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Startup lands grand partner

By MARK ALBRIGHT
Published January 17, 2007

Lots of news continues to crop up at the National Retail Federation convention in New York this week. Highlights include the debut of a new Clearwater company, more cameras in the dressing rooms, the spotted look in handbags and a plan for Payless Shoesource.

Deal with Microsoft

A Clearwater startup has become the first software designer worldwide to land a license to market Microsoft Dynamics products to retailers with five to 500 stores. The new Microsoft product is touted as a single platform that integrates a variety of accounting-to-cash-register systems that retailers use.

Retail Teamwork Inc., which employs 35, is headed by former Intuit Quickbook executive Mike Mauerer, who had his first few employees working out of his 6,000-square-foot house in Clearwater.

"I wanted to be able to say we started this business out of my garage," he joked.

Microsoft also announced a partnership with First Data Corp. and Hewlett-Packard to begin offering an affordable retail software system for retailers as small as a flea market booth that includes instant credit and debit card processing.

"A single store can now use the same sorts of systems as Wal-Mart," said Jim Watkins, director of Microsoft Dynamics retail.

High-tech dressing room

In their zeal to find anything that registers as cool with the young cell phone generation, software developer Icon Nicholson has come up with the YouTube for tech-savvy clothing shoppers.

Called the Magic Mirror, it's an HD camera set up behind a dressing room mirror that helps customers validate their fashion choices. The camera broadcasts pictures of a shopper trying on different outfits to the shopper's invited friends, who share advice in text messages.

The conversation is also superimposed on the mirror along with prices and matching accessories. The idea, which some department stores may test this summer, came from actual shopper behavior already being done with cell phone cameras.

Flashy handbags

Just when it seemed impossible to hang more buckles, bangles and metal doodads on women purses, handbag makers are pushing the limit again. Soaring handbag sales emboldened designers to ignore restraint.

One sign the tipping point is close is the latest flamboyant variation to hit handbag boutiques: a menagerie of animal print handbags that comes in ocelot, jaguar, leopard and faked renditions of spots. Feline fanciers need not fret. The prints are all dyed calfskin.

"I've been surprised this embellished handbag trend has lasted this long," said David Wolfe, creative director of Doneger Group, a fashion trend forecaster. "I see a return to a cleaner look for handbags in 2008."

Payless shakeup

After a decade of flat sales, Payless Shoesource brought in industry vet Matthew Rubel from Nike's Cole-Hahn unit to find a fix.

He's injected a dose of fashion and flashy marketing to jazz up the chain's appeal to more shoppers than the low-end bargain hunter.

"Initially, my goal is get the average shopper to spend $1 more with us each trip," said the president of the 4,200 store chain. "Right now, we're at 55 cents."

Mark Albright can be reached at albright@sptimes.com or 727 893-8252.

[Last modified January 17, 2007, 00:15:42]