StrideRite steps up store performance with web-connected operations

By connecting its headquarters with 256 stores through new broadband Internet connections, children’s shoe retailer The StrideRite Corp. is gaining the ability to conduct instant promotions based on real-time sales data, CIO Yusef Akyuz says.

“Because headquarters and store retail systems will be constantly connected, we will be able to tell how a specific store or region is selling at any point in the day,” Akyuz tells InternetRetailer.com. “This gives us many flexibilities such as instant promotion, based on selling trends at that point in time.”

StrideRite is deploying an Internet-based broadband virtual private network from VPN provider Equant and broadband provider GoRemote Internet Communications Inc.

The platform will also support the delivery of customer services including electronic gift cards and loyalty programs, and help to reduce stock-outs and markdowns while improving inventory turns, Akyuz says.

The broadband network will be insulated from power losses through an extensive series of network interconnections, he adds.

StrideRite expects the new VPN, along with other retail technology upgrades, to provide a return on investment within three years, Akyuz says.