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Fujitsu research reveals retailers have reined in IT spending but no further budget cuts expected

London, 10th August 2009 — Research commissioned by Fujitsu, a leading IT systems, services and products company has revealed that retailers are continuing to tighten their belts in light of the current economic climate, with 95% expecting the recession to last up to another two years.

The research, carried out via interviews with key UK retailers, highlights that reducing costs is the highest priority in the current climate, with 43% seeing IT budgets slashed. However, the majority don’t expect to see further budget cuts. It is interesting to note that one fifth of respondents have seen their IT budgets rise as management teams look to invest in their businesses during the downturn to emerge fitter, leaner and stronger.

Whilst 95% of retailers rated their organisations as efficient, only half have specific productivity targets in place. Asked to nominate the area they think would have the greatest impact on productivity, 37% said flexible IT systems, followed by seamless integration (26%). Only 58% of retailers are currently measuring the return on investment from their IT systems.

Sarah Kellett, retail industry consultant at Fujitsu UK and Ireland said: “It is concerning to hear that a large number of retailers are still not focused on measuring the real business value of their IT systems or staff. In a tough economic climate, where budgets are being reduced, it is vital that retailers understand the value of every aspect of IT in order to appraise and identify the business critical systems and ensure any investment is targeted at these areas.”

The research also revealed that few retailers have undertaken significant business process transformations in the last 12 months and where they have, it has not been in the area of IT.

Sarah continues: “Our research shows that the majority of retailers are looking for ways to reduce their IT spend, however as few as 37% are aware of, or indeed utilising the principles of lean management to simplify their systems, remove bottlenecks and eliminate waste. Retailers who identify and invest in their business critical systems during this tough economic time, will reap the benefits in the long-term and will be ideally placed to develop and grow their businesses once the recession is over.”

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About Fujitsu

Fujitsu is a leading provider of IT-based business solutions for the global marketplace. With approximately 175,000 employees supporting customers in 70 countries, Fujitsu combines a worldwide corps of systems and services experts with highly reliable computing and communications products and advanced microelectronics to deliver added value to customers. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.6 trillion yen (US$47 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009. For more information, please see: www.fujitsu.com.

Fujitsu UK and Ireland is a leading IT systems, services and products company employing 14,000 people with an annual revenue of £2 billion. Its business is in enabling its customers to realise their objectives by exploiting information technology through its integrated product and service portfolio. This includes consulting, applications, systems integration, managed services and product for customers in the private and public sectors including retail, financial services, telecoms, government, defence and consumer sectors. For more information, please see: uk.fujitsu.com

Retail Customers

In the retail sector, Fujitsu’s customers in the UK include Marks & Spencer, The Co-operative Group, Vodafone, Royal Mail and Whitbread. In Europe its retail customers include La Rinascente (Italy), Carrefour (Spain) Auchan (France), The EDEKA Group (Germany) and Kesko (Finland).

About the Research

The research, commissioned by Fujitsu, was carried out by Circle Research in May 2009. 150 interviews were conducted with companies across Europe, including Denmark, Portugal, Sweden, Spain, Germany and the UK. 19 interviews were carried out with key UK retailers. The research examined the level of economic confidence, the impact on IT budgets, how productivity and efficiency are being prioritised and the awareness and use of Lean IT.

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