We are working with stores using our Homewares software to implement smart marketing and management tools to help drive better business performance.

Homewares shops in particular can leverage some specialist tools in our Point of Sale software given the nature of shopper behaviour in engaging with homewares businesses.

Supporting customers in the building of homewares sets is a good example of where our software can help. We have facilities which make providing good service to customers building sets easier than traditional POS software used in some homewares stores today.

Our loyalty marketing facilities, too, are better that homewares stores have found in other software they are using to run their businesses.

The Australian retail homewares channel is strong and Tower Systems is committed to helping to become stronger.

Our homewares retail customers and sales prospects are brimming with optimism on the back of good sales results and strong forecasts leading into Christmas.

The same is true for other retailers with a strong homewares niche in their business.

We are been fortunate to participate in some good discussions over the last couple of weeks about why this particular retail channel is strong.  The Master Chef effect appears to be a key reason.  People are investing more time and money in at-home dining experiences and to do this they need and want better homewares products.

For us, homewares is one of those categories which crosses several retail channels.  There are your traditional homewares stores and then there are gift shops with a homewares range or two and newsagencies, yes newsagencies, with a homewares offer.  We are able to draw in experience from multiple channels and help our customers leverage the optimism around the homewares category.

The Melbourne Gift Fair which ended yesterday was an excellent trade show for us to exhibit at.

We met with a diverse range of retailers from across the country as well as overseas interested in Point of Sale software.  We also met with plenty of our customers.  Attendance numbers were excellent from our perspective.

The areas of our gift and homewares software which interested people the most were: customer loyalty facilities, gift cards, retail theft management, business reporting and sales based replenishment of inventory.

Our sales team will be busy today making appointments to meet with prospects from the fair to understand their business needs and demonstrate our software.

At our stand at the Melbourne Gift Fair - we are at the Flemington location - we have met with a diverse group of businesses over the last three days.  We have seen people representing homewares businesses, gift shops, garden shops, jewellers and newsagents.

What is interesting this year is that we are seeing more people from businesses operating in two retail niches.

Just yesterday, we had a regular stream of visitors across the various marketplaces.  It is our ability to offer an off the shelf solution for each which makes us appealing - especially when we encounter sales prospects with two different types ofretail businesses.

As we become better known each year in the gift space and especailly this year thanks to our GHA relationship, the value of the fair is growing.

Our talented and energetic in-house marketing team has been busy developing new marketing collateral for our gift and homewares software in advance of the Gift Fair which starts this weekend in Melbourne.

The artwork they have settled on for the banner which will grace the rear wall of our stand, one of two presences we will have at the fair, is:

Evolving how we represent our business is as important as it is for a retailer to evolve their own retail story.  Those visiting the Gift Fair this year will see considerable advances on our presence last year and 2008 before that.

We are enjoying the opportunity of representing the latest in gift shop and homewares store software offerings in our portfolio of retail management products.

The gift and homewares space is exciting, especially in the second half of the year when businesses are usually firing leading up to and following Christmas.  This is when our software really helps in managing supply, pricing and sales.

Our Gift shop software team has been preparing for the Melbourne Home & Giving Fair in ten days time.  This is an exciting fair based on our experience last year and based on the good sales we have already achieved from the same fair in Sydney just three weeks ago.

We will have the very latest version of our gift shop software as well as our homewares software on show at the trade show … plus an exciting surprise or two.

Trade shows this year are proving to be a successful way to promote our software - and to connect face to face with our customers.

Our team at the GHA Home & Giving Fair in Sydney has reported good business achieved at the trade show over the weekend.  There are plenty of gift and homewares business owners interested in our Point of Sale software and how we can help improve the performance of their retail businesses.

The show is the first outing for our new trade show collateral for this year.  This fresh collateral includes a new corporate image display unit - at the back of the stand in the photo.

Users of our homewares software are benefiting from excellent business performance improvement tools.  From marketing to customer service to homewares supplier relationships, our POS software for homewares stores is delivering excellent outcomes.

Beyond traditional Point of Sale facilities our software delivers excellent business building tools:

• LayBy management.
• Loyalty marketing.
• Customer special orders.
• Hamper packaging and sales.
• KPI tracking.
• faster seller reporting.
• Supplier electronic invoices.
• Serial number tracking.
• Warranty support.

Through the Tower Systems Homewares software we deliver excellent facilities which enable independent retailers to better compete with the department stores and larger groups.

Tower Systems is proud to be exhibiting at the Sydney Home and Giving Fair in ten days time at two locations within the Sydney Showgrounds venue.

We will have a presence at the GHA partners area of the trade show as well as on our stand on the fair floor.

On show will be the latest version of our Gift Shop software and our homewares software.  We will be showing these products off to retailers as well as suppliers and discussing changes which are adding even more value to the relationships between suppliers and retailers in the gift and homewares channels.

We have been exhibiting at gift related trade shows for several years and have developed a strong new customer base as a result.

If you find yourself at the Home & Giving Fair, be sure to stop by and say hello.

Homewares retailers are embracing Point of Sale software from Tower Systems to drive better business outcomes. Tailored for homewares retailers, this software has facilities and links specific to the needs of the homwares channel.

Customer Lay-By, customer special orders and customer marketing tools are all high in the agenda for homewares store owners - in addition to the more traditional Point of Sale tools such as stock control, sales, eftpos integration, catalogue management and supplier EDI links.

The latest homewares software from Tower Systems has been in the marketplace for less than a month.  This new software delivers additional benefits sought by homewares business owners and managers.

We are hosting a Point of Sale showcase in Hobart on Tuesday June 8.  On show will be Point of Sale solutions for newsagents, jewellers, bike retailers, gift shops and homewares retailers.  We will have technical and business management people in attendance.

This session has a dual purpose: sales for us and a new type of face to face contact opportunity for existing customers - we will be as thrilled to meet with existing customers as prospective customers.

We will be contacting retailers in the Hobart region in the next week with details.

We have discovered that some customers of homewares retailers and gift shops are avid collectors. They like to visit at regular intervals and collect the next items in their goal collection.

Our Point of Sale software can help manage this process, making it easy for the retailer to remind customers that the next item is ready and tracking who has collected and who is yet to collect.

Using facilities originally developed for newsagents, our putaway (collections) software provides a level of management around customer collections which has not been seen before in the homewares marketplace.

We are thrilled to be helping homewares retailers innovate in this area. It’s a tough retail landscape at the moment and facilities like we have identified for them offer a point of difference opportunity – already in our software.

More and more homewares businesses are embracing our technology since we have demonstrated its value over generic products such as MYOB which is widely used.

While MYOB is good software, it does not offer the specialist facilities which homewares retailers need if they want to leverage their specialist offer and grow their business.

The synergy between the key marketplaces using our Point of Sale software – newsagents, jewellers, bike shops, gifts shops and homewares businesses – has been on show in several ways recently. The most valuable is the bulk price change facility for handling the tobacco changes last night and this morning.
This facility was developed for one channel and has now been of significant use in another channel.

Smart management of new facilities and opportunities across multiple channel helps helps us produce better software with unexpected benefits.

Our large customer base positions us well for leveraging these opportunities.

Yesterday we released a white paper for gift and homewares suppliers outlining how our software can help improve the supply chain from importers and manufacturers through to gift and homewares retailers.

Our white paper outlines efficiency and other economic benefits to suppliers and to retailers from not only our gift and homewares retail management software but also channel-wide practices which can strengthen business performance for all stakeholders.

This work in bringing greater value to supplier / retailer relationships is a key goal of our new partnership with the national industry association, the Gift and Homewares Association.

Tower Systems is proud to announce that it’s Gift and Homewares Point of Sale software has been announced as the recommended software solution by the Australian Gift and Homewares Association.

GHA members can purchase the Tower software with confidence that their industry association recommends its use.

With software solutions developed for Gift shops and homewares retailers and their suppliers, Tower Systems is thrilled with this new endorsement and that we are the only software company with such a relationship with the GHA.

Tower will work closely with the GHA plus GHA retailer and supplier members on the continued evolution of its software to ensure that it serves the evolving needs of the marketplaces and all of the stakeholders.

Tower Systems has been serving retailers with software for the gift and homewares channels for five years. The company has a twenty-nine year track record of developing, selling and supporting world class retail management software. The company currently serves in excess of 2,500 independent retailers using its software.

Recently, we have been working with more suppliers to extend the reach of EDI facilities in the gift and homewares channels. We are pleased to be able to help bring structure through our Point of Sale software which delivers time and money savings to the relationships between suppliers and retailers.

The Tower Systems software serves gift and homewares retailers in a range of key business areas:

Point of Sale: tracking sales, managing price, lay-bys, seasonal catalogues.

Stock control: Automatic reordering to the requirements of the business, theft tracking, supplier performance comparison, margin management.

Marketing. Flexible loyalty marketing tools, mobile phone, email and regular mail marketing facilities plus the ability to understand the true value of each customer.

Business management: Through over eighty value packed reports, on screen insights and other facilities, the Tower software partners with retailers in guiding better business decisions based on good business data.

To ensure that gift and homewares retailers get the most from the Tower software investment, the company provides in-store face to face training, weekly online and live training workshops, free access to up to date training videos as well as regular capital city and regional user meetings.

We are seeing more homewares retailers introduce cafes in their businesses. This is an interesting more – for them and for us. We are enjoying our exposure to the needs of managing a cafe through our Point of Sale software.

In the businesses we have seen and are working with, the cafe / homewares business blend works well. It brings a vibe to the business and this is crucial in retail. Separating your offer from others in a similar space us crucial.

While we don’t see ourselves as delving further into the cafe space, we are certainly enjoying the experience and working with our customers to better blend the needs of the two businesses in one.

One thing we have learnt over the years in this software business is to be flexible.

You know you have had a successful trade show when you pack up at the end of the show with orders.  The last four days in Sydney at the Home and Giving Fair at Homebush have been good, reinforcing the value of our commitment to the gift and homewares channels several years ago.

We are looking forward to more of these trade shows this year since they attract retailers from several channels which interest us.

I have been fortunate to have time yesterday and today at the Gift Fair and the Home and Giving trade shows in Sydney. It was terrific seeing many of our Point of Sale software customers: gift show owners as well as newsagents.

I enjoyed walking the halls, spotting trends and considering the implications of these for our software and hoe we serve our customers. Trade shows in the gift space provide an insight into business for the rest of the year.

The retailers I spoke with are positive about 2010, most saying that they had an excellent Christmas and first two months to this year.

We have people at the trade show for the full five days. This is an indication of our commitment to the gift and homewares retail channels. Our Point of Sale is growing in its penetration.

More homewares suppliers are endorsing our Point of Sale software for gift and homewares businesses by supporting the EDI stock and invoice file standards we offer.

Our work with suppliers and retailers in the channel is helping eliminate work in both types of businesses.  It is also reducing mistakes, making stock management easier and providing better business certainty.

Retailers outside the gift and homewares channels will also benefit as suppliers make electronic invoicing and related facilities available to their broader retail community.

Our work is also strengthening vital relationships in the gift and homewares channel.  Both suppliers and retailers share a common goal of selling more stock.  Our software facilitates this in a way which is respectful of both sides.

With more gift and homewares retailers using our software, the prospects for improving efficiency in the channel this year are promising.

We have just published new advice on choosing the best software for your gift shop or homewares business.  Click here for a copy of this free advice.  We don’t tell the reader to choose Tower Systems.  Rather, we provide guidance on selection criteria and the process of thorough evaluation.

We have received contact from retailers in other field who have followed our advice and found good POS software for their businesses.

Choosing good software is easy if you understand your needs and retain control over the evaluation process.

Sure we have a vested interest - we have excellent POS software for gift shops and homewares businesses.  Above that, we want retailers to be happy with their choice for the long term - hence our investment in providing advice which on the selction process.

We have used the Melbourne Gift Fair this weekend as an opportunity to refresh our gift shop software offer. Click here for a larger copy of the pricing flyer which forms part of our inquiry kit.

This hardware and software package is eligible for the tax break (investment allowance) from the federal government as long as the business turns over less than $2 million annually.

The gift shop package includes fast current-standard hardware (computer, hands-free scanner, receipt printer, cash drawer, laser printer and USB sticks) as well as our specialist POS software and on site training.

The package is backed by our 24/7 support service, free access to our online training academy - Tower users have the opportunity to keep learning long after the system is installed - plus access to our user meetings which we run around the country.

The software included in the package handles traditional POS functions plus lay-by, customer loyalty program, marketing tools, business performance reporting, stock management and reordering, postcode tracking and many other functions our gift shop community is finding useful.

Tower Systems is exhibiting at Melbourne Gift Fair again this year, on stand E2714 - at the Melbourne Showgrounds, Ascot Vale.  The show runs from August 1 through 5.  We are looking forward to meeting with owners of gift shops, homewares shops and newsagencies as we have POS software solutions for all three businesses.

We participated in the Melbourne Gift Fair last year and wrote some excellent business as a result.  That experience and the pre-show comments from the marketplace encourage us to look forward to this year’s event.

We will have the very latest gift shop and homewares shop software available on our stand for demonstration.  We will also have a special offer available for those buying at or very soon after the show.

This is one of eight trade shows we are participating in over the next ten weeks.  Trade shows are an excellent way to meet with existing customers as well as prospective customers.

We serve gift and homewares shops of all sizes and situations from part-time operations through to a network of shopping centre based businesses.  Our software complies with the latest EDI standards -you can load electronic invoices from participating suppliers.