Fashion retailer Phase Eight and Whistles. part of the TFG Brands (London) group, is launching a weather feed into its warehouse distribution system. The feed will have data on the weather in all shop locations. For example, if it is cold in their northern shops, the system will prioritise warm coats that are shipped from the warehouse to these northern locations where they are more likely to sell.
Another issue that faces clothing retailers is that the end of a season when unsold stock, usually sat on heavy duty garment rails in the warehouse, are sold at reduced prices. The order management system OneStock controls stock for online and shop customers efficiently so that fewer garments remain unsold at the end of each season.
The order management system enables online orders to be fulfilled by shops. Shops are used to recruit online customers by capturing their email addresses. Online orders can be shipped or collected from stores. Phase Eight and Whistle’s strategy is dealing with the challenges facing high street retailers by broadening the role of their shops. They also have a personal styling scheme, which has increased sales by £1 million. Most people are using the service for special occasions like weddings, but some use stylists for wardrobe updates.
Phase Eight has demonstrated that clothing retailers can grow by being more efficient and combine physical shops with online trading in creative ways. They need to minimise out of stock items, optimise shipping and improve the customer experience.
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