Hungarian franchise chain COOP selects Visma Retail as provider of Retail IT
CO-OP Hungary, the chain’s parent company, has chosen Visma Retail as the winning tenderer in a call for tender for a new retail IT solution for the Hungarian COOP franchise group. The Hungarian COOP franchise intends to upgrade its retail IT system with Visma Retail’s IT solutions, a decision which it considers to be a direct investment in enhancing the shopping experience.
COOP, the leading food-retailer in Hungary, has selected Visma Retail’s IT solutions in order to achieve its key business objectives. With this investment, COOP once again proves that not only is it a values-driven organization that places an emphasis on tradition, but it is also a market player that strives continuously to renew itself with the aim of better addressing customer needs.
-We wish to provide quality service to our customers, an assortment that closely reflects our customers’ needs, while, at the same time, making the best IT tools available to all our colleagues. We were looking for a suitable, leading-edge software system to further the business goals of the COOP franchise and we opted for Visma Retail’s IT solutions. We expect that this new technological capability will enable us to further optimize our commercial processes just as it will enable our franchise partners to conduct business more efficiently, as a result of which we can offer real benefits to our customers as well as greatly enhance our loyalty program. This allows the COOP retail chain to maintain and increase its market position, says Géza Tóth, CEO of CO-OP Hungary Plc.
Innovative solutions
In partnership with a local IT system provider, Szintezis Plc, Visma Retail is to provide the back office, the point-of-sale as well as the customer loyalty system. The Visma Retail Suite, the Visma Retail POS and the loyalty software Abalon Relevate are expected to be up and running in all COOP stores from the 3rd quarter of 2017.
-Modern retailing is about delivering a seamless customer experience and engaging the empowered consumer - before, during and after a purchase. Mobile shopping solutions, supporting both retailers and consumers, are essential in this digital age of retail, says Peter Fischer, Division Director at Visma Retail.
-With our strength in the Nordics and our investment in research and development, our software is ahead many other markets. We are now very proud to have won the confidence to provide our innovative solutions outside the Nordics as well, says Sven Arnquist, VP International Sales, Visma Retail.
The COOP supermarket chain, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, has grown into Hungary’s leading food retailer. It operates on a franchise basis in the entire country, with 2800 shops in more than 1650 settlements. With more than 32000 employees, it is one of Hungary’s largest employer in small towns. More than 1.5 million customers choose COOP on a daily basis to shop for fresh produce, dry foods and household chemicals. The COOP Club loyalty program has 1 million members.
Visma Retail help retailers to successfully attract customers to their marketplace, increase sales through enhanced shopping experience and create loyal customers. This by clever use of technology supporting all the necessary processes at all levels. We offer complete front- and back-office solutions with a wide variety of services. This includes for example Point of sale applications, back-office solutions and central systems for store management, and also services such as project management, consultancy, implementation, support and IT operations. With more than 30 years of broad industry experience and deep technology knowledge, we have developed solutions customized for segments such as FMCG, Pharmacy and Specialized Trade.
