Retail Operations
10 October 2022
As a former retail leader running a tech business for retailers – autumn brings an excitement like no other, the “peak planning butterflies” are hard-wired into my psyche after 20 years working in retail and 5 years at StorIQ working with leading global retailers. This year’s a bit different though, we’re not just back to school after the summer and getting ready to support our customers through peak trading – the StorIQ team is gearing up for a new phase as part of a global company – and so I wanted to take a moment to reflect on how joining Cegid in June has made a huge difference to the StorIQ business, staff and most importantly our customers.
Cegid’s acquisition of StorIQ, was announced during the rather glamourous Cegid Connections Retail event in Monaco. The atmosphere was electric as Cegid hosted their retail customers and prospects for the first time in two years due to the Covid Pandemic. It was such an honour to be on stage with Nathalie and Sylvain to share the benefits of StorIQ with leaders from a selection of the brightest and best brands in the world.
That was just the start…
In the 4 months since Cegid welcomed us so warmly, we have learned a lot and been impressed by how open the Cegid teams have been to learn from us too. This was really brought home to me at Paris Retail Week last week where I saw months of hard work come to life as Cegid were demo-ing StorIQ on the Cegid stand
In this blog I wanted to share 3 key things I’ve learned from StorIQ becoming StorIQ, a Cegid Company.
Lesson 1: A shared language is really important
OK, so Cegid is a French company and none of us speak French (although the new StorIQ French School on Wednesday evenings should at least mean we can buy a beer next time we visit…) But we all speak the language of retail, and specifically stores. We all know how hard life has been for store teams over the last few years – even before Covid retail teams were under pressure and under invested – and we’re all driven by a mission to get great tech, whether it’s task management, POS or omnichannel fulfilment solutions, into the hands of store teams to make their lives easier. Cegid’s ambitions for StorIQ are totally aligned with mine and we are on a path to position StorIQ as a core element of the Cegid Retail offering ‘Retail the New Way’.
Lesson 2: Smart people make smart solutions
Joining Cegid means we’re joining a community of really smart people dedicated to improving the lives of store teams and making retail technology a true enabler for retailers. I feel both lucky and excited to have found a new home for StorIQ in Cegid – I’m so proud of the super smart and very talented team at StorIQ and I’ve loved seeing the StorIQ and Cegid teams learn from each other, swap insights and even make friends! And although we love Silicon Roundabout and Shoreditch, it’s been great to break away from London’s urban tech scene and we’ve loved the time we’ve spent with the Cegid team in Lyon, Paris, Megeve and Monaco – it’s been brilliant to be so warmly welcomed to such a great team.
Lesson 3: Strong businesses together can make a big impact
Cegid’s investment and confidence in StorIQ has already made an impact on the market. We’ve signed new deals and we are really busy as more and more top retailers and brands contact us every day to see how StorIQ can improve their retail operations. Retail task management and communication is a relatively new market, and with Cegid’s show of confidence in StorIQ is now able to bring profitability and efficiency gains to more retailers. It has really shown me the power of joining forces with the right partner.
It has been great to see the Cegid brand now being adopted across the StorIQ platforms and I’d love to know what you think of our revamped StorIQ.net website.
So, get in touch – if we have had a conversation before, I can show you how we’ve created new solutions for modern retailers while improving their store estate’s profitability – and if we’ve never spoken, perhaps now is the time to drive more from your stores.
We’d love to show you StorIQ and find out how we could help you and your store teams. Get in touch, here at StorIQ A Cegid Company we would love to show you our market-leading app.
Get in touch with me on LinkedIn here.
