In partnership with Atos, Damart innovates by launching its voice application via Google Assistant

Paris, France – 17 December 2019 – This winter, Damart becomes the voice that is never cold. The innovative textiles specialist has teamed up with Google and Atos, global leader in digital transformation, to develop its first voice application. Accessible via Google Home connected speakers, and smartphones which are compatible with Google Assistant, it helps users select and buy their ideal Thermolactyl (Damart’s thermal clothing brand), depending on the weather, their style, and their activity. It will also offer users the opportunity to identify the Damart store closest to where they are, in France and French-speaking Belgium. The teams at Atos’ Innovation Centre in Grenoble, which specialize in Artificial Intelligence, worked closely with those at Damart to develop the voice application and integrate it into Google Assistant.

This innovation is part of Damart's global transformation, in which the company is investing nearly €8 million in its digital transformation and the development of a new global web platform. It illustrates Damart's commitment as one of the leaders in conversational commerce. It is launched today Tuesday, December 17, 2019 in France and Belgium.

"Damart has been an innovative brand for 65 years, through the development of textile technology labels. Today, through our first voice application, we’re highlighting our pioneering DNA and we’re supporting the brand's new momentum through its return to TV, the development of its omnichannel model, and its dynamic of winning over new generations of customers and employees. This application, developed with our partner Atos, is a first step for Damart towards conversational commerce, and allows us to cultivate the appeal of our brand, which today places IT at the heart of its transformation. Among our 2020 challenges: recruiting new IT talent, people who are passionate about the challenges of the retail revolution and artificial intelligence, and who want to join a family company that combines solid values, agile methods and new generation management" said Thomas Masurel, CIO Damart.

"We are delighted to support Damart in its innovative approach and to bring our expertise in digital transformation. Consumer habits are changing; we are committed to providing the tools that evolve with the way customers perceive their purchases. Thanks to our expertise in the retail world, we develop solutions that meet the expectations of companies in the fashion sector. By leveraging our strategic alliance with Google Cloud and our market knowledge, we are creating the right conditions for the success of this new voice application. This project also highlights the skills of our Grenoble innovation centre - which specialises in Artificial Intelligence, including chatbots and voicebots technologies," added Jean-Philippe Poirault, CEO of Atos in France.

Voice commerce complements Damart's omnichannel model
Winter is a crucial commercial period for Damart, which can sell up to 40,000 Thermolactyl items every day during cold periods, via its e-shop, brick-and-mortar stores and distance selling. To support this dynamic and the brand's new momentum, translated this winter by a revival of TV presence and outdoor advertising, Damart is adding a new sales channel to its model: voice commerce. The app, launched on December 17 in France and French-speaking Belgium, will be available via Google Assistant-enabled speakers such as Google Home and Google Home Mini.

A voice that is never cold, 2 scenarios for the user
After saying "Ok Google, I want to talk with Damart" via a connected speaker or smartphone, the user is guided by the Damart voice by answering a series of questions leading him to his ideal Thermolactyl: Is it for a man, a woman or a child? What wear will you be wearing it in? Depending on the user's answers, the Damart voice proposes one or more choices of Thermolactyl which meet the criteria and then sends this selection by SMS to the user’s smartphone. All the user has to do is click to order and receive a discount voucher on this first "Damart vocal shopping". 2nd possible scenario: the user is looking for a Damart store, in France or French-speaking Belgium. The Damart voice geolocates the user and sends, via SMS, the address of the nearest store.

An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) marking Damart's commitment to conversational commerce
With this agile MVP developed with Atos for Google Home, Damart marks a new step in the evolution of its customer experience and is committed to being a pioneer in v-commerce. This new continent to explore has many advantages for a transgenerational brand like Damart: indeed, the innovative, playful, and easy to execute nature of voice commerce speaks to both young and old. According to OC&C Analytics, global voice trade is expected to increase by 1900% to $40 billion by 2022, from the current $2 billion. Voice is not only a revolution for retail now, but also for its future!

Crédit photo : © Google.

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About Atos
Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with over 110,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of over € 11 billion. European number one in Cloud, Cybersecurity and High-Performance Computing, the Group provides end-to-end Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud, Big Data, Business Applications and Digital Workplace solutions. The group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Syntel, and Unify. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index.

The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information technology space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education as well as multicultural and pluralistic approaches to research that contribute to scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the group enables its customers, employees and collaborators, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably and confidently in the information technology space.

Press contact:
Laura Fau | laura.fau@atos.net | +33 6 73 64 04 18 | @laurajanefau

About Damart

Founded in 1953 with the development of Thermolactyl®, "the first active heat fibre", DAMART has offices in France, Belgium, England and Switzerland. It is now pursuing its international expansion: after Japan, the brand is expanding into Spain, Germany, Poland, Cyprus, Lebanon, Australia and this year into Italy. Still in the hands of its founders, Damart is the only company of this size to distribute its ready-to-wear collections in multi-channel - stores, catalogue, and web. Damart is a brand of the Damartex Group. Key figures: €413 million in revenue excluding VAT. 2,000 employees. 150 stores in Europe, including 93 in France and 600 partner points of sale worldwide.

www.damart.fr

Press Contact:
Agence Mot Compte Double
Alexandra Breyne – Tel. 06 30 81 90 17 ou abreyne@motcomptedouble.fr
Emilie Van Durme – Tel. 07 87 94 96 11 ou evandurme@motcomptedouble.fr

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• In partnership with Atos Damart innovates by launching its voice application via Google Assistant