Stand-out shopping experiences start with excellent in-store execution. But many major retailers and brands struggle to ensure directives get carried out in their stores due to a lack of communication and visibility into day-to-day operations. And with e-commerce continuing to take sales away from brick-and mortar, it’s now more important than ever for physical retailers to deliver memorable instore experiences at every location and stay brand-consistent across every point of sale.
Retail moves fast, and the changing day-to-day needs of each store mean that HQ often has a hard time keeping up with who has done what, and holding teams accountable for carrying out their carefully laid plans. Of course, there’s no shortage of apps and platforms out there that claim to solve problems at the store-level. The trouble is that most software wasn’t designed with retailers in mind, and those that were are woefully stuck in the ’90s, resembling the unengaging intranets, shared drives, and top-down communication tools of old.
Foko Retail is different. Our mobile-first platform is totally intuitive, and, thankfully, doesn’t look like other retail software (think of it like Instagrammeets-Slack as opposed to a boring old intranet). Instead of digging through email threads or logging into the company computer in the back room to access directives and company files, Foko Retail allows store teams to access and complete tasks straight from their mobile devices, so everyone is aligned and accountable about what needs to get done each day. That way, store teams are more able to deliver on the retail vision designed at HQ, and get back to what matters most—providing great shopping experiences for customers.
Our platform helps retailers get stuff done by streamlining and centralizing internal communication. Headquarters can send tasks, surveys, training materials, product guides, messages, and more down to stores and field teams to ensure compliance. (And store-level employees can communicate back up the chain to clarify directives and send visual proof that tasks get carried out correctly, and on time.)
Because Foko Retail has native apps for iOS, Android, and Web, you can access it from anywhere and connect with your team in real time. Foko Retail also gives retailers insights into store compliance and performance through advanced reporting and in-depth analytics. That way, retailers and brands can identify problem areas and make changes, helping guarantee that all stores look their best.
Foko Retail wasn’t always a mainstay on the sales floor. Initially, co-founders Eric Sauve and Colin McDonald envisioned Foko as a private and secure photo-sharing app for employees. As services like Facebook and Instagram became more prevalent in dayto-day life, businesses discovered that staff were sharing work-related posts, and even using platforms to send directives, on social media—a big no-no for any business trying to prevent corporate information from falling into the wrong hands. Foko—whose name was originally conceived of as a play on “photos for companies”—allowed employees to engage with one another and share visual proof of task completion on a private platform.
But retail in particular, with its lackluster legacy systems and notoriously disconnected frontline, was ripe for disruption.
Under the leadership of CEO Marc Gingras (serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and philanthropist), Foko Retail continued to expand its scope and ambition, adding direct messaging, document storage, reporting, and more to its list of capabilities.
Today, it’s used by 60+ of the world’s leading brands and retailers—including Whole Foods, Nike, Club Monaco, Five Below, Converse, Hermès, Acne Studios, Victoria’s Secret, and more—to improve brand consistency and deliver better customer experiences across their stores.
