Dille & Kamille opens its first German store with Anchr

Dille en Kamille is the retail chain that places great importance on sustainability in the home, garden, and kitchen. According to its own statements, the popular stores stand for ‘the power of simplicity and the timeless beauty of natural materials’.

The first step towards Germany

In 2021, Dille & Kamille's dreams of expansion became a reality. The retailer was considering opening several stores in Germany. They noticed that more and more German customers were making their purchases in their Dutch stores. As a result, they decided to first launch a German webshop, which quickly broke (online) records. For them, this was the signal that opening stores in Germany was the next logical step for further growth.

IT partner Anchr was asked to make its store system compliant with German legislation.

German Kassengesetz legislation and adaptations to Retail Cloud Suite

In Germany, the ‘Kassengesetz’ cash register legislation has been in effect since 1 January 2020. Thanks to this law, changes to the accounts in cash registers and other electronic registration systems are prevented after the closure.

In brief, this legislation requires that each cash register must be registered with the German tax authorities. All transactions, reports, and adjustments to cash register software must be digitally stored for a period of 10 years. Every customer visiting a Dille & Kamille store must receive a (digital) cash receipt.

Since 2021, Anchr's Retail Cloud Suite has been suitable for the Kassengesetz guidelines. Dutch and Belgian retailers looking to expand into Germany can now make use of the Anchr cash register system.

To comply with the regulations in Germany, Anchr uses Epson's middleware. This third-party module is certified by the German government and provides each cash transaction with the correct electronic signature, which is then printed on the cash receipt and stored in the electronic journal.

The transactions - including signature - are then sent via the regular distribution mechanism of Retail Cloud Suite to the central environment, from which the legally required CSV files are generated. These are files that record the transactions in the legally mandated dsfin-vk format.

International ambitions of Anchr

There are also legal obligations in France that Anchr has already investigated. Furthermore, we can rely on our partner who monitors the legal developments for us. If one of our clients or prospects opens stores in France or Germany, we can support them perfectly. For years, the Retail Cloud Suite has been a defining, strong player in the Benelux in the field of omnichannel Point of Sale and has become even more relevant due to this investment.

'We are fully prepared for large international chains', concludes Mike Snepvangers.

‘We have been a satisfied customer of Anchr's Retail Cloud Suite for some years now. Thanks to this package, we can fully automate important processes, such as setting up an automatic ordering process from the stores, as well as supporting our omnichannel strategy. These are important aspects that give us the opportunity to quickly respond to the changing purchasing behavior of our customers. 

Anchr has perfectly guided us in our expansion to Germany as well. Once again, we could rely on their expertise. Our first store in Germany was grandly opened on 29 October 2021 in Cologne. Naturally, our strategy is to open even more locations in Germany, and we are now ready for that. After a rigorous process, we can only be positive about the intense collaboration with the Anchr engineers. Everything worked perfectly at the go-live, and we are fully prepared for the future.’ - Luuk Engelberts IT Manager Dille & Kamille