Company

Shinsegae is a major department store in Korea, operating in 13 locations. The Shinsegae Department Store Centum City branch in particular was named the world’s largest department store in 2009, overtaking Macy’s Herald Square. Additionally, the Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam branch set a new annual sales record among Korean department stores by earning over 2 trillion Korean Won in 2019.

Challenge

In January 2018, Shinsegae Department Store introduced a 35-hour work week, making various efforts to improve work efficiency. Store business hours were also shortened by 30 minutes beginning in July 2018. The company’s focus on improving inefficient business practices in stores provided increased attention to operational simplification and efficiency, resulting in the use of electronic shelf labels instead of paper price tags. As part of establishing an eco-friendly brand identity, it implemented electronic price labels in stores to reduce paper, coatings, and consumables.

Solution

With a variety of products being carried in each branch, a centralized ESL server system that could manage all of the price labels in each store from headquarters was considered as an effective solution. Through several tests, the RAINUS InforTab Central Server was selected for its high stability and scalability. InforTab electronic shelf labels could be used not just for the grocery section, but also for specialty items like wine. InforTab made it possible to collectively manage and control prices digitally across products within the department store.

Result

After introducing the RAINUS electronic shelf label, the time required to update 3.7k price labels was reduced to just 3.8 hours per week, or about one-tenth of the time previously needed. Work errors were also significantly reduced by computerized work processes. The decreased workload for on-site employees during sale periods resulted in increased work satisfaction for all employees, and a higher quality of customer service due to operational simplification and increased efficiency. The stores were able to practice eco-friendly management by reducing the consumption of consumables such as paper.