’s coming. They have an
advantage in terms of money and
brand value. Medium and small-
sized firms along with big firms with
low brand value need to understand
that now is the right time to make
the move and implement A.I.
Retailers no matter how big or small
should understand that growth
comes with change. Implementing
the current tech and merging with
the right people will surely help
you stay in the retail industry for a
longer period.
“What we need to do is always lean
into the future; when the world
changes around you and when it
changes against you – what used to
be a tail wind is now a headwind. You
have to lean into that and figure out
what to do because complaining isn’t
a strategy,” says Jeff Bezos.
SR
12 July - 2019

13. and Merge with the Current Trends
“If you want to know
how to sell more,
then you better know
why customers buy”
– Steve Ferrante
13July - 2019

14. A Truly Nordic Shopping Centre Company
Citycon
Our shopping centers are located in urban cross points close to where customers live and work, and with a direct
connection to public transport, health care, and municipal services.
C
itycon is a leading owner,
manager, and developer of
urban, grocery-anchored
shopping centers in the Nordic
region, managing assets that total
almost EUR 4.5 billion. Citycon is
No. 1 shopping center owner in
Finland and among the market
leaders in Norway, Sweden
and Estonia. Citycon has also
established a foothold in Denmark.
Placed in the heart of communities,
Citycon’s shopping centers cater to
the everyday needs of customers.
Citycon’s statutory bodies are the
General Meeting of Shareholders,
the Board of Directors and the CEO.
In addition, the CEO is assisted
by the Corporate Management
Committee in the operative
management of the company.
Shareholders participate in the
control and management of Citycon
through resolutions approved at the
General Meetings of Shareholders.
The tasks and responsibilities of
the different bodies are specified
pursuant to the Finnish Companies
Act and Citycon’s Corporate
Governance Guidelines.
Citycon in brief
Citycon owns 40 shopping centers
and 1 other retail property. Of
the shopping centers, 14 are
located in Finland & Estonia, 15 in
Norway, 11 in Sweden & Denmark.
In addition, Citycon leases and
manages 10 shopping centers in
Norway on behalf of other owners.
Citycon’s shopping centers attract
approximately 170 million visitors
annually.
Listed on Nasdaq Helsinki (CTY1S)
since 1988, Citycon Oyj maintains
investment-grade credit ratings
from Moody’s (Baa2) and Standard
& Poor’s (BBB-). Citycon is a
member of the EPRA (European
Public Real Estate Association).
Citycon is recognized as a long-term
player committed to sustainable
shopping center management.
Sustainability
Citycon’s shopping centers are at
the hearts of communities, where
customers live and work. All of its
shopping centers are connected to
public transport. Citycon believes
that operating sustainably is a key
cornerstone in creating long-term
value. The firm is committed to
sustainable development, high
ethical principles, and contributing
to the community in everything
it does. Citycon aims to take into
account environmental aspects and
well-being in the areas surrounding
its properties. It will continuously
look for opportunities to improve
its environmental performance by
reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
energy use, and waste in all its
operations. Citycon is committed
to promoting the health, safety,
security, well-being, and prosperity
of the communities where we
operate.
Environment
Citycon can have an impact on
the prevention and reduction of
emissions through the management
and development of its shopping
centers. The best ways of cutting
greenhouse gas emissions in the
sector are to improve the energy
efficiency of buildings, to reduce
energy consumption and to increase
the use of renewable energy
sources in the properties’ energy
production and procurement. In
(re) development projects Citycon
carries out its projects according
to international environmental
certification processes in order
to minimize construction-related
environmental impacts.
Fair Business
Its stakeholders expect Citycon to
act ethically and responsibly – do
its business the right way. Citycon
consistently complies with the
applicable laws and regulations of
its operating countries in the Nordic
and Baltic region. Citycon’s Code of
Conduct reinforces the company’s
values and lays the foundation for
its business operations, guiding
its personnel to act both ethically
14 July - 2019

15. and responsibly. By
playing fair, with high
ethical standards, the firm
preservesits reputation
and increase its success.
Citycon’s strategy and
activities take into account
and reflect the ethical
principles described in its
Code. Additionally, Citycon
is committed to embracing
high ethical principles and
have a continuous desire
for being a reliable partner
in each community and in
all of its business activities.
The Leader
F. Scott ball, CEO:
“We aim to be the
household name for
Nordic shopping
centers. The three
focus areas of our
strategy are right
assets, retail experts
and strong capital
base.”
Citycon’s mission
is to offer the
best retail space
and everyday
shopping
experience in
urban centers
in the Nordics.”
“
F. Scott ball, CEO
SR
15July - 2019

16. Trends in shopping are
being stimulated by growing
competition in retail
S
hopping is a major source of
revenue for the retail industry.
With increasing revenues and
burgeoning internet usage, large
corporations involved in retail
have been innovating newer and
better ways of attracting customers
and cultivating brand loyalty.
Here are some of the cutting-edge
innovations that are shaping the
future of how people shop:
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) is one of
the hottest technologies shaping
the entertainment industry. But its
applications cannot be understated
when it comes to retail. Simply
put, AR is an interactive visual
technology that can render realistic
three-dimensional environments on
a virtual platform. What it means is
that customers can view a virtual
simulation of how a particular piece
of furniture will look like in which
corner of their house.
One of the difficulties in buying
a new furniture is maintaining
aesthetics. Most people have
trouble selecting the right
furniture to suit the décor in
their house. Augmented Reality
can alleviate that problem by
enabling customers to generate
a realistic visual rendering of
furniture in their house and
making informed decisions.
The same tech can be applied to
selecting apparel. Knowing how
one looks in a particular article
of clothing is one of the most
common barriers that result in
indecisiveness. AR can enable
customers to see how they actually
look in particular attire. This is
most useful when picking a dress or
a suit for important occasions like
weddings.
Visual Search
Social media has enabled pictures
to be shared and circulated like
never before. This has given rise to
a new type of advertising technique
called influencer marketing. Certain
people manage to cultivate a huge
following on social media and
they make an excellent medium
for companies to promote new
products or services. Such people
need not be celebrities and could
be normal people who have a
certain charm and charisma.
Manufacturers of apparel,
accessories, etc. have been
promoting their products through
these influencers to have a more
direct influence on their viewers.
This would prompt more people
to purchase that product.
Another way of using social
media for promotions is by
embedding product information
in the picture so that people can
easily search for that item on
e-commerce websites. This idea
is rapidly gaining momentum as
more and more brands continue
to invest in it. When people view
a picture of a celebrity, or their
favorite models and actors, they
can instantly know which piece of
apparel or accessory is being worn
in the picture. Moreover, fans can
also browse for that exact item of
clothing on websites.
These are unique promotional
techniques aimed at using visual
media as a tool for harnessing
greater visibility towards the
desired product. It is also a
convenient way for potential buyers
to find what they like instantly.
Moreover, it is an extremely cost
effective way of advertising that can
garner enormous customers, thus,
presenting a win-win situation for
both the manufacturers, customers
as well as the influencers.
Personal shoppers
While everyone enjoys going on
shopping runs, many are unsure
of what to buy when they actually
enter the store. Such uncertainty
arises from body consciousness,
unsure of how one would look,
uncertainty about how something
fits, and so on. Additionally,
numerous people don’t even have
the time it requires to go shopping
for clothes due to busy work
schedules. The answer to all these
problems is personal shoppers.
Personal shoppers are people
who do your shopping for you. As
outlandish as it may seem, hiring
personal shoppers is, in fact, a
growing trend not only amongst
the rich and famous but also among
ordinary people.
Personal shoppers are individuals
who, by the very nature of their
profession, have a keen awareness
16 July - 2019

17. 17July - 2019
of fashion. They know
who to dress well and look
presentable no matter the
occasion. Such individuals
happen to know who would
look good wearing what.
Hiring a personal shopper
could cost you extra money,
but at times, it is well worth
paying the extra bucks as it
would save time and save
you from making a fashion
error.
The retail industry is massive
and global and rakes in
several billion dollars each
year. Since there is enormous
competition all across the
globe, retailers are constantly
coming up with newer ways
to attract customers. Some of
those ideas go on to become
popular trends in shopping.
SR

18. Retail Tech, Inc. provides retailers, grocers,
hospitality chains, and third-party maintenance
companies their ideal Point of Sale solution
We do anything from system integration and logistic services, configuration and testing, shipping and installation,
to in-store field services and customer support.
R
etail Tech Inc. started with
just two industry-focused
entrepreneurs in a 1,800 sq.
foot warehouse in 2000 with the
goal to provide quality, low-cost
hardware solutions with a rapid
response. Now, that goal, customer
commitment, and an incredible
level of service have allowed Retail
Tech to evolve into an industry
leading, full-service POS hardware,
and storage solution provider.
That team of two has grown to
include more than 50 dedicated
employees, focused on delivering
its promise to its valued customers
around the world, and with the
mindset that no project is too
big. Having the most experienced
team of Solution Specialists in
the industry, each comprising
more than 20 years of providing
hardware and services to retail,
grocery, and hospitality chains, has
let the company defend its mission
and trusted reputation.
Retail Tech Inc. has built
strong relationships with top
manufacturers such as, Toshiba,
Epson, Elo, HP, and Zebra, that
allows it to sell superior products,
services, and support, as well as
purchase old parts and hardware to
ensure the retailers’ needs are met.
The firm’s objective is simple:
to provide quality point-of-sale
equipment and solutions to its
customers. An objective every
member of the Retail Tech team
takes to heart.
Services offered
Hardware Solutions
As an authorized Business Partner
for many reputable manufacturers
of POS Systems, Retail Tech, Inc.
is able to provide your company
with a customized POS hardware
solution to fit your budget and
your needs. As the IBM POS
Consignment Vendor, Retail Tech,
Inc. is responsible for liquidating
all of IBM’s Off-Lease, End-of-Life,
and excess POS systems. This
relationship allows it to warehouse
more IBM inventory than anybody
else in the market, resulting in the
optimal solution for the customer.
New Hardware Solutions –
Through its partnership with the
leading POS companies such as
Toshiba, Epson, HP, NCR, PAR, and
Zebra Retail Tech, Inc. is able to
provide the newest POS hardware
directly to you. Whether you are
in the hospitality industry, retail
industry, or grocery industry Retail
Tech, Inc. can supply the latest POS
hardware to fulfill your needs.
Refurbished Hardware
Retail Tech, Inc. provides the
highest quality of refurbished
POS hardware on the market.
Its unique business partner
agreements allow the firm to create
custom, low-cost solutions while
meeting new technology demands
just for you.
Refurbished equipment is a
viable, cost-effective solution for
the budget conscious retailer,
helping to avoid spending millions
of dollars in new POS hardware,
roll-outs, and training. Upgraded,
older-generation units are capable
of accommodating much of the
market’s new software, and can
be imaged prior to integration and
arrive check-stand ready, further
cutting overall POS expenses.
“Our mission is to provide high-quality
POS hardware solutions worldwide through
exceptional standards in service, reliability,
and cost effectiveness.”

19. In addition, Retail Tech, Inc.
provides warranties on everything
we sell, and the equipment can
be added to a new or existing
maintenance contract.
POS Repair Service &
Maintenance
As you know, POS costs do not
disappear after purchasing new
equipment. Components fail,
systems cease working, and
eventually, the POS system gets
old. If you are like most operators,
rolling out entirely new POS
equipment every other year is out
of the question. Therefore, proper
maintenance is the key ingredient to
making your equipment last as long
as possible. With Retail Tech, you
are able to customize a maintenance
solution to fit your unique needs.
The company realizes that not every
customer is similar, and it is able to
accommodate any request, large or
small.
Integration and Staging
Retail Tech, Inc. has the capability
to integrate your POS systems to fit
your needs. It un-boxes, assembles,
cables, and integrates all your
registers, into one check-stand
ready box, saving you time and
money. The firm’s custom made
boxes accommodate the entire POS
system for safe shipping and fast,
easy unpacking at the destination.
It also offers imaging and software
loads for your POS hardware.
Additional services include
Gold Imaging, Configuration,
Customization (Store Number,
Terminal Number, IP Address, Bank
Information), Logistical Services,
and Installation of Peripheral
Equipment.
Retail Tech, Inc.’s project
management team will stage your
equipment in its warehouse and
deploy when necessary in order to
meet your rollout requirements.
Retail Tech, Inc. uses high-quality
air and ground freight services to
minimize both cost and transit time.
It has expanded its integration and
staging facility and is now better
able to custom load operating
systems and software. It can also
test your fully configured registers
including peripherals so you can see
your POS setup as it would be in the
actual store environment.
Greet the leader
Robert Spinner, CEO: After attending the University of Minnesota,
where he studied Business and Marketing, Bob sold restaurant equipment
and supplies for PYA/Monarch and Johnson for 2 years. In 1989 he
joined Amcom Corporation as a Sales and Marketing Account Manager
offering restaurants new and refurbished POS equipment and parts.
Accomplishments at AMcom include developing a new vertical market
in restaurant POS and becoming a private shareholder in 1985. After
Amcom merged with two other companies to become Expresspoint, Bob
developed and marketed POS software and became the Director of POS
Sales in 1998. During his 10 years at Amcom, he developed strategic
relationships with retailers like Walgreen’s, Dillard’s Department Stores,
Wal-Mart, Longs Drug, CVS, Menard’s and Dayton Hudson Corporation.
In his spare time, Bob enjoys golfing, snowmobiling, and boating with his
family. Robert Spinner, CEO
SR
19July - 2019

20. ‘Woke-Washing’
‘An Unhealthy
Attempt of
Disseminating
Purposeful
Message’
“Woke-washing is putting
in peril the very thing
which offers us the
opportunity to help tackle
many of the world’s issues.”
— Alan Jope, Unilever CEO
M
arketing finds its way
to reach new heights
of creativity, which is
a positive sign. Although the
marketers have resorted to
following a trend of hitching their
wagons to popular causes, which
again is a positive sign. Now the
question arises do brands stick to
purposeful messaging? To answer
this question, let us analyse what
Unilever chief executive t said at
Cannes Lions, recently.
Before analysing the trend, I
would like to shed light on Colin
Kaepernick-Nike partnership
goals: It’s absolutely normal for
a brand to take address social
or political issues, provided the
campaign run by the brand aims
at driving a change. One could
differentiate whether the campaign
is merely a marketing stunt or to
educate masses. From a business
perspective, any brand would take
any initiative, social or political, to
advertise its products or services. At
the same time, any well-established
brand can focus only on the issue
without intending to endorse its
products or services.
Colin Kaepernick-Nike partnership
outcome: “It is abundantly clear
that Nike’s controversial decision
to feature Mr. Kaepernick in an ad
campaign paid off handsomely—the
company got a load of valuable free
publicity, its online sales quickly saw
a boost after the campaign launched,
and its stock hit a record high last
week,” Fortune reported it on the
20th of September last year.
Mr. Kaepernick, known for his
political activism, is a former
American football quarterback. He
stood up against systematic racism
African-Americans witness. Keeping
this inview, Nike saw an opportunity
to promote its products featuring
the footballer.
“Although the initial ad might have
caused a negative reaction among
investors, Nike maintained its
product pricing structure, offered
less discounting and sold out of 61
percent more merchandise since the
ad began running,” Fortune quoted
Thomson Reutersre searchers as
saying.
Alan Jope, CEO
20 July - 2019

21. It’s unclear whether Nike
wanted to address the issue
or promote its products/
services but the campaign
certainly batted for the company.
Initially, Nike faced heat after it
signed the footballer; however,
the footwear manufacturing
company reaped the benefits,
eventually.
Mr. Jope’s Cannes Lions address
was focussed on such an aspect
while he focussed on portraying
his vision for the Unilever’s
marketing department, and
the products it sells.
At the event, he downplayed
the trend I mentioned above
saying the brands pick and
choose popular causes, but only
in words—not action. Mr. Jope
termed this “woke-washing”.
“It’s polluting purpose,” he said.
“It’s putting in peril the very thing
which offers us the opportunity
to help tackle many of the world’s
issues. What’s more, it threatens
to further destroy trust in our
industry, when it’s already in
short supply,” The Drum
quoted him as saying.
Now the question arises what’s
the rationale behind Mr. Jope
forcing his brands to align with a
purpose and position?
Unilever is working with Kantar
Group to measure consumer
perceptions around how the
company’s brands are achieving
their inspired goals. Mr. Jope
asserts those not living up to
Unilever’s high standards set
are likely to be sold. The CEO
adds brands will have time to
adjust and determine where they
should align their missions.
This tracks with research
showing that consumers
want brands to take stands
on issues and use their power
to help change the world. WE
Communications partnered
with Quartz earlier this year
on a study that showed just
how important purpose is and
will be in the future. “Purpose
is not a short-term, feel-good
effort,” WE Communications
global CEO/founder Melissa
Waggener Zorkin said in an
article she wrote for PRNEWS.
She noted that 73 percent of
respondents think a long-term
purpose strategy will become as
important as an organization’s
financial performance.
And what’s more, 74 percent
of the leaders surveyed believe
customers will walk away from
brands that don’t share their
values. “That’s an industry-
agnostic wakeup call,” Zorkin
wrote. “If you’re not developing
how to authentically put purpose
into action, get cracking.”
So are Mr. Jope’s strong public
statements and threat to cull
brands a shot across marketing’s
bow? Will the rest of the industry
follow suit, making sure they’re
“walking the talk” when they take
a controversial position?
If so, it would be a significant
shift. Many brands display
their purpose on a pedestal.
Some make promises that time
demonstrates are empty.
SR
21July - 2019

22. RELEVANT
Interactive
E-commerce
Marketplace
by the world’s
influencers
and stars.
22 July - 2019

23. O
wning a home is an important milestone in life for most people. In addition to selecting a design, the joy of
shopping for a new home and deciding upon the décor is one of the most memorable experiences for new
homeowners. However, purchasing a new house is not without its own difficulties. Finding the right pricing,
finalizing the ideal finance structure, waiting for the duration of the construction and the subsequent interior
design, etc. constitute the more stressful aspects of home ownership. Additionally, building a designer home
by hiring the right architect and decorator is also difficult. Revolution Precrafted is a construction company that aims to
tackle all the problems usually associated with buying a new home with its revolutionary business model.
The interesting part about Revolution Precrafted’s services are the pre-fabricated homes. As the name indicates,
the construction of these homes does not follow the conventional method of laying bricks and mortar. The
houses come in neat and attractive pre-fabricated designs that make their construction almost as simple
as unpacking a large gift. It seems like something out of a sci-fi Hollywood blockbuster, but Revolution
Precrafted has turned it into a reality. It now offers a wide variety of beautiful modular homes designed
by some of the world’s leading architects. What’s more, is that the designs can be selected online and
customers can choose to have the house transported and assembled at the place of their choosing.
In conversation with the brains behind Revolution Precrafted,
Robbie Antonio
What was the motivation to start the company and how did it all come
together?
The idea behind Revolution Precrafted came about after observing a lot of the current
tech giants like Airbnb and Grab. I’ve always wanted to create an asset-light company
that can expand to more geographic locations without the usual problems of funding
and manpower. But then again, I am heavily exposed to the field of real estate and
this is an industry that I was passionate about. So I tried to create an asset-light
company in the field of real estate.
I was thinking of new possibilities in real estate then I came up with the
idea of creating branded prefab structures, believing that there is great
potential there. It’s true that even before we launched, there were a lot
of prefab companies already but no one is doing units designed by
celebrities, designers and artists. So that was a niche segment that I
thought can be explored.
People have a lot of misconceptions and wrong ideas about
prefab structures. They feel that anything prefabricated is
substandard and unreliable and that it cannot be beautiful
and impressive. I wanted to challenge that notion. I
wanted to prove that by partnering with great artists and
designers, we can create a new line of prefab structures
that we can all be proud of. On top of that, we also
COVER STORY
23July - 2019

24. 24 July - 2019
wanted to challenge the industry.
We wanted to democratize design
by making it more affordable and
accessible to people.
How did you decide upon the
market?
There is definitely a global demand
for homes as the global population
continues to increase. This is true
even among different regions and
socioeconomic brackets. Specifically
in our target SEA market, millions
of people have no access to decent
homes.
We believe that as a global real
estate marketplace, we will be
able to address the increasing
demand for homes, regardless if
they are traditional or prefabricated
homes. We have the speed and
technology to be able to respond
to this concern and the fact that
we can deliver homes anywhere
on the planet, puts us in a position
to be able to help.
How is your company
positioned in the current
market scenario?
While our original model focused
on celebrity-designed structures
that cater to the middle class and
to the more affluent clientele, we
have expanded our product portfolio
to include affordable homes in
order to be more accessible and
responsive to a wider market. We
have also created F&B and retail
pop-up designers to complement
our residential developments. We
are also continuously signing new
designer partners whom we refer to as
revolutionaries, in order to create
a more dynamic cache of home
designs. Our goal is to be able to
evolve and continue to grow so that
we will always have something new to
offer to our customers.
On top of that, we are exploring the
possibility of expanding to vertical
projects. At the moment, we are
building a lot of horizontal residential
projects but we also want to build low
to mid-rise apartments to be able to
increase the land efficiency on certain
projects like those located in modern
suburban centers.
What are the specific
problems in the industry that
your company addresses?
Prospective homeowners complain
about the exorbitant cost of
homebuilding. They also lament the
slow process and the generic designs
of homes. Revolution Precrafted
specifically responds to the demand of
the market by offering prefabricated
homes that can be built in as fast as
60-90 days and at a fraction of the
cost. The company also partners with
the world’s best architects, designers,
and artists to create beautiful designs
regardless if they specialize in
traditional homes or prefab homes.
We give customers more options in
terms of how they want their homes

25. 25July - 2019
to look like. By addressing the common
pain points of most customers, we
are able to encourage more people to
finally have their own homes. We also
make it convenient for homeowners
who do not have the budget to finance
lengthy construction periods.
What sets Revolution
Precrafted apart from its
competitors?
While there are other traditional
and prefab companies out there,
Revolution Precrafted is the only
company that leverages on celebrity
branding. We have worked with the
likes of Pritzker winners ZahaHadid,
Jean Nouvel, and Philip Johnson Alan
Ritchie architects among others. We
have also worked with celebrities such
as Lenny Kravitz, Manny Pacquiao,
OzwaldBoateng, Daphne Guiness and
Helena Christensen and Camilla Staerk
among others. By partnering with
some of the most creative people on
the planet, we create design-driven
homes and structures that certainly be
considered as works of art. Branding
a home or any structure, not only
elevates the aesthetics of a home, but
it also increases the market value, and
by having more than 80- designers and
artists from all over the world, we have
a wealth of designs our customers can
choose from.
Unlike most of our competitors, our
products are not limited to just homes;
we also offer transportable pavilions,
furniture, museums, glamping
accommodations, retail pop-ups, as
well as low to mid-rise apartments.
Could you give a brief
overview of your
company’s offerings?
Revolution supplies prefabricated
homes, pavilions, museums,
pop-ups, and other related
verticals. It also acts as a global
marketplace that connects developers,
fabricators, suppliers, and customers.
Our goal is to create design-driven
homes, and communities. We operate
on a B2B2C and asset-light business
model. So what we do is partner
with developers, to create residential
concepts. We then tap designers,
fabricators, suppliers to execute
projects according to the vision
and preference of our customers.
We build both traditional and prefab
structures, as well as quasi-prefab
homes.
Can you talk about the
journey of your company,
right from its inception?
Launched in December 2015,
Revolution Precrafted has received
global interest because of its unique
business model. It also gained
popularity due to its partnership
with some of the world’s biggest
names in design and architecture. By
October 2017, it has become a unicorn
company (a startup, valued at over

26. Revolution
Precrafted
homes
seamlessly
unite the
conveniences
of a
prefabricated
home and the
captivating
visual delight
that only true
masters of
design can
create.
“
”SR
26 July - 2019
$1billion). Since then, it has expanded
its footprint to 31 markets in Asia,
Europe, Africa, North, Central, and
South America. Some of its key projects
are the $1.1 billion BatulaoArtscapes
which is envisioned to be the World’s
First Livable Art Park and the $750
million RevolutiomnFlavorscapes
Project in the Philippines.
From a measly team of 5 in 2015, the
company has grown to over 100 office-
based employees and some 800 sales
agents.
Since 2015, we have also created
related companies such as
RenegadeBranding Concepts, one-
stop shop marketplace and destination
for franchising and licensing
concepts and offers an unparalleled
list of possible retail and business
opportunities, in partnership with
some of the biggest celebrities and
influencers. It is a gateway to unique,
out of the ordinary, licensing ideas on
shopping, beauty, fitness and wellness,
fashion and home design with the
main goal of offering prospective
entrepreneurs and customers alike
with a convenient and worry-free
experience. Through careful curation,
Renegade Branding Concepts identifies
the brands that appeal to customers
across different socio-economic
classes, preferences and passions.
The company elevates products and
services to a whole new level of style,
elegance and value, appealing to the
global marketplace.
We are incubating our interior design
marketplace called Renaissance
Touch. It is a first-of-its-kind online
marketplace for furnishing and
decorating interior spaces with the
inspiration from celebrities, top
interior designers, artists and fashion
designers. It offers a one-stop shop
services to help customers to create
and attain their dream interiors on
time, within their budget and with
guaranteed quality. Customers can
browse the company’s portfolio
of interior designs curated by
celebrities, use its interactive platform
to customize interiors to their
preferences and budgets, and pick and
choose furnishings and home décor
items.
We also have our social media
influencer platform called Relevant
Medium. It is Southeast Asia’s first
ever integrated marketplace designed
to connect modern day influencers
with their fans in a one-stop-shop
for Ecommerce, curated brands, and
virtual-in-life channel engagement.
Connection via brand representation
is our game. Customer experience
and addictiveness is our DNA. With a
current reach of over 35m followers
from different walks of life, Relevant
medium provides stars a platform to
connect not only with their existing
followers but also other Relevant Stars’
followers. We also give each star an
opportunity to shine by expanding
their market reach and converting this
reach to a stable revenue stream.
Who are some of your biggest
clients? Which sections of the
industry do you think could see
the maximum growth?
We are an agnostic company which
technically allows us to partner with
any company around the world. But
since we operate on a B2B2C model,
we mostly deal with developers who
want to monetize their land. We
enter into a supply agreement which
requires them to take care of land and
site development while we take care
of supplying the homes and creating
the overall concept of residential
development. Since becoming a
marketplace, we have expanded our
operations and we also deal with
fabricators, suppliers, and brokers
who want to connect to the rest of the
world.
At the moment, our projects are mostly
horizontal developments, where we
build a mixture of both curated homes
and basic homes. We have been very
successful at this particular niche
but we have started to offer low-rise
apartments and condominiums to
respond to the overwhelming demand
for homes.

27. COVER STORY
Robbie Antonio, CEO
About the founder of
Revolution Precrafted,
Robbie Antonio
Robbie Antonio serves as the
CEO of Revolutions Precrafted.
He has personally conceptualized,
negotiated, sourced and launched
projects in Manila with lifestyle
game-changers including
Donald Trump for Trump Tower
Manila, the tallest building in
the Philippines, and Paris Hilton
for the Paris Beach Club at
Azure Urban Resort Residences,
the American celebrity and
businesswoman’s first real estate
venture.
Robbie is responsible for a
number of unique fashion-
branded real estate developments
which includes The Milano
Residences in partnership with
Versace, the fastest-selling
Versace Home interior-designed
condominium project in the
world and the first in Southeast
Asia, in collaboration with
MISSONIHOME for the brand’s
first residential development in
the world.

28. BIZ-O
S
eth encourages people
around the world to level up
through his inspirational talks,
strategies, and ideas. Seth has been
in the industry for thirty years and
he reaches out through his blogs
every day. He says – “One day if we
meet, I hope you’ll share with me
your favorite posts. Even better,
I’d like to hear about how a book
or course helped you interact with
the world differently and make a
difference.”
This statement of his from his
blog clearly shows how down to
earth and an open-minded person
he is. He has spent most of his
professional life as a writer and that
is why he could publish around 19
bestselling books. Many books do
stand the test of time and according
to him, these books are a great way
to obtain in-depth knowledge on
the vertical he has focused on in
these books. He knows for a fact that
everyone and anyone who reads his
books are those who work or own a
business. Hence he always intends
to be part of or start a new project
so that he can not only inspire his
readers but entertain them as well.
Although he did have countless
detours and speed bumps, the only
thing he did was overcome all of
that and now he stands as one of
the most inspirational personalities
on the Internet today. His book
on marketing called “THIS IS
MARKETING” (a bestseller) was one
such book which everyone loved
and understood. As readers we often
find an author’s writing interesting
if we understand what is he or she
is trying to convey. Very disturbing
content is something all readers stay
away from and keeping this in mind
he always works in books.
THIS IS MARKETING
by Seth Godin
The book is said to project
marketing wisdom and a timeless
package of Godin’s ideas and
views. “Great marketers don’t use
consumers to solve their company’s
problem; they use marketing to
solve other people’s problems. They
don’t just make noise; they make
the world better. Truly powerful
marketing is grounded in empathy,
generosity, and emotional labor,”
says Godin. In the past, Godin did
teach many marketers, leaders,
entrepreneurs and even fans, a lot
of things. Giving out countless ideas,
including phrases has aided many to
understand the business language.
Godin’s intention is to teach you
how to identify your smallest viable
audience and he has brilliantly
portrayed it in this book. He says
drawing the right signals and signs
to position one’s offering is the
true key to business success. Also,
building trust is important where
status, dominance, and affiliation
play their role. People will have
their goals; all they need is the tools
and an opportunity. Here the book
written by Seth Godin clearly shows
everything one needs to know.
He further tells marketers to stop
feeling guilty about lying, spamming,
and miss leading others. Also, he
says not to mix up social media
metrics with the actual connection.
Stolen attention will never replace
direct marketing and also stolen
connections will just waste both
your money and time. Thus, he
gathered enough information to give
a better approach that will target
many customers in the long run. He
focused mainly on the future and
not just considering the present
trends. As the market evolves, it is
important that the people part of
the market evolves as well.
“In a crowded
marketplace, fitting
in is a failure. In a
busy marketplace, not
standing out is the same
as being invisible.”
-Seth Godin | Teacher,
Writer, Entrepreneur
BIZ-O
28 July - 2019

29. O-WIZ
Other Books that
Seth Godin Wrote
which is related to
Marketing
Permission Marketing:
Turning Strangers into
Friends and Friends
into Customers
In this book, Godin says
that ‘traditional marketing’
is dead and now is the era
of permission marketing.
He clearly explains the pros
and cons of both traditional
marketing and permission
marketing. People who belong
to digital marketing or other
such marketing can refer to
this book. Also, it is a great
book for senior executives to
update themselves with the
changing trends.
Tribes: We need you to
lead us
This book shows how
everyone is a leader but fails
to grasp the right path. He
further explains how to do
it and how to grab hold of
the people you want in your
team. When you compare this
with marketing it is essential
to maintain a team of people
who share the same idea as
you. Also, this book shows
how people think and that is
again a plus in marketing.
The Icarus Deception:
How High Will You Fly?
There is a certain safe-zone
where you need to be. As
marketers, it is essential
to stay perfect so that the
prospect will turn into a
qualified customer. Here he
takes the example of Icarus
who flew closer to the sun
and burnt his wax wings.
He also says flying too low
is also a problem, which
means there is a certain sweet
spot for everyone to analyze
and stay. That is where you
can achieve your marketing
goals.
Purple Cow:
Transform Your
Business by Being
Remarkable
As the title suggests,
it is important to be
different. You will have
to innovate and think
differently to stand out.
Everyone in the market
provides the same
service and products.
But how are you
different? The answer
to this question is in the
book.
All of these books
along with many
others have shown
how important it is
for us to be different
and understand the
surroundings. Seth
Godin is truly an
amazing writer and
he surely has inspired
many. We all know he
is not stopping and
hopefully, we see more
books and lectures
from him in the future.
O-WIZ
Seth Godin
Teacher, Writer
EntrepreneurSR

30. The digital-first online retail group
Findel plc
F
indel plc is a dynamic multi-
channel retailer operating
across the business-to-
consumer and business-to-business
marketplaces. The company trades
across two divisions, Studio Retail
and Education.
Findel plc is a group containing
two digital-first value retailers,
Studio and Findel Education. Studio
offers a broad range of products
to consumers, from clothing to
homewares to our traditional
Christmas ranges, all supported
by our flexible credit offer. Findel
Education is a market-leading
supplier of educational resources to
schools and nurseries.
Deep Dive into Findel
Findel plc is a leading general
merchandise supplier to the home
and education sectors. Studio Retail
offers a diverse range of products
to the consumer. Findel Education
supplies a majority of schools in the
UK with their educational resources
and commodity products through its
regional and national catalog brands.
Findel plc has one of the largest
personalization plants supplying
direct to the consumer in the
UK where products from cutlery
to greetings cards and football
kits to children’s nightwear are
personalized to the customer’s
requirements: Over 3.2m pieces in
total each year.
A significant and increasing
percentage of products are
now being sold online in home
shopping. Online purchasing is
also becoming more important in
the education sector where Findel
is pioneering the technology with
local authorities. The Studio Retail
consumer business is also supported
by a strong financial services arm.
Studio
One of the largest online value
retailers in the UK. Whilst
historically catalog based, over
75% of customers now shop for our
broad range of fashion, home and
leisure items, toys and gifts online.
Studio provides a personal shopping
service to around 1.9 million
customers each year through a
combination of direct marketing
and online via the studio.co.uk and
ace.co.uk websites. Shoppers may
choose to pay for their purchase
within 28 days or take advantage of
our flexible credit offer.
The range of products is diverse
covering leisurewear, electrical,
household, textile, bedding,
furniture, nursery products,
gifts, and greeting cards. Many of
these can be personalized in the
division’s in-house facilities which
are unmatched in UK retail. All
large products are handled at a
500,000 sq.ft. distribution center
in Manchester, whilst an automated
collation warehouse at Accrington
is capable of handling over half a
million items per day.
The majority of customers open a
flexible account that allows them
to choose whether to pay for their
purchases immediately or spread
the cost over a number of months.
Interest is charged on outstanding
balances each month.
The Strengths
• State of the art distribution
facilities with a unique ability
to handle low ticket items
profitably
“Our unique offering means that our
customers can find everything they need from
one complete supplier; for the school, for the
classroom, and for the specialist.”
P B Maudsley, CEO

31. • Highly developed credit
operations offering payment
flexibility to our customers
• A unique and broad product
range supported by our
overseas sourcing operations
• The most sophisticated product
personalization facility in UK
mail order
• Multichannel operations -
catalog, internet and face to face
• Significant online presence with
over 75% of orders processed
online
Findel Education
Findel Education is one of the UK’s
leading educational resources
supplier. Through its established
and well-loved brands, the
company has been providing
resources to nurseries, schools and
a large number of other types of
educational establishments since
1817. The firm is one-stop-shop for
educational supplies; it provides
all of the products schools and
nurseries need, delivered when they
want them, at highly competitive
prices.
The company’s extensive choice
of over 25,000 resources caters
for early years through to higher
education and beyond. Its unique
offering means that our customers
can find everything they need
from one complete supplier; for
the school, for the classroom, and
for the specialist. Findel Education
Resources are the choice for
educational resources.
The Strengths
• An exceptionally strong
portfolio of brands
• The only educational resources
supplier offering true
nationwide coverage across a
broad product spectrum
• A high proportion of our
own developed and exclusive
products
• Substantial experience in
managing major projects
• Exports to over 150 countries
worldwide
Greet the Leader
P B Maudsley, CEO: Phil Maudsley joined the Group in
1987 as general manager of a manufacturing subsidiary. He
became managing director of the Home Shopping Division
in 1994 and was appointed to the Board on 5 April 2004.
He was appointed Managing Director of Studio Retail in
2010 before being appointed Group Chief Executive Officer
in April 2017.
SR
31July - 2019

32. 32 July - 2019
I
n a bid to democratise learning,
Unilever is launching an online
talent marketplace dubbed FLEX
Experiences for its employees that
uses artificial intelligence (AI) to
help them identify new career
opportunities where they can upskill,
Marketing Week reported.
According to the report, the
marketplace uses technology from
InnerMobility by Gloat, a startup.
FLEX Experiences operates by
asking employees to build a profile
of their current skills and expertise
they are looking to improve. The AI
platform then helps staff to identify
opportunities across the business
that fit with those goals.
“What we are trying to do is to
create radical transparency in the
opportunities we have. If you build
an internal marketplace with AI
you do this and you democratise
the opportunities in the company
so employees can see what kind of
projects are available to develop
their skills, interests and to gain
experiences,” said Jeroen Wels. He was
quoted as saying by Marketing Week.
Mr. Wels works as an executive
vice-president of HR at Unilever.
“It creates a frictionless environment
so there is no middle man. There is no
line manager that doesn’t see all the
opportunities or a broker in the middle
but instead it is happening on the
platform in real time,” Mr. Wels added.
Jeroen Wels
‘FLEX
Experiences
Creates Radical
Transparency
in the
Opportunities
We Have’
“It creates a frictionless
environment so there
is no middle man. There is
no line manager that doesn’t
see all the opportunities or
a broker in the middle but
instead it is happening on
the platform in real time.” —
Jeroen Wels, Executive vice-
president of HR at Unilever

33. 33July - 2019
The consumer goods behemoth
claims that over 30,000 employees
have been engaged in this initiative
and are reaping the benefits. While
interacting with Marketing Week,
Mr. Wels cited an example of one of
the US-based employees who is now
working on an innovation project in
Europe after using the AI platform.
“He is now gaining international
experience without leaving New York
and can find out if it is right for him,”
said Mr. Wels.
It’s learnt that Unilever is planning to
gradually scale-up the project with
the full roll-out and is expected to
be completed by 2020. Currently, it’s
operational across the supply chain,
marketing, IT, R&D, and finance.
“We’re not rolling it out as a big bang
technological system because if we do
that, for sure it would fail,” he added.
Apart from the platform proving
beneficial for thousands of its
employees, Unilever confirmed that
the system has other unexpected
benefits.
“When we launched the platform, a
very senior leader said ‘this will be
really interesting because what you
will see is which projects and skills
are highest in demand’. It was an
insightful point because if you have a
project that nobody is interested in or
where the skills are not available that
is very telling,” explained Mr. Wells.SR

34. A one-stop shop for air conditioners and its components
for consumers: Amber Enterprises India Ltd
A
mber Enterprises India Ltd
is a prominent solution
provider for Air conditioner
OEM/ODM Industry in India.
It has a dominant presence in
RACs complete unit and deals in
major RAC components with 10
manufacturing facilities across
India focusing in on different
product segments. With expertise in
components like heat exchangers,
sheet metal components, injection
molding components, and system
tubing and motors, Amber is
strongly positioned with its
backward integration to derive the
core deliverable’s in terms of quality,
cost, and delivery.
Amber offers higher energy
efficiency and expertise in indoor,
outdoor, split and window AC units.
It deals in AC components as well as
non-AC components. The company
was incorporated as Amber
Enterprises India Private Limited, as
a private limited company under the
Companies Act, 1956.
From a single factory in Rajpura,
Punjab, which commenced
operations in 1994, Amber has now
grown to 10 manufacturing facilities
across seven locations in India.
A Diversified Product
Portfolio
RACs: Amber designs and
manufactures complete RACs
including Window Air Conditioners
(“WACs”) and Indoor Units (“IDUS”)
and Outdoor Units (“ODUS”) of
Split Air Conditioners (“SAC”s) with
specifications ranging from 0.75 ton
to 2 tons, across energy ratings and
types of refrigerant. It designs and
manufactures inverter RACs too.
RAC Components: Amber
manufactures reliable functional
components of RACs that includes
heat exchangers, motors and
multi-flow condensers with other
components such as sheet metal
components, copper tubing and
including plastic extrusion, vacuum
forming, and injection molding
processes too.
Non AC Components: Amber
manufactures components other
durables and automobiles such as
case liners for refrigerator, plastic
extrusion sheets, sheet metal
components for microwave, washing
machine tub assemblies with other
sheet metal and plastic injection
molding and extrusion components
for automobiles and metal ceiling
industries.
Products Description in
Details
Room Air Conditioners:
Window Room Air Conditioners
• High-efficiency window ac in
both rotary and reciprocating
• Options available in wireless
with remote and manual
controller
• Wide features integrated: on/
off timer, sleep mode, energy
“Amber is
dedicated to
providing the
best Quality
and Value
to meet the
customers’
needs.”
Jasbir Singh, Chairman & CEO

35. saving mode, auto swing, auto
restart
Split Air Conditioners
• High efficiency split ac in fixed
speed series
• Modern and attractive designs
with a hidden display
• LCD remote controllers
• High-performance fan and
heat exchangers
• Low-noise operation
• Refrigerant (r22/r410a/r32)
Inverter Split Air Conditioners
• High efficiency split AC in
inverter series
• Modern and attractive designs
• LCD remote controllers
• High-performance fan and
heat exchangers
AC Components:
• Heat Exchanger: Heat
exchangers are essential
elements in the air
conditioning system. Amber
manufactures coils for air
conditioners. It is used to
transfer heat from refrigerant
to ambient thus providing
the cooling needed. Amber
prides itself on the economy
of manufacture – lowering
raw material costs, producing
micro channel heat exchangers
with higher precision,
optimizing production time
and lowering labor costs
leading to an overall reduction
of its manufacturing costs
• Sheet Metal Component Non
Ac Components: Amber has
a very sophisticated sheet
metal production facility with
the latest automated design
capabilities for tooling, a
press shop with the latest
technology and a trained,
committed workforce. It has
about 200 presses ranging
from 50 tons to 500 tons that
are capable of producing an
infinite range and number of
components
• Electric Motors: In Amber’s
PICL, Faridabad Unit, it is
making Residential and
Commercial Electrical motors
used for different products.
Its motors are being used in
residential and commercial
air conditioners, washing
machines, coolers, and many
other appliances
• Copper Tubing: The company
has an in-house modern
facility for manufacturing
various copper connecting
pipes, varying from headers,
distributors, connecting tubes
and installation kits. All the
parts are then leak tested and
cleaned ultrasonically ensuring
high-quality copper parts are
delivered to Assembly line
Non AC Components:
• Plastic Extrusion: Amber
has the technical skill and
expertise to produce upto 5
layer co-extruded sheets using
a range of plastic material. It
regularly extrudes ABS, HIPS,
HDPE, LDPE and PP Sheets for
its clients for a wide variety of
applications
• Vacuum Forming: Amber
uses vacuum forming to make
a number of components
commonly used in the making
of refrigerators, automobiles,
and consumer durable items
including plastic containers,
trays, buckets, bathtubs,
helmets, etc. Vacuum forming
is a much more economical
process than other forming
processes and offers several
processing advantages
SR
35July - 2019
Meet the Leader
Mr. Jasbir Singh, Chairman, and CEO: Jasbir is serving the Board of Amber Enterprises India Limited
(“Amber”) since 1 October 2004 and appointed as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company with
effect from 25 August 2017. He is having more than 15 years of experience in the RAC manufacturing sector.
He has successfully established over seven factories in the past ten years and established relationships with
various large brands. Under his guidance, Amber has initiated the concept of additive manufacturing solutions.
He has played an instrumental role in the successful acquisition of PICL (India) Private Limited in 2012, the
wholly owned subsidiary and two PCB Board manufacturers i.e. IL JIN Electronics (India) Private Limited and
Ever Electronics Private Limited, the subsidiaries.
He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (industrial production) from Karnataka University and Master’s
degree in Business Administration from the University of Hull, United Kingdom.

36. 5 things to
know about
safety in
Amazon
warehouses
A
mazon is one of the largest
e-commerce companies in the world,
and it deserves its share of glory
and winning. Amazon has always been
dedicated to safety and it is not just known
for its faster and efficient deliveries and
supply chain management but for its efforts
to promote sustainable development.
“When we think about being the most
customer-centric company, we also want
to be the most safety-centric company in
the world,” says Marla Corson, Director
at Amazon’s North American Fulfillment
Centers (FCs). Corson takes care of the
healthand safetyissues at over 40 Amazon
robotic FCs in America and seven in Canada.
These warehouses use pathbreaking
technology to pick, pack, and ship orders
placed by Amazon customers.
In such a fast-paced and success-driven
environment, safety is each and everyone’s
responsibility and must be encouraged
amongst theteam in order to achieve
its efficiency. Safety at the workplace is
extremely essential and must not be taken
for granted at any cost.
Following are some of the innovative steps
taken by Amazon to support the employees
to make the workplaces safer:
Safety Saves: Safety Saves initiatives
allowthe associate to identify hazards
and fix them in real-time so that any
miss-occurring, accidents, or injuries
can be avoided. Instead of writing
down issues which are observed on a
piece of paper and later storing it in a
file to be addressed by the team, these
are recorded in a handheld device used
to log the hazard, and rest of the floor
can be made aware in the real-time
before any mishaps take place.
Robotic Tech Vest: Amazon has
recently rolled out a new worker
safety wearable for more than 25 of
its warehouses around the world.
Named as “Robotic Tech Vest”, this
alerts robots about the location of
the workers in order to prevent any
accidents which might take place
due to the collision. It uses advanced
scientific tech to draw an access path
around the worker which makes
the robots understand that there is
someone standing in their proximity
and hence slow down or update their
route to avoid any workplace mishaps.
Trailer Docking and Releasing
(TDR): There is a high chance of
fatal accidents and injuries if there is
an unwanted separation between the
trailer or truck being loaded and the
loading dock. Forklift operators often
fall prey to such accidents when their
vehicles fall into the resultant gaps or
are driven out of open trailers. In such
a case, Trailer Docking and Releasing
(TDR) helps those associates working
in the trailer yard. The TDR app for
Fire Tablets helps to improve safety in
such condition. However, these jobs are
performed by specialized associates
who have gone through the training.
They use the Fire tablet to perform a
number of checks before they allow the
trailer to depart from the dock door.
36 July - 2019

37. Safety Campus: It is an augmented reality
program used for training purpose. It allows
new associates to do hazard hunts in a virtual
fulfillment center. This way, they can learn
about all the possible hazards or accidents
that might take place and how to deal with
them. For example, there could be tripping
hazards if items are not stored properly in the
warehouses.
PIT Checklist: Some of the FCs has digital
touchscreens for login purpose. It enables
the company to verify Powered-Industrial
Truck (PIT) operators and the tech also check
if the operators are properly trained on the
equipment. It basically takes them through a
pre-operational checklist.
Amazon is a company which obsesses over
customer satisfaction and believes in staying
on time always. It might appear that any
company, who is so focused about customer
experience, is ought to miss these safety details
at its workplace. However, Amazon never lets
its success get in the way of creating a quality
workplace for thousands of its employees
working to achieve its ambition.
Corson says that one can have both going on
simultaneously in an organization. “There are
many things that we’ve actually changed in our
operations through the use of technology that
actually speeds things up and makes it safer
for our associates, too,” further adds Corson,
to sum up, the importance of safety in a
workplace.
37July - 2019
SR

38. Digital Selling Solution
Designed for Today’s
Industry: Grapevine6
I
n the era of cut-throat
competition, companies need
powerful, personalized content
that allows their sales force to start
valuable conversations and build
trusted relationships with the right
buyers. Grapevine6 is an enterprise
social and digital sales engagement
platform which works to find and
filter the most timely, relevant
information from around the
world and makes it personalized,
trusted, and shareable. Grapevine6
gives its clients what they need to
connect with their audiences, start
conversations, and thrive in the
social world.
How Grapevine6 works
Grapevine6 analyzes the interests
and posts on their personal digital
profile and then picks the best
content on the web based on that
profile. The salespeople choose
which of the selected articles to
share. Grapevine6 automatically
schedules the content to post
on their social accounts and
digital channels or they can share
it one-to-one. Servicing sales
professionals across multiple
industries, Grapevine6’s AI engine
searches thousands of articles from
thousands of sources – around the
clock and around the world – so
that the sales force has the most
relevant and reliable content ready
to use.
A digital selling solution
fit for every industry
Banking: Bank customers today
find it difficult to differentiate one
bank from another. Grapevine6
provides bank advisors with
personalized, meaningful, relevant,
value-add content that can be
used to build and deepen client
relationships.
Wealth Management:
With five million high-net-worth
investors in North America
actively using social media to
make financial decisions, digital
selling is no longer an option –
it’s essential. Grapevine6 gives
companies’ advisors access to
timely information that showcases
their intellectual capital, promotes
their brand, and supports
their recommendations. With
Grapevine6, advisors can do all that
while ensuring the content they
share is compliant.
Insurance: Grapevine6
understands that agents don’t
have time to search through reams
of information to source articles
of importance to their prospects.
So, it does that for them. With
minimal effort, clients’ agents
can use Grapevine6 to build their
credibility as valued experts to
their customers and prospects.
Technology and Software:
The brightest talent and the
savviest customers want to
work with cutting-edge thought
leaders in their field. Proving
leadership through digital selling
is a competitive advantage for any
team. That’s where Grapevine6
comes in.
Professional Services: Client
expectations are higher than ever
and consultants and professionals
need to stand out as thought
leaders in order to build trusted
relationships. Give them the tools
to deliver meaningful advice with
compelling, risk-free content.
Grapevine6 creates opportunities
Wayne Gomes, CEO
38 July - 2019

39. for companies to build and
maintain client relationships with
information and insights that help
solve their clients’ problems. With
Grapevine6, the sales force can
target prospects, generate leads, and
watch their book of business grow.
Digital Selling Solutions
Grapevine6 is a game changer
for anyone looking to make new
contacts, create a unique and
authentic voice, and build deeper
and richer relationships. With
Grapevine6’s personalized digital
content platform, clients’ sales force
can connect with their audience in
new and powerful ways – online, on
mobile, or in person.
Posting: Grapevine6’s convenient
mobile app is a time saver for
busy professionals who can post
whenever they want, wherever they
are.
• No set-up required: With
Grapevine6’s SaaS delivery
model, the company hosts the
software so there’s no set-up
required
• Simple scheduling: The
representatives choose what
content they want to schedule
for the week and Grapevine6
does the rest. Grapevine6’s
system’s sophisticated
intelligence determines the
optimal time and date to
publish to get maximum reader
impact
Personalization: Advisors can
become a trusted source of need-to-
know information by engaging their
audience and personalizing their
posts in line with their authentic,
personal brand.
• Social selling playbook:
Grapevine6 uses artificial
intelligence to match the most
relevant content to the needs of
its intended audience, no matter
the topic
• Talk their language: Clients’
salespeople can make their
connections even more
personal by sharing content in
their audience’s own language.
Grapevine6 curates content
in six different languages, so
clients’ team can break down
barriers and build trust every
time they share
• Demonstrate value:
Grapevine6’s customized
feature lets its clients and their
teams add context, insights
and call-to-action messages to
customize posts for different
networks and increase shares
Thought leadership: Sharing
curated, compliant content allows
the sales force to create client
advocacy as a trusted advisor and
enables organizations to deliver
consistent, on-brand messaging.
• Capitalize on content: Clients
can position their organization
as an industry thought leader
by adding expert content from
their leadership to the mix
• Peer-to-peer networking:
With Grapevine6’s access to
crucial peer-to-peer networks,
salespeople will get their
content out to the right circles
at the right time and their
friends will pass it on
Meet the Leader
Wayne Gomes, Chief Executive Officer: Wayne leads the company’s client relationship management.
A seasoned veteran in building those relationships, Wayne is always a steward of the user. Prior to co-founding
Grapevine6, Wayne founded the Rich Internet Group, where he was the CTO and Managing Director.
“From
Fortune 500
tech giants
to global
financial
institutions,
Grapevine6
powers the
social selling
programs
for some of
the largest
enterprises in
the world.”
SR
39July - 2019

40. “The fantastic work done by brands such as Dove, Vaseline, Seventh Generation, Ben & Jerry’s and Brooke Bond shows
the huge impact that brands can have in addressing an environmental or social issue.” – Alan Jope, Unilever CEO
U
nilever, a British-Dutch
transnational consumer
goods company,
announced recently that its
purpose-led, Sustainable Living
Brands are delivering 75 percent
of the company’s growth. It
turns out that these brands are
growing 69 percent faster than
the rest of the business.
In a press release issued by the
consumer goods company, it
revealed the figures supporting
the above data. The company’s
CEO Alan Jope had already
spoken about the figures at an
event in Paris, last month.
In 2018, Unilever’s Sustainable
Living Brands grew 69 percent
faster than the rest of the
business, compared to 46
percent in 2017;
Unilever now has 28 Sustainable
Living Brands – the four
new entrants are Close Up
(toothpaste), Wheel (laundry),
Calve and Bango (dressings);
Seven of Unilever’s top
10 brands – Dove,
Knorr, Omo/Persil,
Rexona/Sure,
Lipton,
Hellmann’s and Wall’s ice cream
– are all Sustainable Living
Brands.
The press release added that
the company’s Sustainable
Living Brands are those
that communicate a strong
environmental or social
purpose, with products that
contribute to achieving the
company’s ambition of halving
its environmental footprint and
increasing its positive social
impact. While all of Unilever’s
brands are on a journey towards
sustainability, its Sustainable
Living Brands are those that are
furthest ahead.
Mr. Jope said: “Two-thirds of
consumers around the world say
they choose brands because of
their stand on social issues, and
over 90 percent of millennials say
they would switch brands for one
which champions a cause.”
“We believe the evidence is clear
and compelling that brands with
purpose grow. Purpose creates
relevance for a brand; it drives
talkability, builds penetration and
reduces price elasticity. In fact, we
believe this so strongly that we
are prepared to commit that in
the future, every Unilever brand
will be a brand
with purpose,” the CEO said.
“The fantastic work done by
brands such as Dove, Vaseline,
Seventh Generation, Ben & Jerry’s
and Brooke Bond shows the huge
impact that brands can have in
addressing an environmental or
social issue. But talking is not
enough, it is critical that brands
take action and demonstrate
their commitment to making a
difference.”
The press release further
added that the consumer goods
company’s Sustainable Living
Brands include Dove, which has
helped over 35 million young
people around the world with
self-esteem education since
2005; Lifebuoy, which has
reached one billion people with
its handwashing campaigns;
Vaseline, which has reached
three million people living on the
frontline of poverty and disaster
with skin healing programmes;
Ben & Jerry’s, which campaigns
for social justice and climate
change, and Rin whose
Career Academy works
with women across
rural India, through
mentoring and
careers
fairs.
SR
Sustainable Living Brands:
Unilever’s X-Factor for Growth

42. E
-commerce has given people
the luxury of shopping for a
wide range of products from
the comfort of their homes. The
e-commerce industry has given a
massive platform for manufacturers
as well as retailers to showcase
their goods to a larger audience.
Designers and makers of apparel
have especially seen their wares
being viewed and shipped across
the globe, garnering a huge base
of loyal customers. It is for this
reason that e-commerce platforms
for apparel and fashion attract
numerous budding designers
and brands who want to expand
their presence. Farfetch is one of
the world’s leading fashion retail
platforms that has its operations in
more than 15 countries.
Founded by a pioneering
entrepreneur, Farfetch was born
out of a deep love of fashion and a
profound belief that fashion is an
essential expression of individuality
and what makes each of us unique.
The Farfetch Platform
The company operates a modular
end-to-end technology platform
purpose-built to connect the luxury
fashion ecosystem worldwide.
Farfetch’s vision was to create a
single operating system that could
address the complex demands
of consumers and luxury sellers
alike. Its platform is built on
an API-enabled proprietary
technology stack, which provides
the foundation for the three main
components: applications, services,
and data.
As of December 31, 2018, over 3,000
different brands were available on
the company’s marketplace, ranging
from heritage brands to emerging
designers. Farfetch’s consumers can
shop across categories including
Womenswear, Menswear, Kidswear,
Vintage, Fine Watches, and Fine
Jewelry, and can ship to over 190
countries around the world.
The company offers a range of
services for consumers to make
shopping on Farfetch a great
experience. Customers can enjoy
localized websites in 15 local
languages, multilingual customer
support and great delivery options
including same-day delivery in 19
major global cities and F90 store to
door in 90 minutes. The company’s
platform also features inspirational,
unique content and other services to
help customers navigate the breadth
of product available on Farfetch.
Black & White Solutions
Farfetch Black & White is Farfetch’s
suite of white-label solutions for
luxury fashion brands and retailers.
The bundle of solutions delivers a
global, multi-channel e-commerce
offering that enables retailers and
brands to seamlessly interact with
their consumers, while also allowing
them to focus on the creative aspects
of their businesses. These solutions
are built on the Farfetch platform,
providing the same capabilities and
scale as the company’s marketplace,
and benefitting from the
improvements to and the innovation
of the platform. Farfetch helps it’s
brand partners to achieve their
goals by creating a modular package
of solutions from which they can
choose from specific bundles of
products and services or full end-to-
end e-commerce experience.
By building on the fully API-enabled
platform, Farfetch Black & White
“Encouraging collaboration and leading by example.”
Jose Neves, Founder & CEO
42 July - 2019
Connecting
people through
fashion: Farfetch
Connecting
people through
fashion: Farfetch

43. allows for a flexible front-end
suite of products, comprised
of global websites, apps or
WeChat stores. The back-end
infrastructure allows retailers
and brands to synchronize their
websites with in-store and
warehouse inventory, both from
mono-brand stores and other
suppliers in their distribution
network, and facilitate the
in-store pick-up and consumer
returns.
In July 2018, Farfetch acquired
CuriosityChina, a digital and
technology business that
focuses on amplifying premium
and luxury brands across
digital platforms in China. The
acquisition extends the Black &
White offering for the region, and
the team is now able to provide
plug-and-play access for luxury
brands to expand rapidly in
China via an integrated platform
servicing Chinese consumers
via Web, App, WeChat Store, and
Mini-Programs.
Browns
In May 2015, Farfetch acquired
Browns, an iconic British fashion
and luxury goods boutique.
Browns operates two retail
stores in London, on South
Molton Street and Browns East
in Shoreditch, and also leverages
applications on the platform.
Ownership of Browns enables
the company to understand
the luxury fashion ecosystem
through the lens of a boutique. In
addition to enhancing credibility
in fashion, Browns also serves
the critical mission of pioneering
innovations developed under
the Augmented Retail strategy,
including providing a luxury
fashion boutique environment
to test the Farfetch Store of the
Future technology.
Store of the Future
Farfetch’s Augmented Retail
vision begins with the consumer
in mind. Consumers enjoy the
experience of being in the store,
building a relationship with the
sales associate and experiencing
merchandise in the luxury
store setting, yet technology
has meant that consumers
now expect ultra-personalized
experiences, both in their real
and digital lives and expects
those worlds to be seamlessly
connected. The company’s
Augmented Retail vision reflects
the retail experience of the
future by giving retailers the
visibility of their consumers’
preferences, both in-store and
online, enabling them to enhance
the services they can offer.
With this in mind, Farfetch has
developed a range of services
and technologies to progress
innovation in the luxury industry.
Meet the enterprising founder and CEO of Farfetch, Jose Neves
In 2008 José Neves launched Farfetch, bringing together his interests in fashion and technology, as
well as his experience in design, wholesale and retail, to create a business that would celebrate and
support the diversity of the global fashion industry. His vision was to create a single portal, offering
independent boutiques the opportunity to compete with the leaders of fashion e-commerce.
José has been involved in the fashion start-up world since the mid-1990s when he launched a
footwear business SWEAR. José later founded SIX London, a fashion licensing and wholesale company
selling to 600 retailers worldwide. In 2001 José opened the renowned boutique store, which won the
British Fashion Award for Retailer of the Year in 2006.
José and Farfetch have received numerous accolades, including: Visionary Award at Decoded Fashion
Futures Awards (2017), Financial Times and ArcelorMittal Boldness in Business Smaller Company
Award (2016), Fast Company 2016 list of the world’s 50 most innovative companies, Business of
Fashion’s 500 People Shaping the Fashion Industry (2017, 2016 & 2015), Ernst & Young’s 2013
Entrepreneur of the Year and Vogue’s DirectorsOf.COM Top Entrepreneur in 2011.
SR
43July - 2019

44. Ways to Maximize Your Success
by Minimizing Your Retail Space
I
t was the elite retailer that every
suburb chased after. They would
provide specific zones for the
residents so that they have shopping
amenities. Keep in mind that these
shopping amenities include –
fashion boutiques, DIY shops,
grocery stores, and big-box
outlets. By the birth
of e-Commerce, it
changed the scene
completely
where
shoppers’ trips to these stores
reduced. Also, the impulse to buy
when you are at a store or just window
shopping drastically came down. Since
it is easier to view and go through
the products online. This had caused
many retailers to adapt to this new
environment while keeping in mind
that they won’t be competing with
their brand in the online market in
terms of sales. A study did show that
when the online retail rises by 25%
from the current 16% of the market
share a major downsizing is said
to occur in the retail space by the
year 2026.
This is where it becomes important
to minimize the retail space and
maximize your success. In other
words, it is better to have a smaller
store than own a big one that costs
you more. It is important that retailers
understand this fact and make a move
as soon as possible to avoid further
problems or loss. Thus downsizing is
the best option for future
stores. It is important
to place such branches
in a location where it is
overpopulated, Have other
businesses to collaborate
with and is a shopping
hub for people to
gather.
Big players
have already
realized this
factor and are
making their
move. This is
the reason why
we see many
small stores
around a location
that is crowded. Many
companies prefer scaling stores
that are small in locations like college
campuses, marts, and shopping streets
while having one or two big stores to
maintain brand value. It also depends
on how urbanized the location is.
This will surely reduce the real estate
expenses and eventually save to invest
in a different location. It will lead to a
fluid shopping that will further affect
the online and in-store market.
A physical footprint will be created
while featuring the most successful
item. Further allowing customers to
obtain the same item online with a
price variation became possible. Here
are ways to maximize retail space.
The Ways
We as humans feel the bigger the
store, the better the offering and
more products to choose from.
But keep in mind every person will
check the online price and see if
what you are offering in the store is
a better option. Both the products
are the same; there is no difference
in the brand or the product. We live
in a generation where everyone
wants offers and the way to solve is
mentioned below.
Focus on Existing Stores
It is important to realize that
customers prefer stores that they have
been seeing for quite some time. It is
important to build your customers’
trust. This is how you will be obtaining
more and more customers.
Always Keep in Mind
that less is more
It is important that you understand
how to increase your product
assortment based on what is in
demand. But keep in mind that you
will be reducing your selection in a few
areas and that will make the customers
have enough choices for those
products that are bought more. This
will make the overall strategy seem
more optimized that reduced.
Always Go for the Click-
and-Collect Shopping
The best way to mix both in-store
and online experience is through
‘buy online, pick up in-store’ option.
There are several ways in which
this is possible, one such way is to
ask the customer to purchase the
item online then pick that from the
designated locker or any space in
a designated store. This will make
it easy for customers to avoid long
checkout and make retailers benefit
from the foot traffic. Almost 20% to
30% of click-and-collect shoppers face
additional purchases when they arrive
at the store. But the plus is that both
customers and companies save on
shipping costs.
Improve your Services
through Latest Tech
It is evident that tech will take
over everything in the future. Keeping
that in mind, you need to be one step
ahead of your competitors and the tech
itself. This takes you to the next level
and eventually makes the future
of your company stable.
44 July - 2019
SR

46. R
etail has always been about
customers going to the
store to buy whatever they
need. E-commerce changed that
experience by enabling people to
order just about anything from the
comfort of their homes. However,
even with nearly everything from
groceries to apparel and appliances
available to be shopped online, a
significantly high number of people
still opts for shopping in brick
and mortar stores. But retail will
never be the same again. Numerous
retailers have seen their business go
from bad to worse and some have
even gone bankrupt, all thanks to
e-commerce.
But what if customers can leverage
all benefits of browsing for goods
online and then head over to a store
to physically to check it out for
themselves?
That is exactly what Brickwork
is planning for retail. Brickwork
identified that the experience
in-store can never be felt while
browsing online. But why would
people physically go a store if they
could have everything delivered
to their doorstep? The solution to
this dilemma was to deliver the
convenience of shopping online as
well as the in-store experience on
a single platform that would also
benefit the store owners.
A Holistic Approach
The Brickwork platform moves
beyond the uncertain hype of
“omnichannel” to help you optimize
the digital presence of your
retail stores to drive qualified
online traffic to unique in-store
experiences via geo-location
features, online appointment
booking, event RSVPs, and local
content and marketing. In turn,
Brickwork provides consumer
insights in a comprehensive data
map of digital-to-store customer
journeys. Digital has transformed
the way today’s customers shop.
Now it’s time to transform the way
retailers think about the path to
purchase.
Platform
A Retail CMS to Manage a
Store’s Most Valuable Data
To leverage your brick-and-mortar
stores as your greatest asset,
46 July - 2019
David Munczinski, CEO
Synergizing
the best
of online
shopping
and in-store
experience
Brickwork