DW Sports signs five-year contract with BT

Retail software deal with sports and fitness clubs group worth up to £2.75m

BT signs five-year contract with JJB sports

DW Sports Fitness, formerly JJB Sports, has signed a five-year contract with BT worth up to £2.75m.

The contract will see BT Expedite – BT's specialist retail division – deploy its Connected Retailer suite of applications across the chain's divisions, which include fitness clubs and sports retail outlets.

The system works at the point of sale and is integrated with sales analytics, which will make transaction information across the company standard - thereby giving DW Sports Fitness an accurate view of its sportswear sales.

DW Sports Fitness will also be the first retailer to benefit from FrescaCommerce Express, a pre-configured version of BT's FrescaCommerce Platform. The system will allow the company to set up a transactional web site in just 12 weeks. The second phase of the project will see the store and web channels integrated.

The technology will be delivered on an IP network backbone, providing low-cost communication for all the stores and fitness clubs. BT will also manage the software and networking solutions, including service desk support, hardware maintenance and proactive monitoring, which will mean it can troubleshoot potential technical problems.

Dave Whelan, chairman of DW Sports Fitness, said: "BT's solution provides us with the flexibility we need to expand our business over time."