LPP speeds up RFID implementation in more brands

Due to the rapidly growing role of multi-channel sales, LPP is accelerating the implementation of RFID technology in subsequent brands. The introduction of the electronic tag to Mohito, Cropp and House brands will be carried out over 5 times faster than in the flagship Reserved brand. The plans also include the use of soft tags, which will allow achieving 100% visibility of the entire offer. This is yet another stage of the Polish clothing manufacturer’s development within the framework of the omnichannel strategy.

The new retail reality caused by the Covid-19 pandemic was an impulse for LPP to significantly speed up the implementation of projects supporting multi-channel sales. What paid off during the period of closure of traditional shops and rapid growth in online sales were investments in the area of fashion-tech and the implementation of RFID system, i.e. the electronic tags technology. That solution indeed supported the effectiveness of sales of the Reserved flagship brand at the moment of crisis. Taking into consideration the key importance of this technology in the process of integrating sales channels, the company from Gdańsk decided to implement electronic tags to Mohito, Cropp and House faster than previously planned.

Thanks to the electronic tag, the Gdańsk company is able to track the availability of goods in real time, which allows it to better control the flow of goods between warehouses and stores and, in effect, respond to customer needs more quickly and accurately. – The first wave of the pandemic showed us that we have to be ready for various scenarios. Last March, with almost all brick and mortar stores closed down overnight, we had to adapt quickly to the new situation. Thanks to the use of RFID technology in Reserved, our brick and mortar stores started to serve as mini-warehouses handling online orders. As a result, we were able to process orders placed by the online store faster – explains Alexander Yashin, RFID expert, LPP. – The success we achieved thanks to the integral approach to sales in our flagship brand was the key factor which made us more and more convinced to go in that direction with other brands. We knew we had no time to lose and needed to speed up the works on RFID implementation in more brands – he adds.

The first implementation of RFID in Reserved brand proved to be the fastest implementation of this technology worldwide. Thanks to the lessons learned from that experience, the company will implement it the second time even faster. – In Reserved, we introduced RFID in 270 stores within 12 months. Now, we are planning to implement it in 867 stores of other brands in 12 countries in just 7 months. It means that we will roll out the solution over 5 times faster than in Reserved – adds Agata Mielewczyk, IT Project Manager, LPP.

The RFID technology will be used in a total of over 1200 LPP stores. Thus, in 2021 over 200 million pieces of goods, being an offer of four brands of the Polish company, will bear electronic tags. An important element of the ongoing project is also a novelty, which are the RFID soft tags. Owing to this solution, products such as jewellery, perfume and other accessories will also be covered by the technology. – The implementation of soft tags will allow us to increase the availability of our offer for online orders of Reserved, as well as Cropp, Mohito, and House brands. The implementation of the system and the additional introduction of soft tags will ensure 100 percent visibility of stock levels in real time. Such elements as accuracy and efficiency of this solution are essential to us in the development of our omnichannel strategy. – says Alexander Yashin.

– We made the decision to extend the technology finally to Cropp, House and Mohito in October 2020, and started training buyers and suppliers already in November. We are currently preparing the stores, i.e. painting the walls with screening paint, equipping them with detachers and RFID readers. Moreover, we are implementing changes in the warehouse management system, store applications or in the software of RFID coding tunnels in our Distribution Centre. The full rollout of the technology in the stores will begin in September this year, and in parallel training of store staff will be carried out until March 2022 – says Agata Mielewczyk.

The transformation that the company has undergone and the decision to accelerate many technological projects is a response to the new reality of the clothing industry. The potential of RFID technology fully fits with the needs of the dynamic development of LPP’s multi-channel sales model.

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LPP is a Polish family business and one of the fastest growing clothing companies in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. For over 25 years it has been successfully operating in Poland and abroad, offering its collection in traditional stores already on 25 markets, including in such prestigious capitals as London, Berlin, Tel Aviv or Moscow. LPP SA manages five fashion brands: Reserved, Cropp, House, Mohito, and Sinsay. The company has a chain of over 1800 stores with the total area of over 1.3 million sq.m. The online offer of the brands collections is available on 30 markets. On the basis of a global supply chain, the Polish clothing producer distributes over 265 million pieces of clothing to three continents. LPP also plays an important role as it employs over 24 thousand people in its offices and sales structures in Poland, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The company is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the WIG20 index and belongs to the prestigious MSCI Poland index.