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Hawkins Bazaar is a retailer that prides itself as an unrivalled
source of inexpensive toys, gadgets and gizmos for children and
adults. They have 8 permanent stores in the South of England and
East Anglia, supplemented by a number of temporary Christmas stores
that are opened throughout the UK.
Hawkins Bazaar is the retail arm of Tobar who have been a supplier
to the trade since 1973. Tobar operates a highly efficient call
centre from their offices in Harleston (Norfolk) complimented
by their excellent e-commerce site (www.tobar.co.uk).
In the summer of 2002 the company decided that it needed to
update and improve its retail systems. In particular, the processing
of replenishing stores from their warehouse in Harleston (Norfolk).
Hawkins had a number of criteria that they required their new
systems supplier to meet including:
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A fast and efficient PoS system that was easy
to use and maintain |
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The ability to interface with the existing Maginus
mail ordering system (www.maginus.com) |
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A system that would enable Maginus to be updated
at any time during the working day |
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The ability to deploy a PoS system to temporary
stores quickly, efficiently and at short notice |
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A first-class telephone and on-line support service |
Needless to say there were several contenders for Hawkins Bazaar’s
business, including Corby & Fellas with WinPoS, the innovative
touchscreen PoS system.
Toby Templer, the Managing Director, was closely involved with
the selection of a new system. He and his IT team were determined
to find a supplier with whom they felt that they could establish
a close, long term working relationship. They were also concerned
that their decision to open temporary stores for Christmas 2002
should be a success and that it would not be compromised by the
lack of a good system and support.
The rollout of WinPoS to both permanent and temporary stores
was completed as planed, and Christmas 2002 was a great success
for Hawkins Bazaar. The elegant simplicity of its design meant
that new staff could be trained very quickly, a very important
consideration when operating with a large number of temporary
staff.
Hawkins Bazaar are looking forward to Christmas 2003, with the
possibility of opening even more temporary stores. The relationship
with Corby & Fellas is now a well-established and happy one.
Toby Templer has sufficient confidence in C&F’s abilities,
that he has felt able to recommend WinPoS to a number of other
retailers. He has also been kind enough to write this brief testimonial
(link required)
If you would like to visit Hawkins Bazaar’s web site they
can be found on www.hawkin.co.uk.You
may well find your self tempted by this unrivalled source of inexpensive
and simple presents for children (mainly) and adults.
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