Escalate Retail tracking well after merger: Exec at Shop.org

NEW YORK - Escalate Retail was on hand at Shop.org's annual summit this week, seven weeks after its birth from a merger between GERS Retail Systems and Ecometry Corp.

The two firms merged together to offer their customers the combined benefits of Ecometry's merchandising and retail system and GERS' e-commerce and loyalty platforms.

"We feel that it is coming together very well," said Phil Kenney, vice president of marketing at Escalate Retail. "Our main focus with the new partnership is to drive profit for retailers."

Escalate Retail has kept two respective headquarters - GERS in San Diego and Ecometry in Del Ray Beach, FL - but the two systems have been streamlined and integrated.

One new agenda from this integration is encouraging retailers to use the online tools to apply traditional offline marketing tactics.

A tactic, for instance, is looking at customers based on location, and marketing specific colors and style to specific consumers based on that demographic data.

One client which has found the partnership useful is youth retailer Hot Topic, which was customer of both GERS and Ecometry before the merger. Since the integration, Hot Topic has experienced an easy transition and is already using both ends of the business, Mr. Kenney said.

Mergers like this are common these days, and may even be inevitable for the many e-commerce software firms out there if they have to survive.

"There are a lot of software companies with compelling solutions that don't have the capital to drive into the market," Mr. Kenney said. "Combining massive resources and innovative technology really makes it work."