It is unusual to find a retailer which has been growing steadily since 1840 - let alone a family-run business. Now managed by a sixth generation of the Brown family, Herbert Brown Jewellers is therefore a rarity on both counts. With branches across the country, the retailer stocks 70,000 items of jewellery across a broad range of price points, from a £1.50 watch battery to a £35,000 ring. This, combined with its pawn-broking service, generates an estimated annual turnover of £6.5 million.

To ensure the business would stay healthy for a seventh generation, the Brown family recognised the need to replace its aging in-house retail management system. At any one time, goods worth a quarter of a million pounds can be in transit around the Herbert Brown network so it was important that this could be managed more effectively.

After an extensive evaluation, Herbert Brown invested in Futur@ERS, a complete retail IT system from Berkshire-based solution provider, Futura, which has enhanced the efficiency of the business from purchase order to point of sale. For example, the system is equipped with fast and easy-to-use Epson TM-T88III thermal receipt printers to ensure speed and efficiency in-store and minimise customer waiting times, essential for a service led operation such as a jewellery business.

At the company's Head Office in Leeds, meanwhile, Herbert Brown's management team can stay in touch with its nineteen stores. "The system answers all those 'W' questions -what's being sold, where and when; and because we know how much each item is selling for, we have a much better basis for our buying decisions," said Robert Brown, IT Director and one of four brothers running the business. "During stock-taking, for example, we used to have to wade through all the data, regardless of whether it was the same as the previous month. With Futur@ERS, it can be set to only report on things that have changed so it makes it easier to spot the trends and opportunities."

"We're already seeing business benefits," he continued. "Inventory loss is down to 0.2 per cent, while total stock being held is down, because we can move the right merchandise to the right store without buying in new inventory. With such high value items, just a small reduction on the items bought makes a big difference to cash flow. It also reduces the need for forced discounting."