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Galleria Expands U.S. Presence with New Office in Bentonville, Arkansas

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO - (June 30, 2009) -Galleria, the leading provider of customer-centric merchandising solutions, today announced the opening of a new office in Bentonville, Ark.� With its U.S. headquarters in Chicago, the office was established to provide enhanced support for its growing U.S. customer base.

"Our U.S. client base continues to grow as retailers realize the benefits of customer-centric merchandising strategies," said Ian Duncan-Lewis, chief executive officer, Galleria. "Our new office in Bentonville will enable us to meet increasing demand and better serve our growing list of customers and prospects."

Galleria currently works with customers including Wal-Mart, Tesco, Safeway, Morrisons, Giant Eagle and several of the world's leading retailers. It is also engaged in multiple implementations of its merchandise planning solutions in large-scale live retail environments. The Bentonville office, headed by Greg Wofford, will enable Galleria to further establish its U.S. presence while helping customers meet their customer-centric merchandising goals.

Galleria Promotes Doug Erickson to Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO - (April 28, 2008) - Galleria Retail Technology Solutions, the leading provider of automated assortment and space planning solutions, today announced Doug Erickson's promotion to executive vice president of global sales and marketing. Based out of Chicago, Erickson is responsible for growing Galleria's global business, which currently includes Food Lion, Giant Eagle, Hannaford, Tesco and several other of the world's top 20 retailers. He will manage Galleria's U.S. and EMEA sales and marketing teams, reporting directly to the chief executive officer, Ian Duncan-Lewis.

"I am thrilled to take on this new role and continue to drive our global sales growth," said Erickson. "Galleria provides the latest, advanced retail technology solutions, and I'm dedicated to helping retailers realize their potential to achieve a competitive advantage and provide a superior return on investment."

Erickson has been with Galleria for more than three years, joining the business when it launched in the U.S. in 2004. He was previously vice president of sales for Irista, Inc., an HK Systems company.

"We are committed to growing our sales team in the U.S. and internationally," said Duncan-Lewis. "Doug has been instrumental in our success, playing a key role in every customer win since we opened our doors in the U.S. With more than 15 years of sales and management experience, he is ideally suited to this role and I am confident that under his leadership our global sales effort will continue to thrive."

About Galleria Retail Technology Solutions Galleria is the leading provider of automated store specific assortment and space planning solutions. Galleria's solutions provide value by integrating with a retailer's existing systems and resources to deliver the right product to the right stores in the appropriate quantities. The net result is that retailers realize significant benefits from increased sales, enhanced margins, reduced waste/mark-down and accelerated inventory turns. Galleria currently works with customers including Tesco, Food Lion, Hannaford Bros, Giant Eagle and several other of the world's top 20 retailers. It is currently engaged on 6 implementations of its automated micro assortment and space planning solution in to large-scale live retail environments.

Galleria and Winston Weber & Associates Discuss New-Generation Merchandising Strategies to Drive Sales in Free Webinar

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO - (June 10, 2009) -Galleria and Winston Weber & Associates (WWA) will host a free webinar titled "Driving Sales in the Current Climate & Preparing for the Upswing" on June 17, 2009, at 10 a.m. CDT. The one-hour, educational online event will provide insight into how successful retailers employ a careful balance of managing costs with investments in customer-centric initiatives to retain and attract new customers in the current economy. Further, it will explain why investing in shoppers now will position retailers to be far ahead of their competition when the market improves.

The event will be presented by Doug Erickson, Galleria's executive vice president of global sales and marketing, and Winston Weber, chairman & CEO of WWA. Weber, an expert in shopper-centricity, is also one of the original architects of category management. The webinar is for anyone interested in learning new-generation merchandising strategies that will grow sales through customer satisfaction; how to successfully restructure merchandising processes to move beyond traditional behaviors and achieve shopper-centricity; and how to optimize inventory to increase existing ROI and free up capital in existing stores. Attendees will also receive a complimentary copy of Galleria's latest whitepaper, "Generating Maximum ROI through Customer-Centric Merchandising."

Click here to sign up for the free webinar.

Giant Eagle Optimizes Weekly Promotional Displays with Galleria Promotional Display Optimization Solution

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO - (February 3, 2009) - Galleria Retail Technology Solutions today announced that Giant Eagle has deployed its Promotional Display OptimizationT Solution to streamline and optimize its weekly promotion display planning initiatives. The only retailer to automate its promotional displays on this scale, Giant Eagle is now able to create customer-centric merchandise planograms on a store-by-store, weekly basis to ensure the products advertised in its weekly flyers are optimized on the shelf to meet demand. Upon completing a five-month initial implementation in 138 stores, the retailer has achieved significant sales gains-while reducing end-of-promotion inventory. Giant Eagle continues to rollout the solution across its entire enterprise.

"To guarantee a satisfying shopping experience, it's imperative that the merchandising of our in-store displays reflect our weekly promotion plans and that inventories are optimized for each store's unique demand," said Stephanie White, vice president of sales systems and operations, Giant Eagle. "With Galleria's solution, we can quickly and easily generate high quality merchandise plans to ensure the right products are displayed at the right stores in the right quantities when customers want them. Because the solution is intuitive and easy to use, we were able to deploy it rapidly and begin achieving a return on investment immediately."

Using Galleria's automated application, Giant Eagle incorporates store-specific data to optimize end cap displays, thus reducing out-of-stocks and eliminating excess inventory. The speed of the solution allows Giant Eagle to operate efficiently with the ability to produce more than 2,000 planograms per day. Further, the training program developed by Galleria enables team members to become fully fluent with the application very quickly.

"We are extremely pleased with the immediate success of this project," said Kent Smith, senior consultant for Galleria. "Giant Eagle is truly an innovative, fast-paced retailer. The scalability of our merchandising application combined with Giant Eagle's refined business processes enables Giant Eagle to execute successful, profitable promotions every week. It was a pleasure to work with such a dynamic team."

Galleria Appoints Vice President of Global Marketing

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO - (July 15, 2008) - Galleria Retail Technology Solutions, the leading provider of automated assortment and space planning solutions, today announced the addition of Mary Van Scheltema as vice president of global marketing. With more than 17 years of industry experience, Van Scheltema is responsible for directing Galleria's global marketing initiatives to ensure brand awareness and market differentiation.

"I'm thrilled to join Galleria's dynamic team of retail experts," said Van Scheltema. "Galleria is a market leader and the only customer centric merchandising solution to provide a holistic approach to enable store-specific assortment and space planning. I'm eager to be a part of a company that offers such a unique and valuable business application which provides retailers and manufacturers with the ability to accommodate local influences while maintaining centralized control and efficiency."

Prior to joining Galleria, Van Scheltema served as a marketing director of RedPrairie, a software firm focused on supply chain and retail operations management. In this role, she was responsible for all marketing initiatives, including marketing five software suites serving the retail and foodservice industries. Van Scheltema was also the director of marketing communications for Medela, Inc., an international consumer products manufacturer, where she oversaw all marketing communication initiatives and the development of corporate and product branding strategies.

"Mary brings the invaluable expertise we need to continue driving our global awareness," said Doug Erickson, executive vice president of global sales and marketing, Galleria. "As we continue to grow, we are committed to recruiting top industry talent to help our customers recognize the full return on investment and competitive advantage that can be achieved through our advanced retail planning solutions."

About Galleria Retail Technology Solutions Galleria is the leading provider of automated store specific assortment and space planning solutions. Galleria's solutions provide value by integrating with a retailer's existing systems and resources to deliver the right product to the right stores in the right quantities. The net result is that retailers realize significant benefits including increased sales, enhanced margins, reduced waste/mark-down and accelerated inventory turns. Galleria currently works with customers including Tesco, Food Lion, Hannaford Bros, Giant Eagle and several of the world's top 20 retailers. It is currently engaged in six implementations of its automated micro assortment and space planning solution in to large-scale live retail environments.

Galleria Launches Business Consulting Services

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO - (Jan. 12, 2009) - Galleria, the leading provider of customer-centric merchandising solutions, today launched its business consulting services division to help retailers and manufacturers enhance their category management initiatives. Galleria's consulting services include software-based services, business process consulting, training and education. The services are designed to provide customers with cost-effective, customer-centric strategies that result in increased sales, enhanced margins, reduced waste and accelerated inventory turns in a timely, efficient manner. Galleria provides counsel on numerous merchandising strategies, including store clustering and category evaluation, ranking and clustering.

"Our services team has the knowledge and resources to rapidly and effectively help customers improve merchandising operations to ensure the right products are always in the right place in the right capacity," said John McGiffin, vice president of business consulting, Galleria. "In addition, we have the ability to target specific categories, such as those under pressure, and quickly create store-specific merchandise plans to optimize the category and enhance revenue."

Focused specifically within the category management sector, each member of Galleria's seasoned business consulting team averages 15 years space and category management experience. Further, the team has enabled many of the world's top 20 retailers to become store-specific, with customers including Tesco, Food Lion, Hannaford Bros and Giant Eagle. The knowledge and practical experience gained from working with this diverse group of leading companies enables the team to provide personalized consultation based on each customer's individual needs.

"Our team knows first hand what works when it comes to customer-centric merchandising," added McGiffin. "We have the industry-specific knowledge and expertise to help clients operate efficiently at a store-specific level and achieve a strong return on investment."

Food Logistics Selects Galleria as a Leading Technology Provider for its 2009 Food Logistics 100

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

-Leading grocery and foodservice supply chain magazine features Galleria's customer-centric merchandising solution in its annual listing -

CHICAGO - (December 14, 2009) - Galleria today announced that its customer-centric merchandising solution was selected by Food Logistics Magazine for the second consecutive year as a member of its sixth-annual Food Logistics 100 (FL100). The FL100 recognizes 100 innovative technology solution and service providers that enable companies within the food supply chain to streamline operations, achieve a valuable return on investment and reach their business goals.

"The FL100 listing provides a guide for decision-making grocery and foodservice distribution and manufacturing executives," explains Katherine Doherty, editor-in-chief of Food Logistics magazine. "These companies rely on technology to better manage their supply chains and help weather the financial storm. The FL100 recipients have demonstrated that they can meet our readers' specific needs."

Food Logistics dedicates an issue to the FL100 each year to inform readers of the leading software, hardware and IT resources that target the food industry and address the unique needs of companies of all sizes. This year, the magazine focused its theme on managing change through hard economic times with technology. Galleria will be highlighted as a recipient in the cover story of the November/December 2009 issue.

"We are pleased to be recognized by Food Logistics for the second consecutive year as a top provider to the grocery and foodservice industry," said Doug Erickson, executive vice president of global sales and marketing, Galleria. "Our goal is to continuously provide customers with the advanced retail technology to drive profit in any economic climate. We are delighted to be distinguished as a leading provider in this space by such a reputable publication."

About Galleria Retail Technology Solutions
Galleria is the leading provider of customer-centric merchandising solutions. Galleria's solutions provide value by integrating with clients' existing systems and resources to deliver the right product to the right stores in the right capacity. The net result is that retailers and CPG manufacturers realize significant benefits including increased sales, enhanced margins, reduced waste/mark-down and accelerated inventory turns. Galleria currently works with customers including Wal-Mart, Tesco, Safeway, Morrisons, Giant Eagle and several of the world's leading retailers. It is currently engaged in multiple implementations of its merchandise planning solutions in large-scale live retail environments. For more information about Galleria, visit�www.galleria-rts.com or dial 1-866-899-0852.

About Food Logistics
Food Logistics is the only publication exclusively dedicated to covering the movement of product throughout all channels of the supply chain. It serves the information needs of food, beverage and consumer packaged goods executives involved in warehousing, transportation and information technology, as well as third-party and refrigerated service providers. Through its print and online products, the publication provides news, trends and best practices that help more than 25,000 grocery and foodservice suppliers, distributors and retailers make better business decisions. For more information, please visit www.foodlogistics.com.

Galleria Recognized as Investor in People

Wed, 28 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Galleria Retail Technology Solutions has been recognized as an Investor in People. The company, which employs 50 staff at its Cheshire office and a further 9 in the USA, received the accolade following a number of strategic human resource initiatives.

Galleria is a leading retail software provider, with major clients including Tesco, Waterstone's and Delhaize in Europe and Giant Eagle, Food Lion and Hannaford in the USA.

Commenting on the award, HR Manager Sallie Green said: "This recognition is a result of the commitment from the directors to involve all employees in the strategic direction of Galleria. We have recognized the value of developing our people to improve the overall performance of our organization. As a part of this process we have implemented new internal programs, including staff consultations, personal performance and development plans, 360� feedback and regular company briefings."

She continued; "As an international business it is often a challenge involving staff from both sides of the Atlantic. But by developing a company intranet, investing in video conferencing and issuing regular internal e-newsletters, we have managed to ensure all employees play a part in business planning and are kept updated with company news."

Galleria is continuing to expand both in the UK and US and plans to grow the global team by 38% over the coming 12 months.

Galleria Launches New, Interactive Web Site to Inform and Educate Visitors about Advanced Customer-Centric Merchandising Strategies

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO - (March 23, 2009) - Galleria, the leading provider of customer-centric merchandising solutions, today launched its new, interactive Web site designed to provide retailers and manufacturers with in-depth information regarding its solutions, services and advanced retail planning strategies. The content-rich Web site also features industry analyst research reports and executive viewpoints that address recent trends and issues in retail merchandising.

"As we celebrate our 20th anniversary this year, the launch of our new Web site reflects our growth as a company and the recent expansion of our products and services," said Ian Duncan-Lewis, chief executive officer, Galleria. "Visitors now have more access to detailed product information targeted directly toward their operation. They can also reference client success stories to gain a better understanding of how our solutions work in different retail formats and the benefits that can be achieved."

In addition to analyst research reports and industry viewpoints from Galleria executives, product data sheets and customer case studies are available for download. Visitors can also stay up-to-date with the latest news by visiting the media center and signing up to receive Galleria's e-bulletins.

"Our site is not only designed to inform people about our products and services, but to educate as well," Duncan-Lewis added. "It is an intuitive, easy-to-use resource that provides the detailed information our customers and prospects are seeking in their move to customer-centricity, plus much more."

Galleria Launches Behavioral Cluster PlanningT Solution - New Three Click ClusteringT solution identifies local customer demand to drive sales -

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO - (January 12, 2010) - Galleria, the leading provider of customer-centric merchandising solutions, today launched its Behavioral Cluster PlanningT solution, a new solution that enables retailers and manufacturers to cluster stores naturally based on consumer behavior. The easy-to-use solution utilizes granular product performance data such as historic sales, rest-of-market or manufacturer information, to create optimized cluster recommendations based on each category's unique consumer buying behavior. As a result, marketing and merchandising teams will be able to quickly identify clusters of stores with similar demand patterns, enabling them to develop truly customer-centric marketing, merchandising, space and pricing strategies.

"Historically, clustering has been a manual process, requiring the mathematical expertise of scientists. The result is often miscommunication between the mathematician and the merchant," explained Doug Erickson, Galleria's executive vice president of global sales and marketing. "Our Behavioral Cluster Planning solution, with Three Click ClusteringT is designed to be used directly by the merchandising and marketing teams. It enables them to utilize their expertise to identify and capitalize on unique trends, based on both bottom-up performance and top-down considerations, which would otherwise remain unnoticed using traditional clustering methods."

The highly scalable solution and intuitive user interface enables the marketing and merchandising teams to analyze performance of categories across a chain within hours vs. weeks to create a strategic cluster strategy. With one simple click, up to 25 different clustering scenarios can be created, ranked for effectiveness, and ready for review and further analysis by the merchandising team. This process enables the team to determine the ideal number of clusters for each category and ensure the benefits of localization are always balanced against the costs of implementation. Once created, the cluster information is associated to available demographic, census and geographic data to identify which attribute or attributes are most impacting consumer behaviors.

"Galleria's Behavioral Cluster Planning solution transforms the clustering process into an intelligent analytical process. It adds science to the art of merchandising and streamlines a pure statistical approach" said Erickson. "It's a critical component that must be in place in order to execute an efficient customer-centric marketing, merchandising and assortment strategy to boost sales and satisfy customers."

Food Logistics Magazine Selects Galleria as a Leading Technology Provider for its 2008 Food Logistics 100

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO - (December 10, 2008) - Galleria today announced that its customer-centric merchandising solution was selected by Food Logistics Magazine as a member of its fifth-annual Food Logistics 100 (FL100). The FL100 recognizes 100 innovative technology solution and service providers that enable companies within the food supply chain to streamline operations and achieve a valuable return on investment.

"In today's tough economic climate, grocery and foodservice distributors and manufacturers are facing complex distribution challenges and they're applying more technologies to better manage their supply chains," explained Katherine Doherty, editor-in-chief of Food Logistics magazine. "Our readers turn to Food Logistics to learn about solutions and services that help them better manage their businesses. The FL100 recipients have demonstrated that they can meet our readers' specific needs."

Food Logistics dedicates an issue to the FL100 each year to inform readers of the leading software, hardware and IT resources that target the food industry and address the unique needs of companies of all sizes. Galleria will be highlighted as a recipient in the cover story of the November/December 2008 issue.

"We are thrilled to be recognized by Food Logistics as a top provider to the grocery and foodservice industry," said Doug Erickson, executive vice president of global sales and marketing, Galleria. "Our goal at Galleria is to continuously provide customers with the advanced retail technology needed to maximize resources and achieve significant business benefits. We are pleased to be distinguished as a leading provider in this space by such a reputable publication."

Galleria to Address Retailer/Supplier Collaboration at Category Management Association Conference

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO - (October 14, 2008) - Doug Erickson, executive vice president of global sales and marketing with Galleria, the leading provider of customer-centric merchandising solutions, will discuss recent trends and benefits surrounding retailer and supplier collaboration at the annual Category Management Association Conference in Atlanta on Wednesday, October 29, at 11:30 a.m.

A collaborative approach to retailing can result in a significant return on investment for both retailers and suppliers by pulling all available resource and information together at a strategic level, internally and externally. An AMR Research report entitled: "The Building Blocks for Demand-Driven Operations," by Mike Griswold recommends to retailers: "The time has come for collaborative relationships with your suppliers for mutual value. Your strategy should define what and how you will collaborate."

Erickson will also be participating in a panel discussion at the conference, Success with Store-by-Store Space Planning, on Tuesday, October 28, at 11:30 a.m., to address how manufacturers and retailers are using space management tools to achieve a higher return on investment and competitive edge. Attendees will learn tips on how to incorporate new space planning technology and measurement processes. Retail planogram compliance success stories will also be highlighted.

"As customer-centricity continues to become more critical in the retail industry, collaboration is playing a key role in enhancing the consumer shopping experience and optimizing operations in the retail and manufacturing environments," said Erickson. "By shifting to collaboration, retailers and manufacturers are able to work together to enhance visibility and streamline business processes to increase sales and revenue and improve internal and external communication."

Wal-Mart Enhances Customer Centric Merchandising Capabilities

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

- Wal-Mart Signs Global License Agreement with Galleria

CHICAGO - (June 23, 2009) - Galleria Retail Technology Solutions, today announced that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has successfully completed user acceptance and extensive scalability testing of Galleria's configured store and merchandise planning software system. "We are thrilled that Wal-Mart has chosen to enhance their customer centric merchandising capabilities with Galleria's solution," said Jef Richards, chief research and strategy officer, Galleria.

Galleria offers solutions to seamlessly connect the assortment and space planning business processes while providing the scalability and automation to meet the needs of the largest, most sophisticated retailers in the world. Galleria uses a comprehensive method of analyzing performance data in conjunction with forecast data that results in stock which reflects future demands on a store-by-store basis, instead of a purely historic view.

About Galleria Retail Technology Solutions
Galleria is the leading provider of customer centric merchandising solutions. Galleria's solutions provide value by integrating with a retailer's existing systems and resources to deliver the right product to the right stores in the right capacity. The net result is that retailers realize significant benefits including increased sales, enhanced margins, reduced waste/mark-down and accelerated inventory turns. Galleria currently works with customers including Tesco, Safeway, Giant Eagle and several of the world's top 20 retailers. It is currently engaged in multiple implementations of its merchandise planning solution in large-scale live retail environments. For more information about Galleria, visit www.galleria-rts.com or dial 1-866-899-0852.

Galleria and Winston Weber & Associates Announce Strategic Partnership to Provide Advanced, Shopper-Centric Merchandising Strategies

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

�CHICAGO - (April 1, 2009) - Galleria, the leading provider of customer-centric merchandising solutions, today announced it has formed a strategic alliance with Winston Weber & Associates (WWA), a management consulting resource for retailers and CPG manufacturers. This partnership combines WWA's extensive category management business process expertise with Galleria's merchandising solutions to enable retailers to operate at a shopper-centric level and generate profit from executing optimized, store-specific merchandise plans.

"The art of merchandising has seen serious deterioration lately, even though true shopper-centricity demands it," said Winston Weber, Chairman and CEO of Winston Weber & Associates. "We have developed a new generation of merchandising strategies, and Galleria's optimization solutions are uniquely positioned to enable retailers and CPG manufacturers to execute these strategies successfully. This partnership will enable retailers and their suppliers to achieve high-impact business benefits such as increased sales and improved inventory turns."

WWA has developed a next-generation merchandising approach, called Shopper Centric RetailingSM, which is driven by shopper insights and relies on collaboration with trading partners to anticipate and fulfill shopping behavior and satisfy demand accurately. This model complements Galleria's solutions which optimizes merchandise plans on a store-by-store basis to ensure the right products are always in the right place, in the right quantities at the right time. Doing so results in profit for the retailer and CPG manufacturer, and provides the customer with a consistent, satisfying shopping experience.

"Winston Weber and his team are not only experts, but pioneers in category management," said Doug Erickson, executive vice president of sales and global marketing, Galleria. "We are excited to align their forward-thinking, strategic expertise with our solutions to help retailers truly become shopper-centric and greatly increase revenue."

Morrisons Utilizes Galleria Customer-Centric Merchandising Solution to Optimize Inventory and Improve the Customer Shopping Experience

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

CHICAGO - (Dec. 8, 2008) - Galleria Retail Technology Solutions today announced that Morrisons, the UK's fourth largest food retailer, will utilize its customer-centric merchandising solution beginning next year to automate its assortment and space planning operations. Morrisons selected Galleria's solution to create automated merchandise plans on a more granular level to ensure that optimal products are always available in the right quantity at the right time. Moving from a manual process, Galleria's solution enables Morrisons to quickly and efficiently create optimized merchandise plans based on consistent, accurate data. The retailer will implement Galleria's merchandising application in more than 370 stores across the UK.

"As we continue to grow, our goal is to provide our stores with high quality merchandising plans in order to ensure our customers get great value, fresh products and a pleasant shopping experience," said Amanda Lomax, merchandising director, Morrisons. "Galleria's solution provides us with the necessary tools to optimize our range across a more diverse store portfolio and customer demographics than we had previously. Galleria will allow us to achieve this at the store level in a prompt, efficient manner in order to meet our customer's needs."

Galleria offers the only solution proven to seamlessly connect the assortment and space planning business processes. By using store-specific fixture, space and product performance data, Morrisons is able to create merchandise plans that optimize the range and inventory at the store level and fit it to the exact space available. Further, each category can be defined at the enterprise, cluster or store-specific level depending on its dynamics.

"Morrisons is a leading retailer dedicated to using technology to streamline business processes and improve customer satisfaction," said Ian Duncan-Lewis, CEO, Galleria. "We are confident that our solution will enable Morrisons to maximize its customer offering and achieve a return on investment."