With an emphasis on clean design, colour and co-ordination, Fenn Wright Manson has been at the forefront of contemporary ladieswear for over 30 years. Originating as a wholesale business, it made the natural progression into retail in 1999.

Producing contemporary collections of quality and value since 1974, independent retailer Fenn Wright Manson has built a very distinct brand profile. It trades via 56 concessions in high-end department stores such as Selfridges, House of Fraser, Fenwicks and John Lewis, and also retails through its own standalone stores. Currently, it has three - Marylebone, Richmond and a newly launched store on London's Kings Road - with plans to open further stores as appropriate sites become available.

In order to efficiently manage its range and monitor stock across its comprehensive retail network, Fenn Wright Manson consulted system specialist Esperus. The company has invested in a powerful new front and back office system featuring Epson's Intelligent Register (IR) and running Esperus' Windows-based Genesis 2000 software. With a number of garment lines and a colour/size matrix to contend with, the system enables Fenn Wright Manson to ensure that all its outlets are well stocked with the latest collections, whilst providing a reliable, customer-friendly service at the point of sale.

The fully integrated system allows the Company to plan replenishments, fulfil orders and perform branch transfers. It facilitates both Fenn Wright Manson's retail and wholesale business, as Cecil Hollwey, Production Director explains: "Product lines are entered onto the system as soon as they are received by our warehouse. From here, they are automatically allocated to the retail outlets at the touch of a button." He continued, "The solution streamlines our wholesale process with goods being picked, despatched and invoiced using information which the system provides." What's more, Esperus has specially linked the system to Sun Accounts to provide a new dimension, improving Fenn Wright Manson's financial reporting functions.

Using Epson IRs within its standalone stores, the chain is seeking to extend the rollout to between 20 and 30 of its larger concessions. "There's been no negative feedback from staff regarding the IRs whatsoever and that's a very good indicator of how intuitive they are!" observed Cecil. "Reliability was a key factor when choosing EPoS hardware and I'm pleased to say that it's more than lived up to our expectations and made a dramatic difference to the business."

For further information contact
Steve Kirsh, Esperus Systems, Tel: 020 8920 9888