ASICS simplifies POS compliance across thirteen countries with Cegid
ASICS, the renowned sports retailer, believes in the positive benefits of movement on the body, and the mind. It’s why they are called ASICS which stands for ‘Anima Sana In Corpore Sano’, or a Sound Mind in a Sound Body.
The company operates a network of 101 stores across 13 different countries. As their footprint expanded, so did the challenge of managing fiscal compliance and they needed a partner who could help them manage these complexities in the countries where they have stores, including Germany, Italy, South Africa, Spain and the UK.
For Alexander de Gee, IT Director for ASICS EMEA, having a global POS solution that can handle complex fiscal requirements in many countries is extremely important.
Having a single POS and unified commerce solution that operates worldwide also ensures simplicity for IT teams and streamlines operations. Cegid’s expertise shines through as it effortlessly monitors changing regulations across 75 countries, allowing retailers like ASICS to focus on what truly matters.
Take Italy, for instance, where fiscal data must be automatically submitted to the tax authority daily by certified RT fiscal devices. Italy also introduced a receipt lottery to combat fraud and encourage the use of credit cards, debit cards, and pre-paid cards. In October 2023, the rules changed to require a QR code to be printed on fiscal receipts so that customers can quickly verify winning tickets. By leveraging Cegid’s platform, ASICS’ IT team can concentrate on strategic priorities.
Collaboration and innovation
But it doesn’t stop there. Retailers like ASICS benefit from the dynamic Cegid Retail Club, a hub where industry leaders collaborate, influence product roadmaps, and foster innovation. Alexander highlights the importance of this collaboration: “We have good visibility on the Cegid roadmap… It’s a good collaboration.”
Cegid’s scale also means any new innovations added to the roadmap are launched before competitors. Cegid’s size is also why the platform receives regular investment and updates based on continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD), which offers further advantages as Alexander adds: “You want to have a partnership with a company that is big enough to develop new functionalities regularly.”
Having a product that is purpose-built for retail and can be used ‘out of the box’ without needing significant customisation is also beneficial as Alexander explains: “Finding a product that is able to meet your needs is key. If you find yourself forced to customise things in a POS solution, you might have chosen the wrong solution.” With Cegid’s purpose-built solution, retailers have everything they need and a POS system that is ready to go. This means stores can start processing transactions quickly and simply with no downtime.
Speed and scalability for sporting events
For ASICS, sporting events represent another opportunity for customers to discover and try ASICS footwear and apparel, and purchase. That’s why the team is currently looking into launching Cegid’s mobile POS solution at future sporting events such as marathons.
As Alexander explains: “At events, like marathons, it has to be quick, and it has to be very scalable. You have a lot of transactions in a short period of time and then the following week another event is taking place somewhere else. I don’t expect us to implement this during the coming months, but I expect that we’ll investigate this further next year. We have a lot of events we sponsor.
In summary, Alexander notes that Cegid has been a partner of ASICS for more than nine years and he’s looking forward to it continuing well into the future. “We have a good, reliable solution and the support of a partner who knows all the ins and outs of the solution. It’s a solid partnership.”