BCBG Enhances Its Omni-Channel Strategy

By Erin Harris, Editor-In-Chief, Cell & Gene
Follow Me On Twitter @ErinHarris_1

July 2015 Integrated Solutions For Retailers

Here’s how a leading fashion retailer relies on a cloud-based enterprise commerce solution to improve the in-store experience and drive its overall omni-channel strategy.

BCBG Max Azria Group (BCBG) is known worldwide as a chic women’s apparel brand with a loyal customer base. With nearly 180 U.S. stores and 700 internationally, BCBG is committed to pleasing and influencing its savvy omni-channel customers via a pleasant in-store experience as well as anytime, anywhere fulfillment. As such, BCBG has taken significant steps to propel forward the customer experience. BCBG’s VP of Global Newcomers and Omni-Channel, Alex Golshan, explains how a cloud-based enterprise commerce solution has helped not only the retailer’s in-store experience but also its overall omnichannel strategy.

Golshan explains that BCBG’s commitment to its omni-channel strategy is strong and that it began in earnest when the retailer launched Demandware’s Digital Store Solution. Now associates can place orders on a mobile device (i.e., PCI-compliant iPad minis in Verifone sleds) from anywhere in the store, alleviating the need to bring the customer to the cash wrap to close the sale. Associates may also place orders for merchandise not available in the store, enabling them to save the sale and maintain customer satisfaction. “If we don’t have the right size or color in stock, or even if the customer’s looking for an item we just don’t typically carry in the store, associates can use this tool to browse our catalog, to view related accessories, to view sharp, crisp images of the product, and ultimately to complete the transaction,” explains Golshan. “This is a great accomplishment in our move toward omni-channel; we believe mobilizing our associates and giving them chainwide inventory visibility is going to be our huge growth engine for the company.”

Globalization Meets Omni-Channel Commerce
Golshan will be the first to tell you that BCBG’s forwardthinking path to omni-channel commerce is a marathon not a sprint, especially when it comes to both globalization and fulfillment. BCBG’s roadmap includes partnering with Demandware to offer omni-channel fulfillment. “We have a solid road map, and we have a very structured mindset around omni-channel fulfillment, as we’ve taken concrete steps to start that process. But omni-channel is a journey; it is not a single project,” explains Golshan. “To date, we’ve authorized free shipping, and in fact, we’ve authorized free second-day air shipping for our customers, so that they may receive their merchandise as fast as possible.”

In addition to in-store and fulfillment improvements, Golshan explains that BCBG relies on Demandware to streamline its globalization processes. “Here is how omni-channel and global expansions can come together: Many retailers ship goods from the U.S. to different parts of the world, or they must make a large capital investment to establish distribution centers in different regions of the world in order to ship locally from those regions,” he says. “We would like to use omni-channel as a mechanism to fasttrack that process. For example, we would like to be able to receive orders from Japanese customers and actually ship to them from our Japan store in the interim, before we are able to establish a large distribution center in that area. Our omni-channel road map enables us to serve customers worldwide — anywhere that we have a store — in a much better and faster way than we would have if we did not have the Demandware technology.”

Further, BCBG plans to expand its presence in Canada, Europe, and Asia, and Golshan states that the Demandware platform enables the brand to expand quickly due to localized language translations and payment types specific to those areas.

BCBG has found great success with Demandware’s platform, and it has additional plans to meet its omni-channel goals. “Perhaps someday we will integrate our ordering system with courier companies such as Uber or Shuttle, so the customer may receive a purchase in an hour,” says Golshan. That’s the power of omni-channel commerce — knowing we will serve our customers well, reduce our costs, and balance our inventory allocations so that we do not have to do markdowns. We can balance demand across all of our locations, and we can even start tapping into our wholesale side of the business. BCBG’s omni-channel opportunities are endless.”

For More Information On Demandware Go To www.demandware.com