L'Occitane goes international with Yourcegid Retail

The celebrated Provencal brand of natural cosmetics deploys Yourcegid Retail using Cegid's Web Access technology.

L'Occitane, manufacturer and distributor of cosmetics, soaps, room fragrances and otherProvence-inspired, personal care products, with more than 1,100 shops in 60 countries, has implemented Yourcegid Retail in its 28 Australian stores and plans to deploy the solution in Asia and America this year.

After a series of conclusive trials, L'Occitane opted for Yourcegid Retail to manage theirmerchandising management, network management and coordination requirements. L'Occitane found Cegid's industry-specific expertise and the software's rich functionality particularly impressive. The software corresponds perfectly to L'Occitane's needs in terms of effective merchandise management, stock management, customer loyalty programs and automatic replenishment, as well as coordinating the entire store network.

Technological performance was also a determining factor in L'Occitane's decision. The retailer’s international strategy requires the deployment of centralized servers and this matched with the technology developed by Cegid. The L'Occitane pilot deployment uses Cegid’s Web Access technology to connect to three servers located in Hong Kong.

To ensure the success of Cegid’s first Australian deployment, Cegid worked alongside its partner Tectura, who already has a presence "down under". The software was installed at the brisk pace of two shops per day, and thanks to Cegid's high level of training, Tectura was able to deploy the solution in an efficient and secure manner. Analysis, configuration, interface development, user manual preparation and user training all ran smoothly, and to support the stores, level 2 user support was also set up.

Following the successful deployment of Yourcegid Retail Retail in Australia, particularly during the crucial Christmas trading period,  L’Occitane intends to deploy the solution across other countries including Asia (140 stores) and America (40 stores).

"Our partner's deployment ability was crucial to our decision. Cegid's international experience and industry-specific expertise ensures that the solution will be implemented across the globe in a secure, well-organized fashion," said Etienne de Verdelhan, L'Occitane's Chief Information Officer.

"With L'Occitane, Cegid’s first significant customer in the Asia-Pacific region, the company has considerably strengthened its positioning and its prominence in the region, with a focus on the major speciality retail sector. This implementation also strengthens Cegid's partnership with Tectura and is a tangible result of our work together," concludes Nathalie Échinard, Cegid's Executive Director of Vertical Markets.