Improvements in supply chain and a greater focus on stock management have helped in putting EAST firmly back in profit. Now, the premium high street retailer is poised to launch new brand and technology initiatives that will put the customer at the heart of their strategy.

Ahead of a growing trend amongst their peers, EAST has, for a long time now, successfully taken on the complexities of refreshing their range in season, which they do every two weeks. This autumn will bring a further extension to this customer focus strategy with the launch of two new sub-brands.

EAST Boutique and EAST Artisan will be available from September. These new ranges focus on beautifully embellished, back-to-brand-heritage, premium pieces, and are aimed at a younger, more affluent customer. With customer choice and broadened appeal covered, emphasis is now on better serving, understanding and engaging with the customer.

While great merchandising and staff commitment are the prerequisite, many of the new initiatives now being implemented would not have been possible without the underpinning of new technologies that EAST has been embracing.

After a thorough investigation of their options, EAST opted for an all new point of sale system from long-term solution partner Prologic. Transaction speed, customer service, ease of use, and accurate stock management were all seen as priorities. By focusing on these core benefits over some of the more esoteric bells and whistles, EAST is confident that they will deliver a more reliable and information rich service to their customers.

Suzi Spink, Chief Operating Officer explains. "Our new labels will broaden the brand appeal and bring more customers to store. Serving them quickly, reliably and with the information they need is important. This project will certainly improve the customer experience all round as well as making life far easier and more productive for our staff."

To further enhance customer engagement, EAST is adding mobile computing to their technology arsenal. Store staff will provide customers with access to iPads for browsing, ordering and arranging delivery from EAST’s online collection.

On this theme, Spink continues, "The new systems will help our staff be more proactive and engage with the customer in a different and more intimate way. It will also help align our refreshed, more modern brand image with the expectations of the modern day customer."

Mobile touch screen computing will also enable a more immediate and interactive relationship between the stores and Head Office. Visual merchandising, trading actions and sales information will be sent to the mobile device along with HR, payroll and general store communications. This has already freed up staff for more customer-facing time and increased sales. This one initiative will save £11,000 per annum in print costs alone and, in some cases, it will improve the speed of information delivery to store by up to a week.

Understanding and retaining the customer is the core strategy, so more customer information will be captured both online and in store, providing a coherent single view of the customer irrespective of where they made their purchase. This data will then be profiled, segmented and used to build targeted campaigns that are more relevant to the individual customer.

Angus Stewart, Head of IT at EAST concludes. "Technology has always played an important role at EAST, so choosing the right people to provide that technology is half the battle. Prologic intimately understands the fashion business, so we’ve been able to work closely with them to pick out and perfect the functionality that will make the biggest difference to us and our customers. One of the core benefits of our earlier Prologic system was its reliability. Now I believe we have an equally reliable framework but with all the modern capabilities we need for our future strategy. And I am delighted to say that our staff are already enjoying the benefits".

Released: 21 June 2011