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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