Tracing its roots back to 1843, Arnotts Department Store is Ireland's oldest department store – and also its biggest. Following recent extension and redevelopment, it’s ranked among the top five stores alongside Harrods and Selfridges. Technology played a vital role in Arnotts revamp, with much emphasis placed on advanced IT with the power to enhance its customer focus. And, Epson’s latest Intelligent Register fitted the bill.

Following the implementation of a fully integrated inventory, warehousing and merchandise management system, Arnotts decided to upgrade its EPoS system. “Hardware was paramount to the store revamp,” commented Paul Dickson, Director of Information Systems at Arnotts. “We wanted to standardise and automate our business processes throughout the organisation and EPoS formed a major part of this upgrade.”

With 800 members of staff and a comprehensive selection of merchandise including fashion, furniture, kitchenware and electrical goods, it was vital that the EPoS system chosen would be able to withstand such a demanding and busy store environment. “With more than one million products on offer, reliable IT is vital to an efficient and smooth point of sale. Reliability was top of our list when it came to EPoS. We needed to feel totally confident any hardware we implemented was up to the challenge, but at the same time was totally user-friendly,” explained Paul.

For the solution, Arnotts turned to Epson’s latest Intelligent Register, the IR-700, distributed in Ireland by trade-only distributor PC Cubed. To satisfy the retailer’s need for a highly reliable system which would also reflect the department store’s new fresh and modern look. The unit is a contemporary, stylish all-in-one EPoS system with built-in touchscreen, ergonomically designed to ensure smooth, effortless transactions.

“We are constantly looking at ways to improve customer satisfaction and so we required a fast and efficient PoS system. We aim to make the shopping experience as pleasurable as possible and reduced waiting times contribute to this in a big way,” said Paul. “We went with Epson’s IR-700 for many reasons – speed, flexibility, reliability and looks. It’s easy-to-install, portable and extremely durable which is vital in any fast moving retail environment.”

To date, Arnotts has implemented 204 Epson IR-700s each running powerful retail software from Oracle. As a result, every retail zone within the store is now benefiting from a new and improved point of sale. “The Epson system is working extremely well and has really improved store operations. It’s given the staff the power to deliver enhanced service,” commented Paul.

And what about the future? Arnotts is behind a £700m plan for a new retail-driven quarter in Dublin. The ‘Northern Quarter’ project will see some 47 shops, 17 cafes, restaurants and bars, 189 apartments and a four star hotel developed to transform an area of Dublin’s centre into a retail and entertainment Mecca. “Obviously technology will also play a vital role in this new venture and judging by the success of our department store upgrade, we have confidence in Epson technology which will prove invaluable for the future.”

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