LPP as a technological company in the fashion industry
The next edition of the Made in Poland conference LPP has devoted to technologies that have been successfully revolutionizing the fashion industry for several years now. The Polish clothing producer is already one of the leaders in the fashion tech segment. In the following years, it aims to continue developing in that field, enabling workers to design new, creative and usually original projects. In LPP, there are currently 350 IT specialists working on implementing the fashion tech notion and over 60 million PLN are spent annually on technological investments.
On 12th-13th of June in 2018, the 3rd edition of the Made in Poland conference, organized by the Gdansk company, was held in LPP’s central office in Gdansk. The two previous ones were a chance to present LPP as a thriving clothing company as well as a logistic one, distributing 170 million garments to 20 countries annually. During this years’ edition, the company presented itself as a fashion tech company which uses new, intelligent technologies ranging from designing clothes, to logistics, multichannel sales and post-sales customer service.
– “Our idea for the upcoming years is development above all else,” says Marek Piechocki, CEO of LPP. “We strive to be one of the greatest and we know how to achieve it. The trade is going through a real revolution. Thanks to fashion tech, i.e., investments in new technologies, we aim to be the beneficiaries of this revolution. For example, we will systematically increase our internet sales so that its shares reach 20% of total income in 3 years. What is more, we want the increase in income to be attained based on our identity and key values,” dodaje Marek Piechocki.
In 2017, LPP’s gross income reached 7 billion PLN. Over the next three years, the company aims to increase its income by half, so that in 2021 it reaches 10.5 billion zlotys.
– “Our distinct feature is that no matter the size of the enterprise, we are able to approach the client individually,” says Jacek Kujawa, deputy director of LPP.
– “The unique work culture is not the only thing that is visible from the outside. Thanks to it our teams can work more efficiently and creatively. Our IT specialists have an impact on the creation of new solutions at every stage and are the owners of their projects. We are not afraid of creating new technologies from scratch, as long as it allows us to offer a unique service” adds Jacek Kujawa.
During the conference, LPP presented a number of authorial technological systems and solutions, for example the allocation system and Store Vision. First of which helps optimize the amount and speed of merchandise delivery sent to a given branch, at the same increasing the effectiveness of sales. The second an authorial mobile technology for branches that provides information regarding things like availability of goods in the shop, as well as in the sales network. It helps evaluate the stock, the circulation of merchandise in the salesroom, or helps with its effective stock replenishment. Currently, the Polish clothing producer is in the process of introducing the RFID technology, which is a system of electric ‘tags’ that allows the identification of a single product in the supply chain.
“RFID shows how LPP is evolving to efficiently face the challenges connected with technological revolution that is taking place in the retail trade,” says Jacek Kujawa, the deputy director dealing with IT and logistics. This technology is a link between the stationary sales network and e-commerce, it allows us to offer our clients products that match their individual needs. Implementing RFID is another step in the evolution of LPP from a clothing company into a fashion tech company,” adds Jacek Kujawa.
LPP is not planning on slowing down. By 2021 the estimated capital expenditures of the company on the chain of salerooms is 1.5 billion zlotys; by 2025, however, LPP plans to invest in this field over 3.5 billion zlotys. Foreign expansion will also be continued. This year alone, LPP will open its branches in Israel, Slovenia, and Kazakhstan. There are plans to open in Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2019.
The conference has shown that the founders of LPP consequently improve LPP as a Polish family company that is also to become an important participant in Poland’s socio-economic life.
– “I want LPP to stay a Polish company for years to come and for it to create added value of our products right here, in Poland,” says Marek Piechocki. “Polish economy will benefit from LPP’s growth. Our three-year plan means 4 thousand new jobs and 2.2 billion domestic investments. That money will stay in Poland” adds the CEO of LPP.
To ensure a smooth succession and preservation of current values as well as the culture of LPP, there will be a private institution created by the founder of LPP, to which they will transfer their shares.
– “Such a solution will prevent the fragmentation of capital, ensure that the shares of LPP are kept in the family, and allow the continuation of the companies development into a strong Polish enterprise,” assures Marek Piechocki.
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LPP SA is one of the most dynamically, fast-growing clothing companies in central-eastern Europe. The company has consistently operated in Poland and abroad for over 25 years, achieving success on the demanding clothing market. LPP SA manages 5 clothing brands: Reserved, Cropp, House, Mohito, and Sinsay. The company has a chain of over 1700 branches with a total surface area of 1M square meters and online shops in 11 European countries. They employ 25 thousand people in offices and sales structures in Poland, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The LPP SA firm is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, Index WIG20 and is part of a prestigious MSCI Polish index.