How Oscar Jacobson’s omnichannel strategy is taking shape

Everywhere you look in retail, today, you’ll see businesses using technology to enable growth in their home markets and internationally.

Retail truly is a global industry, with the likes of German grocer Lidl and the UK & Ireland value fashion player Primark among the most noteworthy European retailers embarking on ambitious store opening projects in the promised land of the US.

Oscar Jacobson, a smaller but equally as ambitious menswear retailer based in Sweden, has grand expansion plans too. With eight stores in its home country and one in neighbouring Norway already, the company is looking to build a compelling international omnichannel retailing strategy.

It has scheduled the opening of two more Norwegian shops in 2017, while also eying the UK and Canada for further brick-and-mortar opportunities. Here at iVend Retail, we’re delighted to have provided them with the technological spine to support these plans for growth over the coming years.

Breaking down the silos

Senior retail executives around the world have been quick to bemoan the business function silos forming in their organisations in recent years, as additional trading channels, such as e-commerce, have emerged. And it was this issue the Oscar Jacobson team clearly wanted to resolve before taking its operation into new territories.

Until last year, the retailer was running on an unintegrated retail management system with each of its stores and its e-commerce business functioning very separately. Our retail management suite has helped solve the immediate issue, bringing sales, stock and other business intelligence on to one core system and connecting all senior management.

From this new platform, the options are endless for Oscar Jacobson as it plans to build its omnichannel retailing strategy and potentially integrate our loyalty solutions.

It’s important all retailers looking to grow – either at home or abroad – get their fundamental systems in the best possible shape before adding further layers of complexity to their operations and opening new stores.

Going global as one business

Although it focuses on selling formal wear in its home country, Oscar Jacobson is known for its golfing attire sold through third parties in the UK and across southern Europe.

Golf professionals Freddie Jacobson and Peter Hanson, playing on the European and US PGA Tour, have also helped spread the word as brand ambassadors – but now Oscar Jacobson is considering its own international stores to raise that profile even further.

The suitable retail management omnichannel solution is in place for them to achieve this goal, and it has been seamlessly integrated into Oscar Jacobson’s existing Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP system.

It’s crucial retailers expanding into new territories avoid creating additional silos, and when they launch in these markets they want their staff to be free to serve customers on the shop floor. Implementing a core retail management omnichannel solution can help cut down administrative tasks and free up store associates to provide the one-to-one retailing experience desired by today’s customers.

Oscar Jacobson’s recently-opened flagship in Täby is a shining example of an eye-catching brand showcase, and with our technology in place the retailer’s staff are spending more time serving customers and generating sales.

I’m certain that’s the aim of the game for retailers, whatever country they are in.

Read the case study on how iVend is helping support Oscar Jacobson’s international omnichannel strategy