SML RFID opens Retail Ideation Space in UK

According to the company over 40 percent of retail stores using SML’s Clarity technology located in the UK. The new Retail Ideation Space will provide retailers and brand owners with a real-world technology collaboration, enabling them to get hands-on experience using and testing some of SML’s latest RFID tag and software developments and partner technologies.

The center will also be host to ‘Academy’ workshops, which will help retailers and brand owners better understand and work through the various technologies and processes required for scalable solutions.

SML’s RIS scheme is the vision of its Senior VP and CTO, Dean Frew, and his team with the Corby RIS being spearheaded by UK General Manager, and RFID advocate, Shane Clarke.

‘The UK market is one of the leading regions in the world for the adoption of RFID, with retailers such as Tesco and Matalan implementing significant rollouts of RFID technology across hundreds of their stores nationwide,’ commented Shane Clarke, UK general manager for the UK. ‘Alongside France and Sweden, there has been a hive of retail-based item-level RFID pilots and rollouts by UK retailers, so the RIS in Corby is the perfect location for SML to support our customer’s RFID implementation.’

‘With the adoption of item-level RFID solutions within the retail industry rapidly accelerating in Europe, specifically within the UK, the location of the RIS was an obvious choice for SML,’ explained Dean Frew, Senior VP and CTO of RFID Solutions at SML Group. ‘Our RIS scheme consolidates SML’s position as the ‘go-to’ total solutions provider, as well as offering a platform for retailers to engage with our expert team and see that item-level RFID in retail be simplified and create substantial ROIs.’

The launch of the RIS in Corby comes after SML’s successful launch of its Plano RIS in June as well as its Shanghai RIS in September.