Retailability Group
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BackgroundFounded in 1984, Retailability began as an apparel importer, steadily growing into one of Southern Africa's leading fashion retailers. Today, the group operates 491 stores across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini, with a broad portfolio of brands that cater to diverse customer segments. Retailability’s brands include Edgars, Legit, Beaver Canoe, Swagga, Keedo, and Boardmans, offering a comprehensive range of fashion, footwear, accessories, and homeware products.
In 2020, Retailability acquired Edgars, a well-known department store chain, strengthening its market position in Southern Africa’s fashion retail sector. The acquisition allowed Retailability to broaden its product offerings, particularly in apparel, footwear, accessories, and beauty, further enhancing its reputation as a major regional retailer.
Retailability’s strategy is built around providing affordable, quality fashion while maintaining a customer-centric approach. This combination has enabled the group to continuously adapt to changing market conditions and consumer demands, ensuring steady growth and sustained relevance in the competitive retail environment.
The Fashion Retail segmentRetailability’s operations are centered around its diverse and popular retail brands: - Edgars: A department store with a comprehensive range of ladies', men's, and kids' apparel, footwear, accessories, and beauty products. It operates in 131 stores across five countries.
- Legit: A brand known for aspirational, affordable, and authentic ladies' fashion, catering to the modern woman.
- Beaver Canoe: Specializing in men’s quality, everyday fashion, with 105 stores in four countries.
- Swagga: Offering contemporary and formal fashion for men and women with 107 stores in three countries.
- Keedo: A boutique brand providing functional and fashionable designer clothes for children, with 16 stores across South Africa.
- Boardmans: A homeware brand offering a curated range of bed, bath, cook, entertain, and lifestyle products.
Retailability continues to grow and innovate, consistently delivering value-driven fashion and homeware solutions to customers across Southern Africa. Their commitment to quality and affordability ensures that they remain a leader in the region's retail landscape.
Vexall offeringSince 2022, Vexall has been supporting the Retailability Group with a range of IT services. Vexall collaborates seamlessly with the client, ensuring the delivery of exceptional IT solutions that drive business success.
Vexall Services - New store setups
- Network Cabling
- Warehousing and Logistics
- Field Support
- Retail Directions Support & Development
- Project Management
Key Highlights 2024 - New Stores and Revamps: 30
- Cabling Division Projects: 50
- Field Service Calls: 46
- Retail Directions Development:10
Client Experience"We appreciate the excellent services Vexall has provided thus far, which have significantly contributed to improving our IT operational support, particularly with the field support team. After reviewing our ticketing volume and network support needs, we decided to increase the volume of tickets assigned to Vexall, expecting more streamlined processes and quicker resolution times.
The implementation of the SOP, swiftly executed by the management team, has further enhanced our operational efficiency. We are confident that regular monthly collaboration will continue to improve overall satisfaction and productivity. With the technical scoping session complete and a comprehensive scope of work provided by Retailability, we believe this will set clear support expectations, allowing the teams on the ground to act more effectively.
Thank you for the continued support!
Feedback from team members on Vexall’s performance: - Professional and neat work
- Well-organized and communicates effectively both onsite and via MS Teams
- Great service delivery, with clear ticket management from the management team
- Overall excellent work"
Vinny Govender - Senior Support - Technical Team Lead
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MRP Group
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Background
Mr. Price Group, a renowned South African retail company, stands as a prominent player in the industry, boasting an extensive presence with 2487 stores in South Africa and 215 stores across various African countries, including Namibia, Zambia, Kenya, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland.
The company operates through four key segments, each catering to specific customer needs: - Apparel: Mr. Price Group offers a wide selection of clothing, footwear, sportswear, sporting equipment, and accessories, catering to diverse fashion preferences.
- Home: The Home segment focuses on retailing homewares, providing customers with an extensive range of affordable home products and furnishings.
In addition to its core segments, Mr. Price Group has made strategic acquisitions to enhance its brand and portfolio:
- Miladys: An acquisition that expands the company's offerings to include fashion-forward clothing tailored for the mature female market.
- Sheet Street: This addition enriches Mr. Price Group's product range with affordable and stylish home decor items.
- Yuppiechef: An online retailer known for its quality kitchen and homeware products, strengthening the company's e-commerce presence.
- Telecoms: The Telecoms segment engages in selling cellular products and services, diversifying Mr. Price Group's offerings further.
To fuel its growth and solidify its position in the retail industry, Mr. Price Group actively pursues strategic acquisitions. Notably, they acquired Power Fashion, a clothing retailer serving the entire family, and Studio88 Group, a collection of brands offering a diverse array of apparel, footwear, and accessories. These strategic moves have firmly established Mr. Price Group as a retail powerhouse, both in South Africa and Africa. terminals.
Vexall offering
With the MRP group's expansion, the complexity of their IT infrastructure grew, demanding efficient field support services and robust asset management. Timely on-site support became essential to minimize downtime, ensuring smooth business operations and enhancing the customer experience.
A comprehensive asset management system was crucial for optimizing resource allocation, tracking assets, and ensuring maintenance policy compliance. Seeking a strategic partnership with Vexall, MRP Group aimed to address these challenges and proactively manage IT assets to support their ambitious growth plans in the competitive retail industry.
ServicesVexall's strategic approach encompasses a comprehensive suite of services tailored to meet MRP Group's needs, including: - Project Management
- Warehousing and Logistics
- Setup and Staging
- Device Management
- Service Desk Support
- Field Support
- Preventative Maintenance
- Maintenance and Repairs
- Decommissioning and Disposal
Key Service Highlights - Closed Calls - 31342
- SLA – 98,47%
- Customer Satisfaction Rating @ 4,8
Client Experience
“Since the initiation of our partnership, the feedback from our trading divisions regarding Vexall has been overwhelmingly positive. The Vexall team demonstrates a deep commitment to excellence and a sincere desire to meet and exceed our expectations. Even after almost two years, these values have remained steadfast, resulting in noticeable improvements in service level agreements (SLAs) and fostering a sense of stability in the store trading space ” – Simon Bradshaw: Mr Price Group IT Director
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Italtile
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Background
Founded in 1969, Italtile Limited is a leading South African manufacturer, franchisor, and retailer specializing in tiles, bathroom ware, and related home-finishing products. The Group operates under several prominent retail brands, including CTM, Italtile Limited, and Top T with a network of 228 stores across South Africa and the rest of Africa.
Their stores, strategically located on high-visibility sites, offer a comprehensive range of products including ceramic and porcelain tiles, sanitaryware, bathroom furniture, taps, fittings, laminated and vinyl flooring, lighting, and various home-finishing tools.
The Group’s retail operations are bolstered by an integrated import supply chain that includes International Tap Distributors (ITD) and Cedar Point Trading. These strategic initiatives have solidified Italtile Limited's position as a leading retail powerhouse in South Africa and across Africa.
Vexall offering
As the Italtile Group expanded, the complexity of its IT infrastructure increased, necessitating efficient field support services. Timely on-site support became critical to minimize downtime, ensure seamless business operations, and enhance the customer experience.
Italtile Limited sought a strategic partnership with Vexall to address hardware management challenges and support their ambitious goals within the competitive retail industry. Initially, Vexall started by providing mobile support, which eventually expanded to encompass all hardware stock. This includes PCs, laptops, printers, and screens, as well as networking equipment such as routers, switches, access points, and LTE devices. All of these are managed under a loan stock model, which allows Vexall to swap out and repair hardware as needed. This approach ensures that Italtile’s stores maintain uptime and continue trading without disruption.
As a trusted partner to the Italtile Group, Vexall provides Onsite Services:
Vexall Onsite Services - Project Management
- Warehousing and Logistics
- Setup and Staging
- Field Support
- Preventative Maintenance
- Maintenance and Repairs
- Decommissioning and Disposal
- Asset Management
Key Service Highlights - Closed Calls - 2078
- SLA – 97 %
- Customer Satisfaction Rating @ 4.8
Client Experience
“The expertise and responsiveness of the Vexall team have significantly enhanced our operational efficiencies. Their tailored support ensures that our technological needs are met with precision and timeliness, which is critical for the smooth operation of our extensive network of stores. The reliability of their service and the peace of mind it brings have been invaluable.
We are immensely pleased with the professional service and the proactive solutions provided by Vexall. Their dedication not only supports our current needs but also anticipates future requirements, keeping us ahead in a competitive market. We look forward to continuing our successful partnership with Vexall, confident in their ability to support our growth and help us deliver exceptional customer experiences” – Ruan Scholtz: IT Manager
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AMIC
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BackgroundAMIC Trading (Pty) Ltd, trading as Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us, is a leading toy and baby product retailer in Southern Africa. With a presence of 53 stores, including locations in South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, and Botswana, AMIC continues to provide families with a wide range of toys, baby gear, nursery furniture, and more.
AMIC Trading acquired the Toys "R" Us and Reggies brands in 2012, expanding its retail footprint across Africa. By leveraging its extensive experience in logistics, sourcing, and brand licensing, the company has grown the Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us presence in key metropolitan and suburban areas. Each store offers a carefully curated range of products, ensuring the highest quality and variety for customers. The brand’s presence has expanded from South Africa, making it a recognized and trusted name in toys and baby care products across Southern Africa.
Today, AMIC Trading aims to continue its growth across the African continent, driven by the ambition to be the number one destination for toys and baby products in Africa.
Vexall offering
As a trusted partner to the AMIC Group, Vexall provides services across two major segments: the Retail Directions product and Vexall Onsite Services:
Retail Directions Platform - POS and Store Management
- eCommerce Integration
- Loyalty and Promotions
- Warehousing & Logistics
- Merchandising
- Actionable Insights
- Real-Time Visibility
- Omnichannel Retailing
- High Availability and Resilience
Vexall Onsite Services
- Project Management
- Warehousing and Logistics
- Setup and Staging
- Service Desk Support
- Field Support
- Preventative Maintenance
- Maintenance and Repairs
- Decommissioning and Disposal
Key Service Highlights - Closed Calls - 1680
- SLA – 99%
- Customer Satisfaction Rating @ 4,7
Vexall played a pivotal role in successfully migrating AMIC from their previous retail management system to the Retail Directions platform, providing both project management and ongoing support services, covering the following areas: - Rollout and Deployment
- Data Migration
- Training
- L1 Helpdesk Support (Technical and Application)
- L2 Helpdesk Support (Technical and Application)
- Monitoring
- Retail Directions deployments – QA and Production (Central and In-Store))
- Store hub and POS staging, including product version control
- In-store/Remote Retail Directions migrations with ongoing support
High-Level stats of the Retail Directions deployment
Sites
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53
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# POS Lanes
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321
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KM's Traveled
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0
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# Hours Cutover
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5 220
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# Hours Handholding
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1 305 |
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