United Colors of Benetton

The following is an interview with Mr. Andrea Rossetto, President of Karos, Ltd., the Benetton agent for the Western United States. Mr. Rossetto also owns a number of his own Benetton stores.

I started with Benetton in 1981 in Paris, France as a stockroom clerk. I then graduated to the Sales Rep Office. Two years later I was transferred to Boston, Massachusetts, where as an Assistant Rep, I licensed 48 Benetton stores. In 1987 I opened the agency for the Western United States. I am now based in Los Angeles and I oversee 44 stores in my region.

Benetton is a very young and open company, where your own personality and strengths are valued more than experience and academics. Growth and challenging new goals are at the base of Benetton’s success.

Please tell us about your stores.
United Colors of Benetton stores exist all over the world with approximately 7,000 stores. Our own locations are mostly concentrated along the west coast of the United States on street locations and in malls.

We sell womens and mens apparel, accessories, shoes and fragrances. Our clients are mostly fashion oriented women and men ages 20 to 35. We have about 10 employees per location.

How long have you been using Retail Pro?
We have been using Retail Pro since the fall/winter 1993.

What did you do before Retail Pro for POS and inventory control?
Each store was using a different software.

Did you compare Retail Pro to other systems?
From 1986 to 1993 we had used 3 different POS systems, one of them specifically designed and written for Benetton. Although they served the purpose of running a store, we were never really impressed with the software performance.

What immediately attracted us to Retail Pro were the facts that:

• The system could handle our alphanumeric barcode and we did not have to re-tag the merchandise.

• The detailed customer data base can be accessed to market specific products to specific customers.
• Powerful reports like the Top 10, Sell-thru reports, etc.
• The user-friendly nature of the system.
• The international existence of Retail Pro.

How has Retail Pro affected your Point of Sale operations and inventory control?
In a very positive way! We’ve gained much more control of the point of sale operations within each location, not to mention the inventory control. Particularly important is the variety of reports that the system offers. These reports give you information about best selling items, colors and sizes. This is extremely helpful in the buying process!

What do you find to be the most useful aspect of Retail Pro?
Being constantly informed about our inventory.

How do your employees like working with Retail Pro?
They needed some training at first, but soon became comfortable with it. Occasionally you will meet new employees who are already familiar with the system because of their previous experience, which makes their training period shorter.

One of the features most appreciated and used by all employees is the customer file that allows them to build "their own" clientele as well as keep track of their buying history. We have a huge clientele file that we use when doing direct mail promotion.

What future plans do you have for opening new stores?
Maintaining a growth of 4 to 8 stores per year.

How can Retail Pro help you achieve these plans?
Profitability and inventory control are the areas where Retail Pro helps us grow.

How have you financially benefited from Retail Pro?
Some of the exciting features that make Retail Pro a great investment are:

• Merchandise Management - with stores all over the Western United States we have been able to effectively move merchandise between different markets, therefore getting the right item at the right place.
• Reduce inventory shrinkage by spot-checking on single items and physical inventory reports .
• Cash Management - detect fraudulent activities within stores by using the cash management reports.

Thank You!