Valiram adopts technology to better understand customers’ needs

Set up in 1935 in Kuala Lumpur as a textile merchant, Valiram has grown into one of the region’s largest high-end specialist retail chains with outlets and online operations in multiple locations, including Thailand.
The group’s latest branch of Victoria’s Secret is located at Bangkok’s Icon Siam shopping centre with a total retail space of 1,200 square metres. Central World is another location, tapping both tourist and domestic demands to further expand the group’s luxury retail business in Thailand.
According to Sujjath Ahmed, chief information officer, his firm had worked with Infor to introduce digital and related technology in the new retail landscape, which combines both online and offline features.
Predictive analytics is a key component of the new retail technology given the many details that need tracking in the retail sector, especially with regard to consumer preferences.
“We need the analytics to help and we also expect to use a new software on human potential for better recruitment of retail personnel,” he said.
According to Ahmed, Valiram’s annual sales turnover across Asean markets and Australia has topped US$1 billion (Bt33 billion), so it needs the sophisticated technology to manage products in both offline and online businesses.
To create the right mix of more than 10,000 different items, its supply chain is run by Infor technology, ranging from real-time ordering to shipping and from warehousing to distribution – as well as financial needs.
Given the rise of online and mobile platforms, he said, sales are projected to account for up to 10-12 per cent of the total in 2019.