SignIQ makes ‘perfect business sense’ for Discount Drug Stores

November 19, 2008. Perth, Western Australia

Discount Drug Stores recently rolled out Iconiq’s in-store signage and labelling software, SignIQ, and the benefits have been immediate.

National Retail Operations Manager Kiri Wallace is no stranger to Australia’s leading in-store signage software. A strong advocate of SignIQ in a previous role within Terry White Chemists, Ms Wallace approached Iconiq to assist Discount Drug Stores achieve their ticketing goals.

Already acquainted with the many benefits of the solution, Ms Wallace was keen to introduce the Group to the far-reaching benefits of improving the sign-production process. Directors John Clark and Peter Newman also knew of the program and were quick to see that “SignIQ made perfect business sense.”

With the full backing of the Directors, Discount Drug Store Franchise owners were keen to roll-out the proven ticketing solution. ‘SignIQ makes what has often been deemed as ‘tedious tasks’ a lot easier. Better utilised resources mean working smarter not harder. Ticketing is often overlooked as a secondary task, when in fact it is one of the most important ways to communicate with your customer, therefore a valuable tool in most retail environments’ says Ms Wallace.

‘The whole process has been very smooth, quick and affordable. In a matter of weeks we were able to decide on our requirements, have them delivered by Iconiq and roll out the solution to all of our stores. It is not just stores that are able to benefit from the solution, our Marketing Coordinator saves herself three days work per month’, says Mr Clark. ‘That’s time that can now be better utilised.’

The implementation of Sign IQ has allowed Discount Drug Stores to maintain a greater degree of corporate compliance as well as consistent quality ticket production across its stores.
‘SignIQ is ridiculously easy to use and as a result we’ve now seen an increase in not only the quality, but also quantity of ticketing in our stores’, says Mr Clark.

Michael Ursino from Iconiq says, “With 70% of customer buying decisions made in-store, signage is the most powerful tool for influencing sales. It makes sense to get the ticket-producing process right.”
For more information on Discount Drug Stores, please visit www.discountdrugstores.com.au

Iconiq to Launch SilentSelling Division at Retail Expo 2008

August 7, 2008, Perth Western Australia

Recognising the specialised skills required to develop effective in-store consumer messaging, such as signage and labelling, Iconiq will officially launch a specialised consulting division, SilentSelling at Retail Expo 2008 at the Sydney Convention and Exhbition Centre on August 12, 2008. Australia’s largest and most comprehensive retail event, Retail Expo 2008 features products and services from areas such as technology, shopfitting, security, signage, business services and green design.

“We believe that world-class technology is only one part of delivering the most advanced in-store signage and advertising solutions available” says Ben Hoffman, head of the SilentSelling division of Iconiq. “That is why we have set up SilentSelling as a specialist consulting division. SilentSelling is focussed on assisting the most progressive retailers revolutionise their in-store communications and customer experience.”

SilentSelling is a unique concept as it brings together the four key elements that are necessary for retailers to communicate effectively with their customers at the point-of-purchase:
• In-store advertising and communication strategies
• A sophisticated sign and label printing solution
• Inexpensive in-store colour printing
• A Rich Product Information repository

Iconiq will be exhibiting in stand G39 at the expo.

About Iconiq
Iconiq is a privately owned company powered by executives with extensive IT and service delivery experience. With a product that has been in the market for more than 15 years, Iconiq (www.iconiq.com.au) are the proven experts in point-of-purchase consumer messaging solutions in Australia and New Zealand.

For more information:
Ben Hoffman
Iconiq Pty Ltd
Phone: (08) 9315 3622 or 0403 499 347
Email: benh@silentselling.com.au

Iconiq to Launch SignIQ Version 7.5 at Retail Expo 2008

August 7, 2008, Perth Western Australia

Retailers in Australia and New Zealand are now able to produce ticketing in-store using SignIQ that rivals signs manually created by graphic designers or ticket writers. SignIQ version 7.5 will be officially launched at Retail Expo 2008 at Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre on August 12, 2008. Australia’s largest and most comprehensive retail event, Retail Expo 2008 features products and services from areas such as technology, shopfitting, security, signage, business services and green design.

The innovative functionality in the latest version of SignIQ enables retailers to reduce costs associated with ticketing as well as influence customers at the point-of-purchase, where 70% of all buying decisions are made, 68% of which are on impulse.

“This new version of SignIQ builds on the products long-standing reputation for design flexibility, performance and  ease-of-use. With in-store colour printing now being a cost-effective and more powerful alternative to mono printing on pre-printed paper, the product has been developed to meet the most demanding formatting requirements” says Michael Ursino, a Director of Iconiq.  “The new features, in conjunction with our specialised consulting division, SilentSelling and our fixed-cost in-store colour printing options will revolutionise the way that signage and labelling is created in Australia and New Zealand”

Able to work with existing POS, merchandise and advertising systems SignIQ can transform existing data into targeted graphical messages that attract, inform and influence customers at the point-of-purchase.

Iconiq will be exhibiting in stand G39 at the expo.

About Iconiq
Iconiq is a privately owned company powered by executives with extensive IT and service delivery experience. With a product that has been in the market for more than 15 years, Iconiq (www.iconiq.com.au) are the proven experts in point-of-purchase consumer messaging solutions in Australia and New Zealand.

For more information:
Michael Ursino
Iconiq Pty Ltd
Phone: (08) 9315 3622 or 0403 456 733
Email: info@iconiq.com.au

See us at Retail Expo Australasia

We invite you to see us at Retail Expo Australasia, held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre on August 12-14, 2008. Booth G39 is where you will be able to see SignIQ in action, meet our team of experts and talk to us about your in-store signage and labelling. For more information on the expo, visit http://www.retailexpo.com.au.

Woolworths IT Supplier of the Year Award 2007

Iconiq’s SignIQ7 solution has recently been recognised by Woolworths at their 2007 Annual IT Supplier of the Year award dinner.

At the ceremony held at Woolworths’ Support office in Sydney on November 14th, 2007, Iconiq was awarded best Application Software (including Product Support and Maintenance) amongst well known and respected competition.

Woolworths’ IT Supplier Program is based on the simple objectives of continuous improvement and constructive feedback being provided on the combined performances in the most important areas of their business.

The program is conducted through the collation of scores and comments on each IT Supplier’s performance in a number of areas:

• Quality of goods
• Quality of service
• Quality of personnel
• Quality of communication
• Quality of relationship
• Initiative
• Cost Control and Efficiency

Scoring is undertaken by Woolworths’ contract manager, relationship team, representative IT users, and representative non-IT end users for each area. Reviews are held quarterly with an annual average quarterly rating used to determine the category winners.

Special mention was made on the night of Iconiq’s ability to respond rapidly to new requirements, providing Woolworths the means of implementing new initiatives in an extremely timely manner.

The SignIQ solution has been used by Woolworths since 2001 and is now used in Woolworths Supermarkets and liquor stores in Australia and New Zealand.

For more information on SignIQ, please contact sales@iconiq.com.au

Welcome to Iconiq

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to http://www.iconiq.com.au and inform you of recent and exciting changes to the way that the SignIQ product will be developed, sold and supported within the Australian and New Zealand markets. As of 30th October, 2007 Iconiq Pty Ltd, a wholly Australian owned and operated business, has acquired the SignIQ business from ImpulseLogic Pty Ltd.

The Iconiq team would like to introduce ourselves, provide background information on the reasons behind the acquisition and outline what this means for our clients, present and future. We would also like to acknowledge the overwhelming support we have received since announcing our plans to acquire the product and its users.

Background to the sale
The desktop version of SignIQ has been developed, sold and supported out of Perth, Western Australia for approximately 15 years. Upon completion of SignIQ version 7 from the Perth office a decision was made by the key stakeholders of ImpulseLogic to shift the company headquarters to California in an effort to focus on expanding market share in the US and also commence work on a thin-client J2EE version of the SignIQ product. The Australian and New Zealand markets continued to be serviced by a small, but extremely committed and passionate team who had each been with the company for a number of years.

In mid-2007 the group now being the ICONIQ shareholders realised that the AUS/NZ users of the SignIQ product range would be better serviced by a company solely focussed on this region and the core SignIQ technology, battle-proven in this market. At the same time ImpulseLogic, based in San Ramon California, were looking to focus on its products in the US and European markets. Through open discussions both parties worked long and hard behind the scenes to facilitate the best possible outcome for our clients.

How will this affect current and future clients?
Collectively, the Iconiq team are focussed only on the AUS/NZ market. Iconiq will increase staffing levels to ensure we continue to improve our already excellent customer service. We are committed to the SignIQ product and will be investing in a number of enhancements. As part of a revitalised effort in the region, we look to visit our clients on a more regular basis as there is no substitute for face-to-face discussion. We also look forward to working closely with our existing clients to help shape the future direction of the product.

Who are the shareholders of Iconiq?
John Despott (johnd@iconiq.com.au) has over 25 years experience in the information technology industry, having held senior executive roles with large and small public and private sector companies. John’s association with the SignIQ product reaches back to 1996 with him co-founding SignIQ in 2000. SignIQ, John led the organisation’s push to be a world leader in solutions for in-store visual merchandising.

Ben Hoffman (benh@iconiq.com.au) was a co-founder of SignIQ and led the company’s innovative and creative development unit. He spearheaded the development of the suite of products into the current solutions that are being used world-wide by large retail enterprises. Ben has been instrumental in driving the market growth of SignIQ in Australia, New Zealand and the US.

Lagis Zavros (lagisz@iconiq.com.au) has over 30 years business and Information Technology experience spanning Europe, South-East Asia and Australasia. His roles have included technology management, business development and sales. Lagis has a long-term involvement with SignIQ going back to 1996.

Michael Ursino (michaelu@iconiq.com.au) has been involved with the SignIQ team and product for more than 6 years. Michael has been heavily involved in all client implementations and product developments in that time. For the past two years Michael was ImpulseLogic’s Regional Manager for the Asia/Pacific region and was responsible for expanding the business and building strong client relationships in that market.

Where is the product headed?
Currently being scoped are a number of interesting and important developments. For any improvements you would like to see considered in future releases, please contact Michael Ursino.

Business partnerships
In anticipation of the acquisition, the ICONIQ team have worked hard on developing strong business relationships in order to provide complete solutions to our clients, including:

Printer Hardware and consumables.
With full colour laser printing now an affordable reality, we are pleased to announce our ability to provide world-class printer hardware to meet all of our clients’ needs. In addition to simply providing the hardware, we offer solutions for fulfilling your consumables requirements via an easy to use web-based interface, complete with flexible delivery and invoicing options.

Finance options
For our new clients as well as existing clients looking to expand their usage of SignIQ, we are now working with some of Australia’s leading technology finance providers to offer extremely competitive terms for rental and lease options. Our reputable finance partners are able to finance all software, services and hardware of any type and value and can advise on maximising the tax benefits of these options.

Retail Systems Integration
Through our relationship-focussed approach ICONIQ are working with the country’s largest and most recognisable retail systems providers to develop integrated solutions.

We look forward to strengthening relationships with our clients and helping them to maximise their investment in SignIQ.

Michael Ursino
Director
Iconiq Pty. Ltd.