Imerco is Denmark’s largest chain of independent specialty household stores with more than 140 stores all over the country. At the same time, the chain is Denmark’s oldest with a history that goes back more than 80 years. At the chain headquarters, Imerco has centralized purchase, administration, IT, marketing and operations.
Must adjust to changing trends
The fact that Imerco today is Denmark’s largest chain of specialty household stores is mainly a result of the chain’s ability and will to keep up with market trends – and adjust to the customers’ requests for renewal and improvements. Customer demands can be very hard to predict. As fashion and trends are constantly changing it is very important for Imerco to know exactly which products are selling and which are not. To quickly adjust to market demands, Imerco needs the right insight into store turnover, and the wish to improve this insight made management look for a business intelligence tool.
Short way from decision to running solution
Imerco chose TARGIT Business Intelligence Suite based on the criteria of user-friendliness, technical stability and a low total cost of ownership. In addition, Imerco wanted a system that was based on standard tools. They got it all with TARGIT. Henning V. Sørensen, IT Manager at Imerco says: ”We were helped by some very competent and efficient technicians. Therefore, only a short period of time had passed from the day we made the decision to implement TARGIT to the day, the solution was up and running.”
Today, Imerco uses TARGIT Business Intelligence Suite in the central chain office. It is used by management, the purchase department, accounting and by the operations consultants at Imerco. In time, the solution will also be distributed to the 140 chain stores, and Imerco also expects to give their suppliers access to information concerning their own products.
The advantage of fast decisions
TARGIT now helps Imerco in their principal duty – to create growth and development in the individual stores. Management receives exact figures for revenue, and has a much better understanding of what happens during the days at each store. CEO at Imerco, Ib Berntsen: “TARGIT BI Suite provides us with the knowledge that is absolutely necessary for us in our work to develop the company and to maintain our position as Denmark’s largest chain of specialty household stores.”
For the purchase department, Implementation of TARGIT means that they can now follow up on campaigns and quickly ensure extra deliveries of certain products if necessary. The department now sees connections in product sales which have not previously been visible, and it has become easier to analyze the effects of the chain’s news paper campaigns.
When negotiating with suppliers, the purchase department can now base negotiations on internal figures. Previously, they had to trust the suppliers’ figures that were often misleading and did not the take actual store sales into account. IT Manager Henning V. Sørensen concludes: ”Profit margins are pushed from all sides, and if you are capable of making fast decisions based on facts, it gives you a competitive advantage.”
