For VCSTIMELESS,
European software solutions provider to the speciality
retail sector, internationalisation lies at the
heart of the company strategy, giving its retail
clients a unique value added proposition and providing
VCSTIMELESS with new opportunities for increasing
company revenues. To leverage the high retail
potential offered by the Japanese market, VCSTIMELESS
announces the opening of a new office in retail
hotspot, Tokyo.
Japan: a retail
hotspot
VCSTIMELESS has been present in Japan for over a year with business partner PBC,
supporting luxury VCSTIMELESS clients like Bonpoint (designer
childrenswear) and Anne
Fontaine (handmade ladies shirts). By the end of 2007 VCSTIMELESS
decided to invest further in the world’s second largest economy
by opening a Japanese subsidiary. With 127 million consumers, GDP at
a record high, strong Japanese retail brands like Uniqlo, Shimamura,
World and Aoyama shoji, international retailers with anything between
50 and 1000 stores and large department store chains such as Takashimaya,
Marui, Mitsukoshi, Isetan and Daimaru, Japan represents massive business
opportunities for a retail software provider like VCSTIMELESS.
Michel Ramis, CEO of VCSTIMELESS comments, “Opening the Tokyo office
reinforces the importance we attach to one of Asia’s most dynamic
retailing markets and underpins our strategy to become a true international
player, able to offer the world’s key retailing markets a local
and autonomous software provider with regional retail links and partner
networks, fully equipped to sell and implement our localised solutions.”
The golden rules
to entering the Japanese market
In order to capitalise on the huge potential offered by the Japanese
market, software vendors such as VCSTIMELESS must be able to offer truly
localised solutions. Ferdinand Capati, Country Manager
for VCSTIMELESS Japan highlights the main differences between doing business
in Europe and doing business in Japan. “In Japan the customer is
regarded as a God and expects to be treated as such. He is just as concerned
by the look and feel and design of the software as he is about the functionality
and the availability of support services in Japanese. In order to form
a lasting partnership with a company in Japan, three elements are required;
high levels of quality control including rigorous testing, a deliverable
solution which is exactly as specified and punctuality.”
The VCSTIMELESS Japan subsidiary has been established on these key principles.
VCSTIMELESS’ merchandise
management solution, Colombus, store
management solution, Colombus Retail; designed for medium size specilaity
retailers, and front
office store solution, BeStore; suited to large retail chains and
department stores, are already localised and available in Japanese. The
Japanese office will not only market the VCSTIMELESS solutions to Japanese
retailers but will integrate fully into the Japanese retail community
by attending major retail tradeshows and developing relationships with
industry leaders. In order to guarantee high levels of customer service,
VCSTIMELESS Japan will work with PBC who will provide integration, support
services, consulting, help desk and training services. Some of Japan’s
leading retail brands, including Muji, Fast
Retailing Group (Comptoir des Cotonniers) and Yohji
Yamamoto have already selected solutions from VCSTIMELESS to
manage their European store networks.
VCSTIMELESS’ international
strategy gains momentum
CEO and VCSTIMELESS strategy spokesperson, Michel Ramis, comments, “For
us internationalisation is much more than a business opportunity, it’s
a vision, a way of life.” After having invested massively in the
UK, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Canadian offices, VCSTIMELESS
has turned its attention to emerging markets. In addition to the opening
of the Tokyo office, VCSTIMELESS has also extended its partner network
in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland, Romania and Turkey. And VCSTIMELESS
is also present in China via business partner, Bedford Technologies,
with whom the software vendor signed a strategic partnership agreement
in 2006. Michel Ramis goes on to say, “Our future strategy and
revenue stream is based on internationalisation. Regarded today as a
European software company, VCSTIMELESS is making moves towards becoming
an international player with a presence in all four corners of the globe.
VCSTIMELESS’ objective in 2009 is to generate 50% of its turnover
from international activities.
Anne Fontaine
launches own-label stores in Japan
VCSTIMELESS client, luxury ladieswear retailer, Anne Fontaine, has been
present in Japan for over 10 years. The retailer initially entered the
Japanese market through concessions but in 2004 decided to go it alone. "Japan
is a strategic market. We wanted better control over our brand, distribution
and customer service", explains Ari Zlotkin, CEO and cofounder.
Following two years’ research and preparation, Anne Fontaine eventually
opened its first Japanese store in Tokyo in mid 2006. Culturally very
different from Europe and less open than the Chinese market, Japan was
a very difficult market to approach with a direct distribution channel.
To succeed in Japan, Anne Fontaine adapted its offering to the local
consumers and employed an entirely Japanese team. Over the next three
years, Anne Fontaine will open ten more stores which will be a mix of
owned stores and concessions. "Department stores account for approximately
70% of all textile sales in this country so they are key to any successful
business strategy". Also key is being able to install the Colombus
Retail point of sale software solution in Japanese and offering local
support services to the Japanese teams.”
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