Dutch supermarket chain Plus orders electronic shelf labels

The order will see a roll-out of ESL technology in 80 stores

Dutch co-operative supermarket chain Plus is equipping 80 of its stores with electronic shelf labels from Swedish tech company Pricer.

The order of approximately SEK 55m (€5.2m; £4.4m), will see a roll-out of the technology beginning in April. The electronic shelf labels (ESL) allow stores to add real-time flash functionality to the shelves and are used in inventory processes and stock management.

Plus has been using Pricer’s ESL technology in its stores for the past two years and is now expanding use of the platform to 80 of its new stores. These stores previously came under the Coop banner, before Plus and Coop merged earlier this year to form a new co-operative.

The new co-operative, operating under the name Plus, brings 300 Coop stores into the merged company, which will now run around 550 stores and employ 40,000 workers. The merger makes Plus the third largest retail chain in the Netherlands, serving more than 4.5 million customers.

The ESL technology, which runs on Pricer’s cloud-based platform, Pricer Plaza, aims to increase the efficiency of several in-store processes, and the roll-out is planned to be implemented by the end of the year.

“We value Pricer’s ability to offer both innovation as well as reliability and durability,” says Duncan Hoy, CEO at Plus.

Helena Holmgren, Pricer’s CEO, said: “Pricer’s innovative solutions for in-store digitalization, based on our hardware, software and cloud-based services, has given Plus a real edge in the market.

“This renewed confidence from Plus underscores the reason why Pricer’s fast, scalable and future-proof solution is chosen by leading retailers to optimise the store operations and take customer experience to the next level.”