The Container Store Deploys MicroStrategy to Improve Merchandising Insight

MicroStrategy® Incorporated, a worldwide provider of business intelligence software, announced that The Container Store, retailer of storage and organization products, has deployed the MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform(TM) to support its merchandising system.

The Container Store, with locations in 15 markets across the country, showcases more than 10,000 innovative storage and organization products designed to help people save valuable space and time. MicroStrategy was selected by The Container Store to convert large volumes of merchandise data into actionable information for store buyers.

From their desktop, The Container Store buyers can easily access SKU data via an extranet and then segment inventory purchased by store, by time, and by product. With MicroStrategy, The Container Store users are able to make well-informed business decisions such as what products to retain in inventory and what products to retire. In addition, the information helps buyers to identify emerging trends in materials, color palettes and styles.

The Container Store also uses daily exception-based reports, a self-service reporting system at the store and buyer level that alerts users to situations when they need to take action. "With our daily merchandise reports, we gain a competitive edge over other retailers who wait for weekly or month-end reports," said Beth Gonzalez, Merchandise Systems Director of The Container Store. "MicroStrategy gives our buyers and executives an up-to-date picture of our business and enables us to better understand what we sell, when we sell it and where we sell it, which ultimately influences our high levels of customer service. Our buyers count on this information to make knowledgeable decisions about when to add or retire products, which has a positive impact on our bottom line."

"MicroStrategy continues to add more retailers to its growing customer base," said MicroStrategy COO, Sanju Bansal. "Almost two-thirds of the top 50 global retailers use MicroStrategy for applications including store operations, merchandise management, loss prevention, category management and marketing analysis. Our ability to provide insightful reports on key data and drill down to individual transactions has proven its value to our retail clients."