Fashion
Cegid Retail refines its approach to the challenges of artificial intelligence for commerce
Published
September 14, 2025
Last year, Lyon-based management solutions specialist Cegid announced that it was bringing its Forward 2026 development strategy into line with generative artificial intelligence. Renamed Forward.ia, the development program continues, in particular for the Cegid Retail division, which is stepping up deployment and experimentation of retail solutions, while taking care not to fall into the trap of multiplying useless generative tools.
“Our approach has always been to make innovation useful and not to create gas factories that serve no one,” Nathalie Echinard, general manager of the retail division, tells FashionNetwork.com. “Nevertheless, we know that AI and generative AI will transform the business, both for our team internally and for our customers.”
Last year’s biennial Cegid Connections Retail event in Rome featured eight AI use cases anticipating the needs of commerce to 2030. Four have since been delivered. Starting with an enhancement to the Livestore checkout solution. This now enables a sales assistant to interact with customers with whom they do not share a common language, via a split screen.
The Cegid Retail Store Excellence tool, used for communication between a head office and its store network, has also been enhanced. “It can now translate and send messages to each store, for example to explain a new collection, in the case of fashion brands”, explained Echinard. The manager also points out that AI can now directly generate message bases or visuals to guide sales teams.
In the apparel business, these teams are subject to high turnover and have no time for training. In the past, Cegid has responded to this need with simplified dashboards that are easy to learn. But AI now enables the salesperson to exchange directly with the system verbally to explain their problem, so as to be guided through the task.
“We’re gradually moving towards an augmented sales assistant,” explained Echinard. “Augmented vis-à-vis the customer, but also in terms of efficiency and time optimization. Applications will help them to choose their priorities according to what’s happening in the store, but above all to navigate from one task to another without really realizing it.”
Personalization has not been forgotten. A tool, presented last year to Cegid’s partners, is currently being developed based on customer data and product recommendation learning. AI will reinforce the Livestore tool by helping the sales assistant to identify the needs of existing tastes and customers.
“This takes the form of a 6-8 word cloud that gives maximum information in a short space of time to the salesperson. After all, no one wants a sales assistant who remains immersed in the tablet”, explained the Cegid Retail manager.
A manager who also bears witness to the growing demands of brands in terms of security. Security breaches, cyber-attacks and data ransomware are on everyone’s mind. “When our customers are major players in the luxury goods and CAC40 sectors, we take this very seriously”, sais Echinard. She points out that, by contract, security updates are the only ones Cegid can launch to warn its customers.
“And, given what’s at stake, no brand has a problem with that,” said Echinard.
After the NRF (formerly Paris Retail Week) trade show, to be held in Paris from September 16 to 18, she will be preparing the 2026 edition of Cegid Connections Retail, to be held in Prague in the spring. Perhaps by then, the market will have taken a more rational look at AI.
“The enthusiasm it generates needs to stabilize, and everyone needs to stop going off in all directions,” concluded Echinard. She is mindful of the Gartner study which, last June, estimated that 40% of AI tools in development could be abandoned by 2027.
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The projects will cover 68,000 square metre and generate 4,600 direct jobs.
Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) chairman Waleid Gamal El-Dein and Ismailia province deputy governor Ahmed Essam El-Din laid the foundation stones.
Foundation stones were recently laid for two projects in Egypt’s West Qantara Industrial Zone by two Chinese-backed Firms.
Hui Zhou Top New Garment will set up an export unit for RMG and sportswear, with production likely to begin in July 2026.
Changzhou Top Credit’s project will manufacture fabrics and textiles, with an expected annual output of over 28,000 tonnes, 80 per cent of which will be exported.
Hui Zhou Top New Garment will set up an integrated, export-oriented factory for readymade and sportswear apparel, with production expected to begin in July 2026. The 28,000-square metre facility valued at $7.2 million will employ 4,000 workers and produce more than 25 million pieces annually, domestic media outlets reported.
With an investment of $13.3 million, Changzhou Top Credit’s project will manufacture fabrics and textiles on a 40,000-sq m site, with an expected annual output exceeding 28,000 tonnes, 80 per cent of which will be exported. The factory will employ 600.
El-Dein said the first phase of the industrial zone’s development has already drawn 44 projects, with total investments worth $1.17 billion and creating 60,165 jobs in less than two years.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
The operating income fell 62.2 per cent to $29.1 million, reflecting higher tariffs, increased investment in product quality and store expansion. Adjusted operating income dropped 48.9 per cent to $39.4 million, with an adjusted operating margin of 5.2 per cent versus 10.2 per cent in the previous year.
American apparel company Carter’s, Inc, has reported flat Q3 FY25 sales at $757.8 million, while profit fell sharply due to higher tariffs and restructuring costs.
Net income dropped to $11.6 million from $58.3 million, with adjusted EPS down to $0.74.
The company plans 300 job cuts and 150 store closures to save $35 million annually, while tariffs are expected to impact Q4 earnings by $25–35 million.
Net income plunged to $11.6 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, from $58.3 million, or $1.62 per diluted share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, net income was $26.8 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, compared to $59 million, or $1.64 per diluted share, in Q3 FY24, Carter’s said in a press release.
“Our third quarter performance reflected continued improvement in US retail business demand as we achieved positive comparable sales and improved pricing for the second consecutive quarter,” said Douglas C Palladini, chief executive officer (CEO) and president. “However, elevated product costs, in part due to the impact of higher tariffs, as well as additional investment, weighed meaningfully on our profitability.”
For the first nine months (9M) of FY25, Carter’s has reported net sales of $1.97 billion, down 0.6 per cent YoY. Adjusted operating income declined nearly half to $86.5 million, with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) at $1.57, compared with $3.43 a year earlier. Net cash used in operations totalled $136.3 million, compared to net cash inflow of $11.3 million in FY24.
The company has initiated a productivity drive, including the reduction of 300 office-based roles (around 15 per cent of its workforce) and the closure of 150 stores across North America by 2026, measures expected to generate annual savings of about $35 million beginning in 2026, added the release.
Looking ahead, the company warned that new US import tariffs could have a pre-tax earnings impact of $200–250 million annually. Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, and India now account for about 75 per cent of Carter’s sourcing, with China contributing less than 3 per cent. The company expects a $25–35 million hit to pre-tax income in Q4 FY25 due to tariff pressures.
Carter’s has also secured commitments for a new five-year $750 million asset-based revolving credit facility to strengthen liquidity and is evaluating refinancing options for its $500 million senior notes maturing in 2027.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
Egypt’s textile and apparel imports from Turkiye rose 7.7 per cent year-on-year to $154.68 million in H1 2025, driven mainly by higher fabric demand from garment exporters.
Fabric imports surged 27.75 per cent, while yarn imports dipped slightly.
Despite modest overall growth, Turkiye remained Egypt’s second-largest supplier of fabrics and apparel and third-largest in yarn.
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