Londis DCU – Ireland

Londis has launched Ireland's most technologically advanced and sustainable grocery store in the heart of the Dublin City University (DCU) campus.
The concept store was in development for over a year, through a formal partnership between DCU and Londis' parent company, BWG Foods.
The store features a highly sophisticated central intelligence platform that continuously monitors in-store activity to enhance operational efficiency, improve the customer experience, and ultimately increase the overall profitability of the store.
"The concept is to provide a sustainable store, utilising the newest, most advanced technology that will improve retail," said Donald Christian, Retail Manager, DCU. "Not only does this ensure the students on site have a great convenience store on their doorstep but it is a showcase for Irish retail. We want Irish retailers to come and see this, take our concepts, copy them and improve them. If that means that Irish retail is healthier and more profitable in the long term, then we've done our jobs."

"It is a fantastic time saver," said Donald Christian. "To give you an idea a, 1000 ticket price change exercise that would take 15 man hours, now takes just 15 minutes.”

"For the ASM system, the time saving is a big benefit. It requires a behaviour change for our staff, allowing them to be more proactive in restocking shelves instead of firefighting other matters. Once we get amber alerts from the system we can restock the shelves so that we don't get situations where customers are having their orders fulfilled from the stock room, as this is a poor use of time."

"All of our technologies are aimed at giving our staff more time on the shop floor providing a better customer experience. If we have full availability, then customers will return, if we are able to give great service, customers will return - the two go hand in hand."

Commenting on the new store, Conor Hayes, Sales Director, Londis said, "We in Londis are continually exploring opportunities to enhance the shopping experience for our customers and through this highly experimental process we believe we have developed a new store design that will allow our retailers to strongly differentiate themselves in the marketplace and meet the continually evolving needs and expectations of grocery retailing's multifaceted customer base."
In addition to the new campus store, Londis, its parent company BWG Foods, and the DCU Innovation, have partnered to research and test new emerging technologies that could be integrated into the shopping experience of the future. Through this partnership, new concepts will be tested and pioneered through BWG's expansive supply chain and expansive store network.

Donald Christian, Retail Manager, DCU adds, "Ultimately, as much as I say I want to improve retail in Ireland by showcasing the best standard, and the best technologies, there is no point in doing that unless we are increasing turnover. It has to hit the bottom line. I am confident that what we are installing here will certainly do that.