Ann Summers

Background

A multinational retailer specialising in lingerie and adult toy products, Ann Summers has empowered their customers with everyday sensuality for over 50 years.

Ann Summers has an extensive portfolio of stores across a vast geographical area. From elegant lighting of their shops, heated fitting rooms and booming online operations, energy is entwined into every aspect of the retailer’s daily operations. What’s more, Ann Summers is on the way to reach net zero for their UK operations by 2040. 

Since December 2022, Inspired has supported Ann Summers in realising their energy and sustainability ambitions, with our comprehensive collaboration covering metering, budgeting, energy procurement, ESOS and SECR reporting services thus far.

The Challenge

Comprehensive energy management requires careful consideration of all aspects of electricity and gas consumption – from overarching metering solutions to informed procurement decisions and managing continuously evolving portfolio.

For example, Inspired supports Ann Summers with Changes of Tenancy (COTs) – streamlining internal processes which were leaving the business exposed to excessive rates being applied for prolonged periods on some of their new and relocated stores.

Moreover, as the surrounding regulatory environment changes, sustainability reporting requirements become more intricate for organisations to demonstrate compliance against – requiring extensive reporting, record-keeping and realising efficiencies. 

Our Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) and Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) services have bolstered the retailer’s mandatory reporting across the group.

The Solution

As a result, Inspired’s support for Ann Summers has involved addressing several issues at store and company-level: 

• Assisting with the resolution of historic Meter Operator (MOP) service billing. 
• Inspired took over managing the COTs process to ensure any changes are promptly communicated to suppliers – removing an internal burden which left Ann Summers more exposed to excessive rates being applied for prolonged periods on some of their new and relocated stores.
• In a varied portfolio where many of the stores are in a shopping centre featuring multiple retailers, Inspired helps to ensure that Ann Summers’ meter points and energy usage are accurately recorded to ensure the retailer is only paying for what they use.  
• An energy monitoring platform supports the Ann Summers team in pinpointing  any unusual consumption in stores and identifying potential energy efficiency opportunities, such as installing LED lighting. 

To help address these matters effectively, Inspired has held monthly meetings with Ann Summers. Not only does this underpin effective account and query management, but the regular meetings bolster rapport and effective collaboration between the two teams. 

The Results

The collaboration between Ann Summers and Inspired demonstrates the diverse, versatile and cascading benefits an expert energy and sustainability partnership can create continuously over time, and our partnership continues. 

So far, the benefits our collaboration has created include:  

• Changes of Tenancy which are processed quickly and efficiently, reducing administrative time for Ann Summers and supporting an accurate estate record – ensuring the business will not pay for sites they are no longer responsible for. 
• A bespoke energy procurement strategy which allows Ann Summers to make informed decisions about purchasing electricity and gas. Their team also has access to latest to latest energy market insights from the Inspired team to further bolster their energy decision-making.
• Combined MOP, Data Collection (DC) & Data Aggregator (DA) contracts – bolstering data accuracy and reducing administrative pressure. 
• Our bill validation service which ensures any discrepancies are corrected and refunds pursued. 
• Comprehensive support with ESOS and SECR reporting compliance. 
• Quicker problem resolution with energy suppliers at store-level. 
• Streamlined budgeting and reporting metrics to create a comprehensive picture of the retailer’s electricity and gas consumption across their portfolio.