In today's competitive retail landscape, maximising operational efficiency of physical stores and driving sales growth are key objectives for all supermarket chains. This case study explores how StoreSpace® has transformed the operations of US grocery retailer Rouses Market, leading to significant improvements in productivity, communication, and profitability.
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Established in 1923 Rouses Markets Anthony J. Rouse, Sr., opens the City Produce Company in Thibodaux. Then in 1960, he opened his first Grocery Store, Rouses Market with one store in Houma, Louisiana. Rouses Markets is now one of the largest independent grocers and fastest growing family-owned companies in the United States.
Donny Rouse is the current CEO; he is the third generation to run the company. And they now have more than 7,000 employees serve customers across three states: Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. There are 63 stores: 53 in Louisiana, three on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and eight in Lower Alabama.
Image – Rouses Market
Prior to implementing StoreSpace®, Rouses relied on a generic approach to macro space planning relying on Excel spreadsheets and an inefficient system for managing planograms and inventory tracking. Communication of space layouts to stores was conducted through email threads.
To streamline their operation, Rouses adopted StoreSpace®, an advanced space planning platform that seamlessly integrates NielsenIQ planograms and the retailer’s AutoCAD floor plans within the StoreSpace® system. This innovative solution has created the foundation for optimising store operations and improving overall performance. Rouses highly values StoreSpace’s benefits, including a centralised repository for accurate store plans, effortless management of localised planogram assortments, and the ability to swiftly identify and rectify distribution gaps.
Image – Rouses Market
With the productive integration of NielsenIQ My.spaceman planograms into StoreSpace®, Rouses now has a comprehensive solution for effectively managing their store merchandising. All necessary information is centralised, accurate and up to date instilling confidence in the decision-making process.
The implementation of StoreSpace® has simplified planogram management for head office merchandisers and in-store teams. During the implementation, a thorough review identified over 2,000 redundant planograms, resulting in a 25% reduction in the number of planograms to manage. The newfound efficiency has allowed Rouses to focus on clustering their stores and delivering a regionalised or hyper-localised assortment.
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Maximise store profitabilityStoreSpace’s invaluable information has empowered us to enhance our agility, efficiency, and responsiveness. As a testament to its impact, we are planning 20 comprehensive store resets next year which will position us as superior operators and merchants.
The improved planogram management is also benefiting the stores themselves. With easy access to the right planograms on StoreSpaceOnline, store personnel can quickly find and view the planograms assigned to their stores, eliminating the risk of selecting the wrong planogram for stores with a different local assortment. This streamlining has reduced errors in product orders, saved time and prevented lost sales. Rouses can now confidently guarantee they have the right assortment at the right place at the right time, giving them a competitive edge.
Store operators have embraced StoreSpace®, leading to impressive engagement among staff and increased planogram compliance in store. They regularly access the portal multiple times a week, enjoying the benefits it brings. Moreover any senior stakeholder can conveniently access planograms on their mobile devices during store visits, further demonstrating the widespread adoption and value of StoreSpace® within the organisation.
In the wake of COVID-19 supply chain disruptions, Rouses leveraged StoreSpace® to identify distribution voids swiftly and accurately. Replacing the manual planogram comparison, Rouses has improved sales and profitability by addressing implementation delays and availability issues.
Rouses’ Director of Space Management, Marty Thompson praised StoreSpace’s impact;
“With all stores mapped in StoreSpace®, I can run a simple SQL query to generate a product distribution grid. This means we can take prompt action to fill those voids and minimize lost sales. StoreSpace® means we can accomplish more. Much more.”
Image – Rouses Market
One of the notable benefits of StoreSpace® is the improved communication and collaboration between the retailer’s teams, vendor partners, and leadership. The platform enables effortless information sharing, feedback exchange and task coordination, eliminating the inefficiencies and bottlenecks within the traditional email-based system.
With a single source of truth, Rouses’ external architects utilise the StoreSpace® fixture library to design and build out new stores. This approach means merchandisers can leverage existing plans, ensuring accuracy and efficiency when preparing new store layouts.
Access to comprehensive information empowers streamlined store resets. Shelf tags are printed specifically for in-store planograms, ensuring efficient implementation in the correct order. Store operations are optimised, thanks to StoreSpace’s information-driven approach.
Image – Rouses Market
The introduction of StoreSpace® has delivered impressive outcomes for Rouses. Marty emphasises;
“StoreSpace’s invaluable information has empowered us to enhance our agility, efficiency, and responsiveness. As a testament to its impact, we are planning 20 comprehensive store resets next year which will position us as superior operators and merchants.”
The implementation process has fostered a genuine partnership between Rouses and CADS’ Customer Success Specialist Richard Burford. Ongoing customer success conversations around visionary and future focused strategies are collaboratively harnessing StoreSpace’s potential to elevate Rouses operations. These sessions embrace a proactive approach, tackling challenges and uncovering innovative solutions.
Image – Rouses Market
The partnership between Rouses and StoreSpace® has transformed their operations, delivered remarkable outcomes and is propelling their growth. By leveraging StoreSpace’s advanced features, the retailer has enhanced planogram management, communication, and decision-making processes. Swift identification of distribution gaps has minimised lost sales and improved profitability. Ultimately, the success of this collaboration underscores the importance of embracing innovative technology solutions like StoreSpace® to drive operational excellence and achieve sustained success in the competitive retail industry.
Image – Rouses Market
If you want to know more about how StoreSpace® can help improve the profitability of your stores, talk to our experts or request a demo today.
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