Specialty apparel retailer rue21 has signed a licensing agreement with Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) to use its Network Planner software. With the Network Planner application, rue21 is positioned to better support its square footage growth strategy.
Rue21 is aiming to take a segmented approach to its real estate planning by using APT technology. With Network Planner, the retailer plans to identify the optimal locations for new stores based on demographic attributes — like whether the site is in an urban or rural area — or site characteristics such as mall type. As a result, rue21 will be able to simplify processes and have its analysts develop site-by-site sales predictions as well as possible sales cannibalization impact on stores.
“APT’s Network Planner solution will enable our team to reach our goal of further enhancing the ROI for each of our new stores, including new builds and store conversions,” said Bob Thomson, SVP of Real Estate at rue21. “Our mission is to have APT help facilitate objective discussions about our prioritization of new stores by providing us with accurate predictions of the financial performance of each potential new site, while taking into consideration the probable sales impact on our existing stores.”
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Rue21 joins a variety of other apparel retailers licensing APT software, including American Eagle, Ann Inc., Chico’s, Express, Lane Bryant, Talbots and Tween Brands.
