Impinj and RFsense Deliver RFID Solution to Popular Brazilian Retailer

Impinj, Inc. and RFsense, a Brazilian provider of RFID software and systems, announced the deployment of a complete “Source to Floor” RFID solution for memove, a new apparel brand and part of Brazil’s Valdac Global Brands, owner of the popular Siberian and Crawford brands.

The initial phase of the implementation will involve three stores in 2011 and include more than 40,000 tagged items per location with an expected usage of 5 million tags in 2012. memove plans to open 54 stores within the next five years, all utilizing RFID technology.

memove’s suppliers manufacture apparel in Brazil, China and other locations, using Impinj Monza chip-based RFID tags that are sewn into the labels of garments and encoded with serialized SKU data. Once received at the distribution center, memove utilizes RFID technology for tracking incoming goods, managing inventory, completing point-of-sale transactions (including via self-checkout kiosks) and for electronic article surveillance (EAS).

Following a sale, the “sewn in” RFID tag will greatly simplify processing of any necessary returns. During the next phase of RFID implementation, memove will introduce additional capabilities to enhance the customer experience, including smart mirrors and other interactive devices. The RFID system in each store comprises six Impinj Speedway Revolution readers, three Speedway xPortal readers and Impinj Brickyard antennas at the point of sale. RFsense provides engineering and system integration services, and specialized middleware software for the project.

“The launch of the memove brand provided a great opportunity to fully utilize all the benefits of Impinj’s RFID technology, including the ability to tag clothing at the source of manufacture,” said Mario Bisordi of memove. “Gaining inventory visibility and efficiency, improving customer experience, and providing an effective EAS solution has been a problem at other Valdac stores. Product turnover is very fast and the stores were only doing annual inventory. With RFID, we plan to take inventory weekly.”

“The memove store is a great example of the innovative projects being deployed in the retail apparel market today,” said Kerry Krause, vice president of marketing at Impinj. “RFsense has used our high-performance products to create a solution that delivers real value to retailers and their shoppers.”

memove’s first store opened on October 7, 2011 in São Paulo, Tamboré and is the first large-scale retail RFID project in Brazil.