Retail Solutions - Haskins fits out new centre with KPOS system

Haskins garden centres has invested£56,000 in an EPoS system from KPOS Computer Systems for its Snowhill site at Copthorne, near Gatwick.

The site occupies 7 acres (3 ha) and turns over£7.5 million a year. The outlet was added to the retailer's estate last October. It already has stores at Bournemouth, Southampton and Littlehampton.

KPOS has been Haskins' IT supplier for more than 11 years, and the system is being installed at the site to bring it into line with the retailer's existing EPoS strategy.

'When we buy a site, we always put a KPOS system in so that it will connect to the head office systems,' said Haskins retail operations director Julian Winfield. 'Snowhill is an important addition to our business and we will continually upgrade our IT solutions to meet the needs of our highly specialised business.'

The site was previously owned by an independent operator that ran the business over an EPoS System developed in-house.

The KPOS system includes Electronic Funds Transfer software, which the supplier says will be adapted by the retailer to comply with Chip and PIN later this year.

Haskins intends to review its EPoS strategy by next January, when KPOS will be expected to pitch for the business alongside other hopeful suppliers.

The retailer has no further plans for expansion, but said it would look at every acquisition opportunity based on its individual merits.