BrazilHunkemöller boosts store performance insights with new system
Lingerie brand Hunkemöller is growing fast: it now has more than 900 stores, with more stores in new countries added every year. In a bid to gain better insights into the performance of its store network, Hunkemöller recently migrated its performance management solution to OneStream.
Hunkemöller’s former system needed replacing, said Hanno van Vuren, Financial Controller at Hunkemöller. “The old system we had was pretty much end-of-life. It kept crashing, it wasn’t supported any more – and it just wasn’t meeting our information needs anymore.”
Not surprisingly then, the lingerie retailer launched a vendor and system selection process, with OneStream coming out as the clear winner. Van Vuren unpacked: “We went for OneStream because it is a platform application rather than a modular one. If we want to add additional reporting processes, such as strategic planning, it will come under the same license. That also means that the figures come from a single source, so we don’t have to construct the data all over again.”
Maintenance also played a role in the decision. “OneStream is based on modern technology, and updates come out regularly. Maintenance is straightforward. This has already been demonstrated in practice: an update is planned, and it’s done and dusted in two hours or less. In addition, it enables us to do most of the maintenance ourselves.”
To support the implementation of OneStream, Hunkemöller turned to Finext, a Dutch financial consulting firm. “Finext has loads of experience in retail,” said Van Vuren, “and that’s important, because they speak our language. They have deep experience with topics in retail and sales.”
Just as important, “Finext is one of the largest OneStream implementation partners in Europe. They have a big group of consultants who can provide support, so you don’t have to depend on one or two people.”
The beauty of detail
With the new OneStream system in place now, Hunkemöller has a much more detailed level of financial insight. “For each of the more than 900 stores, there is a profit-and-loss account,” said Rob Visser, one of the Finext consultants who was closely involved in setting up Hunkemöller’s reporting. “You can also do like-for-like comparisons across all stores, taking into account the maturity of one and another store, and filtering on store type. Every general-ledger account is connected to the platform.”
This granular level of data allows for benchmarking, in turn helping Hunkemöller’s management with performance improvement and strategic decision-making.
Van Vuren is further enthusiastic about the benefit the new system has brought to the consolidation and reporting process. “Closings go a lot faster now. Everything that goes into the system smoothly lines up with everything else, based on the same source. This makes the management mechanism easier: tailored reports are available straight away with the touch of a button.”
