Last Yard and YY Solutions Collaborate to Help Supercharge Innovation for Japanese Retailers

Industry first go-to-market agreement between leading Australian and Japanese retail technology companies; YY Solutions to sell Last Yard leading shelf edge solutions platform to Japanese retailers, provide deployment, consultation and training services, including after-sales support; focus on digital innovation to drive improved shopping experiences.

PERTH, Australia and TOKYO, April 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Last Yard today announced that it has entered a partnership with leading Japanese retail technology consultancy, YY Solutions, to drive innovation at the shelf edge in Japan's retail and supermarket industry.

Based in Perth, Australia, Last Yard provides world's best practice and industry shelf edge signage and labels and omnichannel digital solutions in store and online for a wide range of retailers. Its long term customers include a 20-year relationship with Woolworths, Australia's largest supermarket chain and the country's largest single employer.

Established in 2000, Last Yard offers the best-of-breed software to engage and convert retail customers at the point of purchase. With a heritage in the original 'shelf edge' of printed signage and labels, it is now at the forefront of the industry, helping retailers transform the in-store and online experience for shoppers and store teams through the introduction of new channels such as Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL), Digital Shelf Edge (DSE), retail media, mobile, screens, and more.

YY Solutions is based in Tokyo, Japan. The company's partnership with Last Yard will help accelerate YY Solutions' ability to help retailers in Japan drive their in-store digital transformation and improve their current state of operations by enhancing marketing execution and design of the banners and improving its compliance significantly. Elements of the in-store digital transformation includes blending retailers' offers on a personal level in-store as the Last Yard platform unlocks deeper insights about shoppers behaviours, purchase conversions and more. As a result of implementing personalized marketing strategies with artificial intelligence can be realised to align its strategy perfectly with those of Last Yard.

Following initial meetings last year between senior management from Last Yard and YY Solutions, including at the NRF Big Retail Show event in New York in January 2024, it was concluded that a partnership with YY Solution was an ideal fit for both organizations and their customer base as part of Last Yard's global expansion.

Pieter Reede, VP Sales - Global  of Last Yard, said; "Last Yard has a long and proven history in Australia of driving in-store and on-line shelf innovation for and with their customers, including some of the most iconic Australian supermarket, pharmacy, liquor, homeware and consumer electronic chains. With our unique multi-channel publishing efficiency capability and over 100 years of deep retail shopping experience, we are actively looking at new partnerships to expand globally. YY Solutions is a perfect example of such a partnership for the Japanese market. The right kind of trusted, similarly innovative partner to collaborate with in this industry. We are delighted to be taking this important step in Last Yard's evolution. Last Yard looks forward to working closely with YY Solutions and our relevant key eco-system partners, including Amazon Web Services, (AWS), NCR Voyix, VusionGroup, Pricer and Hanshow to provide even more innovative, customer-beneficial shelf edge and electronic/digital in-store solutions to Japanese retail customers and help shoppers make more informed decisions. Last Yard works closely with VusionGroup in a technology partnership. We look forward to collaborating with  YY Solutions to help them bring the benefits of that partnership market. "

Kenichi Yoshimura, CEO of YY Solutions, emphasizes the value of the Last Yard partnership: "This hardware-agnostic solution for managing promotions and content perfectly aligns with the needs of Japanese retailers embarking on their digital transformation (DX) journeys. It empowers them to enhance the customer experience and unlock new opportunities for growth."

Joel Gay, APAC Director of Channel Sales at VusionGroup, said; "We are glad to hear about the collaboration between Last Yard and YY Solutions.  By working together, VusionGroup anticipates this will contribute to the expansion of ESLs and Digital Shelf Edge Systems (DSE), as well as to the digital solutions VusionGroup develops and provides in the Japanese Retail market."

About Last Yard: Established in 2000, Last Yard offers the best of breed software to engage and convert retail customers at the point of purchase. With heritage in the original 'shelf edge' of printed tickets, it is now at the forefront of the industry moving to new channels such as Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL), Digital Shelf Edge (DSE), mobile, screens and more. Last Yard focuses on 4 key retail sectors: Liquor, Pharmacy, Grocery & Speciality, working with large national corporate brands such as Woolworths, Big W, Sigma, JB Hi-Fi, Freedom and many more.

Media Contact:

Peter WittsNavigate CommunicationPh +61 477 274 412peter@navigatecommunication.com.au