Desk bound during the day and settee bound during the evening, our lifestyles have become almost entirely sedentary during the last twenty years. For some people, however, the lure of the TV and Playstation is just not enough. Instead, increasing numbers have turned to the 'great outdoors' for a change of scenery and a new challenge, provided by activities like rambling, hill-walking, scrambling and climbing.

For those looking to escape the sofa, having the right equipment on the moors, hills and mountains, is essential for safety reasons, as well as to look the part. And there are few more suitable places to get kitted out than Karrimor, a store - and equipment brand - that has been the choice of British exploration and mountaineering pioneers, such as Fiennes and Hempleman-Adams, since 1957.

In order to prosper in this extremely competitive market, Karrimor asked North London-based solution provider, Esperus to install a new front and back office retail management system in all its five stores, running on Epson's touchscreen Intelligent Register (IR). The new solution - Genesis 2000 - had to be Millennium compliant, provide proper sales and management reporting and be fully compatible with Karrimor's existing head office systems.

"We wanted a system which would give us total control in all our stores - sales, stock, prices etc - as well as being very easy to use", added Karrimor's Management Information Systems Manager, John-Pierre Lamb. "As a company which supplies highly technical clothing and equipment for use in extreme conditions, we were also conscious that a leading edge, touchscreen-based solution was totally consistent with our brand image."

The IR's touchscreen has certainly made training far simpler, as staff have quickly been able to grasp the essentials of navigating the illustrated on-screen menus; while any discounts are calculated automatically by the system so that transactions are processed as efficiently as possible. Comprehensive sales data is downloaded to Karrimor's Head Office at the beginning of each day for analysis.

"The new system is much faster, more reliable and offers a great deal of additional functionality at the point of sale," agreed John-Pierre. "Crucially it's also Windows-based and can be fully integrated with our head office systems. Over the next few years, we hope to extend our operations, in co-operation with all our existing retailers and stockists. The system we now have in place is the ideal platform for this expansion."

For further information contact Michel Pavlou, Esperus Tel: 02089 209888