American Apparel Deploys RFID Solution From Motorola, Vue Technology and Avery Dennison
Retailer to improve inventory accuracy and streamline operations with state-of-the-art RFID solution
HOLTSVILLE, N.Y., April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Enterprise
Mobility business of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced that
American Apparel, Inc. (Amex: APP), a company known for its vertically
integrated business model and "Made in Downtown LA" clothing, is furthering
its cutting-edge brand reputation by becoming one of the first retailers to
roll out radio frequency identification (RFID) at the item-level. American
Apparel plans to implement its RFID inventory system across each of its 17
stores in the New York metropolitan area over the next three months, with
plans to eventually deploy the solution to an additional 120 North American
locations.
The integrated solution being delivered by Vue Technology is comprised
of TrueVUE hardware and software products, fixed and mobile RFID readers
and antennas from Motorola's Enterprise Mobility business, and tags and
printers from Avery Dennison. The solution enables American Apparel to
track individual items as they are tagged at the company's manufacturing
facility in Los Angeles, received in its retail stores, stored in the stock
rooms at the stores, and then placed onto the sales floor and ultimately
sold at the point-of-sale (POS).
The initial deployment of American Apparel's roll-out took place at the
company's Columbia University location in New York City. To date, over
40,000 individual pieces of merchandise have been tagged so that store
personnel can use fixed and mobile RFID readers to track inventory on a
real-time basis, contributing to a well-stocked store and improving
customer service through timely responses to customer questions regarding
in-store merchandise.
By using an item-level RFID system, American Apparel is able to fulfill
its vision of consistently offering merchandise in every size and color on
store floors at all times, creating a more rewarding customer experience
and simplifying the inventory process for in-store staff. Store associates
can now take inventory much more quickly and with greater accuracy.
Replenishment activities have been dramatically improved resulting in
on-floor availability at over 99%. Weekly inventory processes can now be
accomplished with just two people in two hours instead of requiring four
people for eight hours as previously needed. As a result, store associates
have more time to service customers and improve store merchandising in
order to make sought out items easier to find.
"American Apparel takes pride in being a vertically-integrated
manufacturer, distributor and retailer of fashionable, high-quality basics,
and we embrace any technology that allows us to further realize this vision
to better serve our customers," said Zander Livingston, RFID technology
director for American Apparel. "We look forward to deploying the technology
on a larger scale so that our entire organization can leverage the value of
RFID to improve overall inventory management processes and enhance our
customers' shopping experience."
By deploying the technology in additional stores, American Apparel
expects to increase sales and customer service by having real-time
visibility into product at nearby stores, enhancing the intra-store
transfer process to balance stock. Furthermore, the retailer will be able
to respond more efficiently to market behavior by using RFID to record and
report on purchases, not only within one location, but across a region of
stores.
American Apparel selected the technologies for the solution based on
innovation, market leadership and proven success to work seamlessly
together to achieve item-level visibility. Motorola MC9090-G RFID handheld
readers are used for "cycle counting" and Motorola XR440 fixed readers with
AN480 antennas track stock moving from the backroom to the sales floor.
Vue's TrueVUE Site Manager, Enterprise Manager, Essentials, Essentials
Mobile, Commissioning, and Exchange were all selected to provide the
enterprise-wide device and network management, desktop and mobile
workflows, EPC commissioning, and developer interfaces to RFID. Various
VUEPoints, item-level antennas from Vue were also used at receiving
stations and for Point-of-Sale. Finally, Avery Dennison AD-222 tags were
chosen for their consistency and accuracy in tracking merchandise.
"We've noticed an increasing trend among retailers that are
implementing RFID at the item-level, and American Apparel is a prime
example of a retailer on the forefront of this trend," said Dr. Bill
Hardgrave, professor of Information Systems and the executive director of
the Information Technology Research Institute at the University of
Arkansas. "With RFID technology, American Apparel will be able to improve
the efficiency and accuracy of their supply chain, ultimately resulting in
the right products in the right place at the right time and an enhancement
of the overall customer experience."
About American Apparel
American Apparel is a vertically-integrated manufacturer, distributor,
and retailer of branded fashion basic apparel based in downtown Los
Angeles, California. As of December 31, 2007, American Apparel employed
over 6,700 people and operated over 180 retail stores in 13 countries,
including the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France,
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, Japan and
South Korea. American Apparel also operates a leading wholesale business
that supplies t-shirts and other casual wear to distributors and screen
printers. In addition to its retail stores and wholesale operations,
American Apparel operates an online retail e-commerce website at
http://store.americanapparel.net.
About Avery Dennison Corporation
Avery Dennison is a global leader in pressure-sensitive labeling
materials, retail tag, ticketing and branding systems and office products.
Based in Pasadena, Calif., Avery Dennison is a FORTUNE 500 Company with
2007 sales of $6.3 billion. Avery Dennison employs more than 30,000
individuals in 60 countries worldwide, who develop, manufacture and market
a wide range of products for both consumer and industrial markets. Products
offered by Avery Dennison include: Fasson brand self-adhesive materials;
Avery Dennison brand products for the retail and apparel industries; Avery
brand office products and graphics imaging media; specialty tapes,
peel-and-stick postage stamps, and labels for a wide variety of automotive,
industrial and durable goods applications.
About Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation in communications.
The company develops technologies, products and services that make mobile
experiences possible. Our portfolio includes communications infrastructure,
enterprise mobility solutions, digital set-tops, cable modems, mobile
devices and Bluetooth accessories. Motorola is committed to delivering next
generation communication solutions to people, businesses and governments. A
Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of
US $36.6 billion in 2007. For more information about our company, our
people and our innovations, please visit http://www.motorola.com.
About Vue Technology
Vue Technology is the leading provider of item-level RFID solutions,
offering breakthrough RFID infrastructure components and a powerful
software suite that delivers the most scalable, reliable, and ROI-driven
RFID solutions on the market. Vue's TrueVUE(TM) RFID Platform provides the
industry's only unified RFID infrastructure that allows customers to manage
dock doors, portals, mobile devices, smart surfaces and smart shelves to
achieve RFID visibility down to the item-level. With its patented RF
Networking devices and UHF enabled VUEPoints(TM), Vue allows standard
readers to network across thousands of antennas, exponentially increasing
the number of zones that readers can support and dramatically reducing the
cost barriers previously associated with item-level RFID roll-outs.
Combined with an integrated software suite for device and network
management, EPC commissioning, and RFID workflows, the TrueVUE(TM) RFID
Platform is uniquely able to deliver significant and measurable ROI to its
customers. For more information, visit http://www.vuetechnology.com.
HOLTSVILLE, N.Y., April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Enterprise
Mobility business of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced that
American Apparel, Inc. (Amex: APP), a company known for its vertically
integrated business model and "Made in Downtown LA" clothing, is furthering
its cutting-edge brand reputation by becoming one of the first retailers to
roll out radio frequency identification (RFID) at the item-level. American
Apparel plans to implement its RFID inventory system across each of its 17
stores in the New York metropolitan area over the next three months, with
plans to eventually deploy the solution to an additional 120 North American
locations.
The integrated solution being delivered by Vue Technology is comprised
of TrueVUE hardware and software products, fixed and mobile RFID readers
and antennas from Motorola's Enterprise Mobility business, and tags and
printers from Avery Dennison. The solution enables American Apparel to
track individual items as they are tagged at the company's manufacturing
facility in Los Angeles, received in its retail stores, stored in the stock
rooms at the stores, and then placed onto the sales floor and ultimately
sold at the point-of-sale (POS).
The initial deployment of American Apparel's roll-out took place at the
company's Columbia University location in New York City. To date, over
40,000 individual pieces of merchandise have been tagged so that store
personnel can use fixed and mobile RFID readers to track inventory on a
real-time basis, contributing to a well-stocked store and improving
customer service through timely responses to customer questions regarding
in-store merchandise.
By using an item-level RFID system, American Apparel is able to fulfill
its vision of consistently offering merchandise in every size and color on
store floors at all times, creating a more rewarding customer experience
and simplifying the inventory process for in-store staff. Store associates
can now take inventory much more quickly and with greater accuracy.
Replenishment activities have been dramatically improved resulting in
on-floor availability at over 99%. Weekly inventory processes can now be
accomplished with just two people in two hours instead of requiring four
people for eight hours as previously needed. As a result, store associates
have more time to service customers and improve store merchandising in
order to make sought out items easier to find.
"American Apparel takes pride in being a vertically-integrated
manufacturer, distributor and retailer of fashionable, high-quality basics,
and we embrace any technology that allows us to further realize this vision
to better serve our customers," said Zander Livingston, RFID technology
director for American Apparel. "We look forward to deploying the technology
on a larger scale so that our entire organization can leverage the value of
RFID to improve overall inventory management processes and enhance our
customers' shopping experience."
By deploying the technology in additional stores, American Apparel
expects to increase sales and customer service by having real-time
visibility into product at nearby stores, enhancing the intra-store
transfer process to balance stock. Furthermore, the retailer will be able
to respond more efficiently to market behavior by using RFID to record and
report on purchases, not only within one location, but across a region of
stores.
American Apparel selected the technologies for the solution based on
innovation, market leadership and proven success to work seamlessly
together to achieve item-level visibility. Motorola MC9090-G RFID handheld
readers are used for "cycle counting" and Motorola XR440 fixed readers with
AN480 antennas track stock moving from the backroom to the sales floor.
Vue's TrueVUE Site Manager, Enterprise Manager, Essentials, Essentials
Mobile, Commissioning, and Exchange were all selected to provide the
enterprise-wide device and network management, desktop and mobile
workflows, EPC commissioning, and developer interfaces to RFID. Various
VUEPoints, item-level antennas from Vue were also used at receiving
stations and for Point-of-Sale. Finally, Avery Dennison AD-222 tags were
chosen for their consistency and accuracy in tracking merchandise.
"We've noticed an increasing trend among retailers that are
implementing RFID at the item-level, and American Apparel is a prime
example of a retailer on the forefront of this trend," said Dr. Bill
Hardgrave, professor of Information Systems and the executive director of
the Information Technology Research Institute at the University of
Arkansas. "With RFID technology, American Apparel will be able to improve
the efficiency and accuracy of their supply chain, ultimately resulting in
the right products in the right place at the right time and an enhancement
of the overall customer experience."
About American Apparel
American Apparel is a vertically-integrated manufacturer, distributor,
and retailer of branded fashion basic apparel based in downtown Los
Angeles, California. As of December 31, 2007, American Apparel employed
over 6,700 people and operated over 180 retail stores in 13 countries,
including the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France,
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, Japan and
South Korea. American Apparel also operates a leading wholesale business
that supplies t-shirts and other casual wear to distributors and screen
printers. In addition to its retail stores and wholesale operations,
American Apparel operates an online retail e-commerce website at
http://store.americanapparel.net.
About Avery Dennison Corporation
Avery Dennison is a global leader in pressure-sensitive labeling
materials, retail tag, ticketing and branding systems and office products.
Based in Pasadena, Calif., Avery Dennison is a FORTUNE 500 Company with
2007 sales of $6.3 billion. Avery Dennison employs more than 30,000
individuals in 60 countries worldwide, who develop, manufacture and market
a wide range of products for both consumer and industrial markets. Products
offered by Avery Dennison include: Fasson brand self-adhesive materials;
Avery Dennison brand products for the retail and apparel industries; Avery
brand office products and graphics imaging media; specialty tapes,
peel-and-stick postage stamps, and labels for a wide variety of automotive,
industrial and durable goods applications.
About Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation in communications.
The company develops technologies, products and services that make mobile
experiences possible. Our portfolio includes communications infrastructure,
enterprise mobility solutions, digital set-tops, cable modems, mobile
devices and Bluetooth accessories. Motorola is committed to delivering next
generation communication solutions to people, businesses and governments. A
Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of
US $36.6 billion in 2007. For more information about our company, our
people and our innovations, please visit http://www.motorola.com.
About Vue Technology
Vue Technology is the leading provider of item-level RFID solutions,
offering breakthrough RFID infrastructure components and a powerful
software suite that delivers the most scalable, reliable, and ROI-driven
RFID solutions on the market. Vue's TrueVUE(TM) RFID Platform provides the
industry's only unified RFID infrastructure that allows customers to manage
dock doors, portals, mobile devices, smart surfaces and smart shelves to
achieve RFID visibility down to the item-level. With its patented RF
Networking devices and UHF enabled VUEPoints(TM), Vue allows standard
readers to network across thousands of antennas, exponentially increasing
the number of zones that readers can support and dramatically reducing the
cost barriers previously associated with item-level RFID roll-outs.
Combined with an integrated software suite for device and network
management, EPC commissioning, and RFID workflows, the TrueVUE(TM) RFID
Platform is uniquely able to deliver significant and measurable ROI to its
customers. For more information, visit http://www.vuetechnology.com.
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