FatFace makes a splash across the pond with Eurostop

“As a business moving into a new market, we needed an IT partner with international experience, that understood the local tax and trading legislation, and could move fast. Eurostop was the only provider who had a tried and tested solution for the US market advanced enough for our growth plans, and most importantly, could also meet our tight deadlines.”

• FatFace extends their international footprint with five new stores on the East Coast of America
• Successful rollouts of Eurostop’s e-pos touch ensures compliance with local state and country retail tax regulations

The Challenge – Expanding into new waters

With the opening of five new stores on the East Coast of America, FatFace needed a retail systems provider with international experience. The new EPOS system had to be suitable not only for international trading, but compliant with US state tax laws. The retailer needed an IT systems provider who had experience in this arena and could be trusted to get them up and running within tight deadlines, in order to maximise trading during up-coming holiday periods, and keep their expansion plans on track.

“The US is an important market for us as we expand our retail footprint and take FatFace international. We located our first stores on the east coast as we identified it as a good fit for the brand, matching the demographic with our lifestyle clothing ranges,” said Simon Ratcliffe, Infrastructure Director at FatFace.

After extensive research in the retail systems market, the team selected the award winning retail solution from UK based Eurostop. FatFace looked at a number of solutions, but the competition did not have the IT infrastructure needed for the company’s growth plans. Eurostop offered a well-matched solution, and had a proven track record in the US. e-pos touch is used in store at till point and each location is fully connected to the company’s global stock inventory via an estate manager for companywide reporting. To ensure that stock control between the UK and US is seamless Eurostop is also connected with FatFace’s existing ERP system by Prologic.

“It was really simple to connect the new software to our existing systems. Eurostop’s APIs are really easy to use and well supported.” said Simon.

FatFace opened their new US stores within timescales and are now trading successfully in the US with a POS solution which has the longevity to support them through potential expansion. They have accurate stock inventory across their global trading locations, and an intuitive POS solution, which gives the FatFace staff more time for engaging with their US customers and sharing the FatFace passion for their clothes.

The new tills also provide additional benefits, such as being able to receive deliveries that are despatched from the UK DC Hub. US stores use Eurostop’s e-pos touch on the fixed tills and are also able to run the software on fully portable tablets which provide a roving check-out and stock queries facility. The mobile tablet is ideal for the FatFace store environment where the personal shopping experience is a high profile element of the service.

“What we appreciated was the flexibility and personal approach with which Eurostop work. They really are willing to go the extra mile to get things done in every sense” said Simon.

Eurostop’s system is used in 30 countries worldwide, at 35,000 locations, and has been specifically designed to cater for many variations of global pricing, and local sales tax by city, area, state and country. The system can also handle fiscalisation, a requirement for many countries in Europe.

For UK retailers looking to expand internationally, it is important to work with an IT partner who understands the local requirements and culture.

If you are interested in international expansion, contact us to speak to a retail expert.

Company Background

FatFace is a lifestyle clothing brand known for its wide range of high quality and affordable clothing, footwear and accessories for family-orientated women and men who are attracted by an active, casual outdoor lifestyle.

The company has grown from its early beginnings in 1988 to today’s 200 strong retail stores that are the mainstay of market towns, shopping centres, travel hubs and holiday destinations across the UK and Ireland.