Leading international winter clothing specialist invests in state of the art systems to support global expansion
Winter Time is a provider of winter clothing (and also stocks spring and autumn ranges) with twelve outlets in Singapore and a further twelve in Malaysia. Following its successful growth over the last few years, the company has rapid expansion plans to extend its business into other countries – Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia through new franchise operations.
Since being established over ten years ago, Winter Time has used business software developed and supported from a local company to manage stock and sales. However, with the successful recent growth, it now requires a specialist retail solution that can meet its more complex processing and reporting requirements and has selected Eurostop’s retail management system.
Retail systems to support a growing business
Winter Time has selected Eurostop for its proven pedigree in the retail sector and for the company’s particular focus on retail fashion. It has implemented e-rmis for its head office system and e-pos for its store outlets. As well as opening new franchise outlets, the company is also planning to launch an online store, both of which will be supported by solutions from Eurostop .
Improving customer service
The retailer is already using e-rmis to manage its stock more effectively and staff in the stores currently process all sales using e-pos at the tills.
A spokesperson for Winter Time said; “Eurostop’s retail solutions meet every requirement that we have to support our operations. It gives us tighter control on our stock management, improving our service delivery and cash flow. We can now make informed business decisions based on accurate sales data.”
The company has also invested in many of the additional modules that Eurostop offers, improving customer service by streamlining sales transactions. The promotion module is used to manage offers and promotions. Discounts are preset by the head office team and activated when they are current. These are then automatically calculated and included when the transaction is processed, improving customer service and accuracy of sales by ensuring that there are no pricing errors at the till.
“The promotion module is used intensively by the head office team, as they put complex promotions together that may involve complementary products from different departments or categories. We can set the discounts centrally to be automatically calculated at the transaction stage. This not only reduces pricing errors, it speeds up service at the till. The customers do not have to wait a long time in queues while discounts are calculated when they go to pay for their items,” explained xx.
Discounted products and end of ranges are also handled using the same system, making it much easier to track activity in stores and manage stock.
Managing stock efficiently
The head office team use the data cubes and business intelligence module to monitor stock movements across the stores. Using sales data reports they can identify which products are the hot sellers and the product mixes that are successful in different stores. Such information helps the marketing team to create promotions and maximise sales across the outlets.
“Eurostop’s e-rmis provides us with all the information that we need to manage our stock more effectively. We can now identify clearly where stock is and move it if required to stores to replenish stocks or to meet a higher demand. We can also interrogate the sales data and business information to help our buyers make decisions for new collections.”
Keep customers loyal
Customer loyalty is a key focus for Winter Time. The company has implemented Eurostop’s Loyalty program both at tillpoint to capture customer information and at head office to monitor customers’ buying patterns and preferences.
“We use the data in head office to make sure that we reward our loyal customers for their repeat business. Our sales staff are able to check at the tillpoint when customers purchase if they are one of our regular member customers or are our VIPs, awarded to high value customers, and can process discounts at the till.”
The head office team uses the customer loyalty data to create promotions and campaigns that are targeted at specific customers or groups of customers, encouraging them to buy new ranges or special offers.
“The features and capability that Eurostop’s systems offer give us strong systems and data that will really help to support our growth into new countries. They are also providing their e-commerce expertise to help us develop an online presence that will build on our stores’ success. It will not only provide a new way for our customers purchase, it will extend our reach to a global market.”
Editor at Eurostop Ltd
Eurostop Ltd provides omnichannel retail software and services to international retailers in the fashion, footwear and retail industries.
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