ECR France has announced that it is joining the Institut du Commerce, a new platform specialising in sharing and forecasting.
The Institut du Commerce also incorporates the IFLS (Institut Français du Libre-Service) and IFM (Institut Français du Merchandising).
According to Emmanuel Bertin, the managing director of Johnson & Johnson France and secretary for the Institut du Commerce, the three organisations that are now part of the Institute are a good fit.
"The three organisations share the same DNA, are complementary, with regard to their fields of expertise, and have a capacity to roll out new synergies," he tells ESM. "This is the essence of this merger. The objective is to better respond to the modern consumer, who works horizontally and is omnichannel."
The Institut du Commerce is focused on consumer aspiration and evolution, seeking to "shed invaluable light on the future of retail," Bertin adds. "It provides an exclusive opportunity to share and forecast opening doors to innovation and growth for its members."
Building on from the ECR approach, the Institut du Commerce will run a number of 'pilot committees', which are co-chaired by a retailer and a manufacturer, to determine the subjects, issues and projects on which it should focus in the near future.
"By creating dialogue amongst members via a multitude of tools, such as standards, studies and best practices, the Institut du Commerce provides a service that covers all aspects of the value chain," says Bertin.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
