Avery Dennison's labelling technology was supplied to the Metro Group's Future Store Initiative, as part of the group's drive towards eventually introducing RFID technology store-wide on all products. The initiative has been tested on three specific products - cream cheese, shampoo and razor blades.
The Euroshop expo opened its doors on February 19 and will close tomorrow, February 23rd. The Metro Group's stand occupies one of the most prominent positions in the show and is a mock-up of how the retailer anticipates future technology will be used in its stores.
The concept has been in operation since April 2003, with RFID and other technologies undergoing testing and fine-tuning under real-life conditions at the METRO Group Future Store in Rheinberg, Germany.
At the show the group has been inviting visitors on an interactive journey into the future. "With the help of an entirely new didactic concept, we aim to give members of the trade a feel for the future of retailing," said Zygmunt Mierdorf, member of the Metro Management Board.
Visitors to the 800-square-meter area in Hall 7a are encountering what the company terms a futuristic hands-on show of innovations.
The Future Store's developments, will include other innovations never before presented to the public, will be displayed in clearly defined thematic areas. The technologies can be experienced and grasped.
Visitors are invited to try the exhibits for themselves. For example, guests can write a trial Electronic Shopping List, which the user sends to the Future Store via e-mail from the comfort of home. Or look into the Smart Fridge, a new-generation appliance that monitors its own contents and even reminds the user when to go shopping.
"EuroShop 2005 is the ideal place to present the concept to retailers and their partners. We want to demonstrate the enormous benefits that can result from implementing new technologies in our sector," explained Mierdorf.
The Future Store is the Metro Group's research laboratory for the Future Store Initiative. Partners in the initiative include SAP, Intel, IBM and T-Systems along with around 50 other companies from the IT, consumer goods and service industries.