Jul 31, 2007RFID Journal, the world's leading media and events company covering radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, and the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA), the leading trade association for the apparel and footwear industries, announced today that two innovative retailers will present new case studies showing how RFID technologies can boost sales by as much as 5 percent, while also improving the customer shopping experience, at the second annual RFID Journal—AAFA Apparel & Footwear Summit. The conference will be held Aug. 20-22, 2007, at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City.
"The use of RFID in a store has been proven to increase sales by as much as 5 percent," says Neco Can, co-owner of the Industry Standard, a new shop targeting young consumers. "We're taking it a step further by not just using RFID to improve the on-shelf availability of products, but also to improve the shopping experience through social shopping. This is the future of retailing."
The Industry Standard is using RFID transponders in hangtags on all products sold in the store. The technology allows shoppers to receive more information about the products, and to share that information remotely with friends via cell phone.Nick Tentis, a hot British designer with his own fashionable boutique, is also using RFID—in the form of an interactive mirror that incorporates an RFID reader linked to a digital display—to provide product information to consumers. When a customer brings a tagged item near the mirror, the system displays a description of the garment, as well as other available colors and sizes. It also suggests accompanying accessories and helps retailers up-sell and cross-sell.
"The use of RFID and other types of technology helps our customers relate to our brand, and enables us to give them a better service," says Tentis, who will present a case study on his company's use of RFID for the first time.
"RFID is about more than just cutting costs, so we're pleased to have two retailers presenting at the RFID Journal—AAFA Apparel & Footwear Summit who can show how it can be used in the store to appeal to young, tech-savvy consumers," says Mark Roberti, founder and editor of RFID Journal. "This is the only event where companies can learn how to use RFID to improve the way they do business, from managing raw materials to completing the sale."
Other featured speakers will include:
- Bill Holder, CIO of Dillard's
- Frank Cornelius, RFID project leader at New Balance
- Götz Pfeifferling, CIO of Lemmi Fashion, a European apparel company that has expanded the use of RFID throughout its operations
- Philip Calderbank, director of global marketing for RFID and security at
- Marshall Kay, RFID practice leader at Kurt Salmon Associates
- Patrick Javick, apparel representative at EPCglobal North America
- Mark Roberti, editor and founder of RFID Journal
"This is truly the must-attend event for the apparel and footwear industries," says Mary Howell, VP ofindustry relations for the AAFA. "It's the one place where executives in the apparel and footwear industries can get objective information about a much-hyped new technology, and see exactly how it can—and can't—help them improve the way they do business."
