Tracing its roots back to 1843, Arnotts is Ireland 's oldest department store. Now as a result of recent extension and redevelopment it is also Ireland 's largest department store with a selling area of some 300,000 square feet. Its present size sees it ranked in the top five stores in Britain and Ireland, alongside such icons of international retailing as Harrods and Selfridges.

Today Arnotts offers a comprehensive selection of merchandise from fashion to furniture, from footwear to sportswear, from kitchenware to electrical goods, from childrenswear to corporate clothing. In many instances whole floors are dedicated to particular product areas creating a series of spectacular shopping worlds where choice is at an optimum and space, comfort and service ensure a pleasurable experience for the customer.

Challenge

Recognising the opportunities developing with the rapid growth of the internet in Ireland, Arnotts Department store was well positioned to take advantage. With a reputation as Ireland's leading department store, any online presence had to reflect not only the quality retailing for which Arnotts was known, but also to provide a profitable retail channel for the brand.

Solution

Arnotts had no delivery or catalogue business and no legacy systems to integrate. The site had to reflect the exclusive brand which had been developed since 1843. It had to provide easy to use site navigation and shopability for both domestic and international clientele.

An in-store picking solution was designed, whereby orders were picked within the store itself. The full Buy4Now Technology Group software suite was installed into Arnotts, which enabled Arnotts to pick, pack and process orders as efficiently as possible. With no requirement to hold stock in a warehouse facility, the internet operations could be managed and maintained with minimum staffing and space requirements.

In mid-2004, Buy4Now developed an online Wedding List facility for Arnotts. Working with the existing Wedding List software and store systems, Buy4Now Technology Group developed a new sub-site for the Arnotts Wedding List. Allowing their extensive Wedding List customers the added service of online purchasing, has proven a massive success for the store, with over 45% of all Wedding Lists sales now being made online.

In November 2009 Arnotts launched a new website, developed by the Buy4Now Technology Group which was fully integrated with their Oracle Retail ERP solution. The new site with over 10,000 products provides their customers with a true multi-channel experience.