Mothercare: From 'best back office' to 'retailer of the year' – making huge change happen.
In 2007 Mothercare and Triangle won the Back Office Implementation Award at European Retail Solutions. Mothercare's Retail Manager implementation, In.Site, scooped the award for a system that was 'revolutionising retail operations, improving efficiency, productivity and customer service'.
Little did the implementation team realise that their project was to play a pivotal role in the success of an important acquisition, and win them the 'Retailer of the Year' award at Retail Systems 2008.
In June 2007 Mothercare acquired Chelsea Stores Holdings Limited, which owned and operated The Early Learning Centre (ELC). The two organisations had different cultures, technologies and brands. The combined estate totals over 400 stores across the UK. A huge integration challenge.
This was an important acquisition to get right, and aggressive targets were set. In.Site, as the flagship integration project, was given the objectives of integrating ELC's communications and achieving the same business improvements across the ELC store base that Mothercare had already achieved. The team was given less than six months to go live.
The result was, by any measure, a fantastic success:
Technically - the ELC email system and intranet were removed, and all communication now takes place through In.Site. There wasn't a single concern raised when ELC email was switched off, and IT support costs fell. Tangible licensing, software and hardware benefits were gained.
Culturally - the culture and brands of both retailers remained, while ELC store operations became more professional, consistent and streamlined. The perfect result.
Sarah Vaughan, Project Manager at Mothercare has the last word: "I don't know of any other retailer that has successfully completed a project like this - using the one system for two brands following an acquisition. The integration simply had to work, to deliver immediate strategic as well as tactical benefits."
Triangle are delighted at the success of this critical project, and we'd like to thank the Mothercare/ELC team for their partnership. We're pleased that Retail Manager has played such a pivotal role in bringing two organisations together.
November 2008
