JJB Sports, the largest sports retailer in the UK, is planning to
implement the financials and purchasing modules of Oracle's
E-business Suite, to improve efficiency and support its expansion
plans.
The announcement comes a week after the company issued a profits
warning, which it blamed on increased operating costs and the World
Cup. JJB, which has 435 stores in the UK, said high sales of
replica football kits had been at the expense of higher-margin
branded clothing sales.
Nevertheless, sporting events such as the World Cup and the
Commonwealth Games mean JJB Sports has seen an increased demand for
goods, said finance director David Greenwood.
The company turned to Oracle because it needs to be able to
ascertain quickly what is selling well, what the current trends are
and where the business is under- or over-performing, he said.
"We need to continue to improve the information about the financial
state of the businesses at any time of the day or night and the
Oracle software will enhance our ability to achieve this position,"
Greenwood said.
Earlier this year, Oracle was involved in controversy when analyst
firm Meta Group claimed the company had illegally reinterpreted
existing software licensing contracts in order to push up
revenues.
Oracle dismissed the claim, putting it down to a handful of
misunderstandings about its policy, but the furore has meant
companies have been careful to ensure that contracts are
watertight.
This includes JJB Sport, Greenwood admitted. "Any potential
licensing problems have been overcome," he said. "We have paid one
price and we are now fully licensed."
Despite last week's profit warning the company remains confident of
future growth - backed up by its IT initiatives, Greenwood
said.
"In 2002, we have opened a new distribution centre, a new buying
office and upgraded our IT hardware on to an EMC system," he said.
"Modernising our systems will provide the base to support the
opening of a number of new stores and health and leisure clubs."