American Apparel deploys Motorola item-level RFID

HOLTSVILLE, N.Y. — The Enterprise Mobility business of Motorola Inc. announced that American Apparel Inc. has rolled out RFID at the item level. American Apparel plans to implement its RFID inventory system across each of its 17 stores in the New York metropolitan area over the next three months, with plans to eventually deploy the solution to an additional 120 North American locations.

The integrated solution, delivered by Vue Technology, is comprised of TrueVUE hardware and software products, fixed and mobile RFID readers and antennas from Motorola's Enterprise Mobility business, and tags and printers from Avery Dennison. The solution enables American Apparel to track individual items as they are tagged at the company's manufacturing facility in Los Angeles, received in its retail stores, stored in the stock rooms at the stores, and then placed onto the sales floor and ultimately sold at the POS.

The initial deployment of American Apparel's rollout took place at the company's Columbia University location in New York City. To date, more than 40,000 individual pieces of merchandise have been tagged so that store personnel can use fixed and mobile RFID readers to track inventory on a real-time basis, contributing to a well-stocked store and improving customer service through timely responses to customer questions regarding in-store merchandise.

By using an item-level RFID system, American Apparel is able to consistently offer merchandise in every size and color on store floors at all times, creating a more rewarding customer experience and simplifying the inventory process for in-store staff. Store associates can now take inventory much more quickly and with greater accuracy. Replenishment activities have been dramatically improved, resulting in on-floor availability at more than 99 percent.

Weekly inventory processes can now be accomplished with just two people in two hours instead of requiring four people for eight hours as previously needed. As a result, store associates have more time to service customers and improve store merchandising in order to make sought-out items easier to find.