The Vitamin Shoppe deploys hosted store network

The Vitamin Shoppe is supporting store operations with a new cloud-based architecture.

The leading specialty health-and-wellness retailer is rolling out HughesOn managed network services from Hughes Network Systems, an EchoStar company, across its more than 700 U.S. store locations. The hosted, cloud-based Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) solution provides The Vitamin Shoppe with a secure software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN).

In addition, by offering elements of a cloud-native Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) framework, the HughesOn managed solution for The Vitamin Shoppe protects the retailer’s store network with security at every endpoint and transport (fiber layer facilitating the movement of data), provides redundant transports for enhanced reliability and uptime, and is designed to deliver scalability.

“We consider it a privilege to support The Vitamin Shoppe in their digital transformation with a high-performing, next-generation network that meets the company's business requirements today and into tomorrow," said Dan Rasmussen, senior VP, Enterprise Division, Hughes. "With 'as-a-service' delivery combined with 24/7 end-to-end management, the Hughes network for The Vitamin Shoppe seamlessly operates and optimizes business applications – enabling the retailer to focus on its lifestyle offerings instead of worrying about its network."

"Hughes designed, deployed and manages our enterprise network with the flexibility, scalability, security and dependability we require to best empower our customers on their journeys of lifelong wellness," said Andy Laudato, COO, The Vitamin Shoppe. "The Hughes team met our needs for secure, cloud-centered digital operations at every store, cost effectively and with an eye to the future."

The Vitamin Shoppe streamlines store decision-making

In another recently launched effort to enhance store operations, The Vitamin Shoppe rolled out the RetailNext store analytics platform across its network of over 700 brick-and-mortar locations. Using RetailNext solution’s centralized data dashboard, The Vitamin Shoppe is attempting to overcome labor shortages and maximize payroll efficiency.

The Vitamin Shoppe can also instantly obtain and analyze store operations data, which has improved its payroll sales rate during the past two years. The retailer also reports it has received an in-store sales boost within the first seven months of deploying the platform, and has been able to deliver improved customer experience.

Specific new capabilities The Vitamin Shoppe obtains from its store analytics platform include upgrading from its previous manual scheduling approach to intelligent labor forecasting. This, in turn, drives performance gains, and improves profitability through the reallocation of labor based on traffic trends. The Vitamin Shoppe has been able to drive sales at stores with higher foot traffic while removing the expense of idle labor at lower-performing locations.