The Sting Companies: Fashion Specialist Embarks on a More Secure Digital Journey

Business looks, party outfits, denim fashion: Dutch company The Sting Companies offers clothing for all age groups. The first branch opened in 1982 in Tilburg under the name The Sting, named after the American movie "The Sting." Since then, the company has continuously grown and introduced several subsidiaries and brands, including The Sting, Costes, Cotton Club, Club République, Daily Aesthetikz and de Koopman. Today, the family-owned company operates numerous stores in small and larger cities in the Netherlands and Belgium. Since 2013, Sting has also been selling fashion from various brands online, with a clear focus on omnichannel marketing.

New focus on Central Digital Standardization

IT Security initiatives in the past were a little fragmented. Implementation of new features was prioritized, however the underlying infrastructure was not as standardized and secure as it could be. With a change of focus in the early 2020’s the network standardization topic became fundamental and was approached from a more central angle, following the shift of focus in the whole market as well towards a significantly more secure environment.

Advanced Network Sought: Focus on WLAN with Energy Efficiency, and TCO

During a visit to the Huawei Network Summit in Munich in September 2022 The Sting Companies' representatives met with Huawei for the first time. Huawei experts demonstrated how the company can make its IT environment safer and more reliable and significantly easier to manage with their technologies. A keynote visit from customer reference Lidl also helped convince Sting of Huawei's solutions.

Subsequently, there were several brainstorming and design sessions with the customer. The focus was on three requirements from Sting Companies. It was important to have a network that could be easily applied in branches, offices, and warehouses and managed centrally. Additionally, it should be energy-efficient without compromising network functionality. Lastly, the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), including operating, energy consumption, and maintenance costs, was a crucial point in evaluating the new network solution.

The Sting Companies chose Huawei S-Series switches and various models of Wi-Fi 6 access points to provide optimal connectivity to the different locations and user types. Additionally, the company uses a Wi-Fi 6 solution with external antennas at the warehouse locations.

Easier, Faster Rollout of New Network Environments

A significant advantage for the customer lies in the use of Huawei iMaster NCE and Campus Insight. "With the help of iMaster NCE, we can centrally configure our devices," says Bart Overbeek, COO at the Sting Companies. "This makes it extremely easy to roll out the new network environment at all our locations and branches." The template-based solution with single-touch provisioning helps the us manage the network more efficiently and quickly adjust when needed. "Rolling out the network in a new branch is now a breeze," says Bart Overbeek. When selecting the new network solution, Overbeek and his team included several brands in the evaluation, with Huawei ultimately being the brand of choice. The solution scored with numerous advantages: "Besides the high quality of the products and the service orientation of Huawei, we were particularly impressed by the ease of use, the positive experience with Huawei, and the excellent price-performance ratio," says Overbeek.

About The Sting Companies

The Sting Companies is a Dutch fashion retailer headquartered in Tilburg, operating a series of stores in the Netherlands and Belgium besides its online Web shop operations. Current retail chains include The Sting, Costes, Cotton Club, Club République, Daily Aesthetikz and de Koopman. The Sting Companies specializes in producing and selling own labels. In addition to the location in Tilburg, the company also maintains its own sourcing and production department and a photo studio in Lijnden, the Netherlands.

Quote

"With the help of Huawei iMaster NCE, we can centrally configure our devices. This makes rolling out the network in a new branch a breeze." Bart Overbeek, COO at The Sting Companies

S-Series Switches: https://e.huawei.com/eu/products/switches/campus-switches

Wi-Fi 6 APs: https://e.huawei.com/en/products/wlan

iMaster NCE: https://e.huawei.com/en/products/network-analysis/

iMaster NCE Campus Insight: https://e.huawei.com/en/products/network-analysis/campusinsight