London, UK – We are delighted to announce that Chalhoub Group and retail technology specialist Red Ant have won three prestigious Middle East & North Africa (MENA) Stevie Awards for their Connect clienteling app: 

Silver Stevies for

  • Innovation in Shopping or E-commerce Apps
  • Innovative Use of Technology in Customer Service

 And a bronze Stevie for

  • Innovation in Technology Development 

The MENA Stevie Awards are an international business awards competition with a focus on recognizing innovation in all its forms. They are recognized as one of the world's most coveted prizes for business.  

Stevie Award judges include many of the world's most respected executives and entrepreneurs, and past winners include Acer Inc., Apple, BASF, BT, Ford Motor Company, ING, Procter & Gamble, Roche Group, and Samsung, among many others. 

Red Ant’s CEO Sarah Friswell says: ‘These awards are a testament to our partnership with Chalhoub and the vision they have for providing truly outstanding experiences to their customers. We’re proud to have received such important recognition of how innovative technology coupled with a commitment to excellence can transform retail.’ 

Chalhoub’s Technology Business Partner John McNulty says: ‘We look forward to our continued partnership with Red Ant and to further leveraging Connect as a key component of our omni-channel strategy.’ 

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About the Connect clienteling app 

Delivered using Red Ant’s market-leading RetailOS platform, the Connect multi-interface clienteling app empowers customers, frontliners (frontline workers), backroom staff and management with technology to increase brand loyalty, encourage repeat purchases and enhance every customer engagement. 

With a legacy of 65 years, Chalhoub Group is a leading partner, curator and creator of luxury products and services in the Middle East. The app is currently being used by Chalhoub Group frontline employees in 28 stores across 13 malls and over four key brands including Level Shoes, Tory Burch and Versace in the UAE, Kuwait and KSA. The app will be introduced to other brands at Chalhoub Group as part of a phased approach over the next few years. 

The app gives frontliners all the tools they need to offer a superior customer experience through fully-integrated data, customer profile enrichment, distant and in-store sales journeys, and personalized content.  

Key features of the clienteling solution include: 

  • Customer profiles are created in the app and their comprehensive information is automatically shared with the brand’s CRM system so store associates can easily find them on other in-house systems such as POS 
  • Frontliners have quick and easy access to all details such as nationality and date of birth, which can be especially useful in customer consultations and for contacting them during their national or religious holidays such as Ramadan 
  • It allows frontliners to create and access wish lists, waitlists, and recommendations, as well as add notes about preferences and special occasions for a truly personalized relationship 
  • Frontliners can send notifications and reminders to themselves when a customer’s item is back in stock, when it’s a customer’s birthday and other store events and occasions where the personal touch makes all the difference, helping to increase sales and engagement 
  • Frontliners and consultants have the ability to schedule and manage in-store consultations, with full access to customer preferences and previous purchases, as well as product information and flexible payment options including distant sales payment links, facilitated by follow-up emails listing all the items discussed 

About Chalhoub Group 

INSPIRE. EXHILARATE. DELIGHT 

With a legacy of 65 years, Chalhoub Group is a leading partner, curator and creator of luxury products and services in the Middle East. An expert in hybrid retail, distribution and marketing services, the Group is the foremost player in the luxury beauty, fashion, and art de vivre categories regionally with a portfolio of 5 own brands and over 300 global brands.

Chalhoub Group embraces an innovation mindset, coupled with a desire to constantly redefine luxury in the region. Chalhoub Group caters to its customers across multiple channels, including 680 experiential retail stores, online and through mobile apps. Headquartered in Dubai, the Group has a strong workforce of more than 12,000 skilled, talented, and passionate people in 7 countries. As a people-centric and responsible employer, Chalhoub Group is ranked third in the Middle East and second in Saudi Arabia as a Great Place to Work®.

Alongside business and people priorities, Chalhoub Group is also a sustainability champion. The Group is a member of the United Nations Global Compact Community and signatory of the Women's Empowerment Principles. Chalhoub Group was awarded its seventh CSR Label from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry and has its own incubator space for innovation and entrepreneurship, “The Greenhouse”. 

Contact: 
Lea Maalouf 
Head of Media Relations & Public Affairs 
Email: lea.maalouf@chalhoub.com 

About Red Ant  

Red Ant is a leading retail technology specialist, empowering organisations to respond to their business challenges and build new retail capabilities. Its retail solution RetailOS combines data, systems, process, and technical expertise for remarkable digital customer experiences.  

RetailOS delivers smarter stores for retailers, colleagues, and customers by unifying the tools, content and insights needed to provide outstanding customer experiences, in-store or at home. RetailOS can integrate your existing technology with innovative solutions, driven by cross-channel strategies to provide a single view of the customer. It empowers retailers, drives exceptional customer service, maximizes sales and improves operational performance, with built-in features for virtual consultations. The solution includes clienteling, assisted sales, omnichannel PoS, and click & collect/BOPAK. 

 Red Ant’s team of technology experts apply industry-leading skills to create seamless multichannel experiences. Red Ant maximizes speed to market and reduces project risk with pre-integrations for over 60 partners, including eCommerce, CRM, payments, and analytics. Red Ant achieves business benefits for its customers including over 200% ROI within a week of launch, a 400% increase on repeat purchases and up to 250% year on year growth. 

Founded in 1999 and headquartered in the UK, Red Ant employs over 40 technology specialists. Red Ant has deep expertise in home and furniture, luxury, beauty, jewellery, footwear and apparel, real estate, and pharma. Clients include Furniture Village, Office Shoes, Charlotte Tilbury and Chalhoub Group.