The Mothercare Group consists mainly of two retail brands with international appeal: Mothercare and Early Learning Centre. Mothercare is the number one specialist retailer for moms-to-be and parents of young children. It offers everything needed, from clothes to strollers to bedding in its 300 stores spread across the UK. Early Learning Centre adds toys to this already comprehensive list, which are designed to help children explore the boundaries of their imaginations and creativity and make learning fun.
This major UK retailer must have the ability to implement price markdowns and sales at short notice. Being able to run ‘instant promotions’ to create consumer interest also helps clear seasonal stock and slow moving product lines. The Mothercare Group required a reduction in the amount of time it took for staff to re-price products and prepare for sales periods, which would also lead to an increase in inventory flow. The company wanted to eliminate human error in product price reduction calculations, produce labels on the shop floor in real time and reduce the amount of waste generated by the use of sheet labels. Basically, the solution the Mothercare Group was looking for needed to decrease costs and increase time efficiency.
SATO provided the Mothercare Group with the perfect solution. The Memor™ mobile computer by Datalogic ADC accesses a user-defined database to perform price calculations, allowing the staff on the shop floor to dedicate time to other important activities pertinent to the sale. The Memor mobile computer was also chosen for its other features, such as its compact and lightweight form, reliability and durability against accidental drops and exposure to liquids and dust.
Since implementing the SATO and Datalogic solution, the Mothercare Group has noticed a drastic reduction in time spent on sales preparation by employees, leaving them more time to serve customers and perform other tasks. The total solution has helped the Mothercare Group significantly increase real cost and time efficiencies, as well as deliver other tangible business improvements.
Mark Birnie, Retail Operations Manager at the Mothercare Group said: “For Mothercare and Early Learning Centre, the technology provided by SATO and Datalogic represents a real problem solving solution. Not only is the price very competitive, but the ease of use and functionality gives our companies flexibility of response while maintaining total control of our pricing. Now, we save time and reduce waste, resulting in an important Return of Investment (ROI). The SATO and Datalogic partnership ensures the best solution on the market to meet the needs of our business.”
The project to overhaul the Mothercare Group labelling and data collection solution by SATO and Datalogic was shortlisted in the ‘Best Use of In-Store Marketing Technology in Retail’ at the 2011 Retail Systems Awards.
Customer Name: the Mothercare Group (Mothercare and Early Learning Centre)
Industry: Retail
Sub-Industry: Specialty Retail
Application: Store
Sub Application: Pricing
Country: UK
Product: Memor
Partner: SATO
