The POS Software Blog

News from Tower Systems about locally made POS software for specialty local retailers.

CategoryJeweller software

The NEW Loyalty: a fresh approach for small business retailers

May 30, 2015

1 Min read

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Tower Systems develops software for small and independent businesses in specialist retail channels.

Our jeweller software is just for jewellers, our bike shop software is for bike retailers, our pet shop software is for pet shop retailers, our newsagency software is for newsagents, our garden centre software is for garden centres and our gift shop software is for gift and homewares shops.

Each of our customers has common challenges: BIG business and online business.

We can help you compete with BIG business and online businesses.

Our POS software offers four approaches to loyalty. One, the NEW loyalty, is fresh, unique and loved by shoppers.

We are seeing small and independent retail businesses enjoy double digit growth on the back on our approach.

We back our terrific Aussie software with practical training. We even help you train your employees. Click here to see one two minute video we produced for our customers to share with their employees on our unique Discount Voucher facility (the NEW loyalty). We explain how your employees make make this work for you.

We are not your average software company. We care about independent small businesses. Our software is tailored to the needs of specialist retail channels.

We’re here to help.

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Small business retailers love free End of Financial year POS software training

May 28, 2015

1 Min read

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Retailers are embracing the FREE POS software training from Tower Systems in End of Financial Year processes. Developed specifically to serve retailers this year in the run up to June 30, this session is an all you need to know approach to stock, business data and other factors that are vital to being prepared for EOFY.

This training is a continuation of the weekly POS software training tower Systems launched years ago, training the company happily and willingly offers to provide our customers with more free learning opportunities through which to love our software and love our company.

When we say this training is free, there is truly no cost. we even pay for the phone call to provide audio access – anywhere in the world. This is another Tower Advantage^TM.

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Sunday retail management advice: keep your loyalty pitch simple for success

May 24, 2015

1 Min read

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A loyalty program is only as good as the over the counter pitch through which you seek to engage shoppers. Check out this brief video we created to train retail employees on what has to be the easiest to use over the counter shopper loyalty offer.

Tower Systems leads with professional employee training videos which help retail employees leverage more value for the business from our software.

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POS software training video library helps retail employees gain skills

May 19, 2015

1 Min read

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Retailers using the Tower Systems POS software have access to a training library of more than 130 training videos. These videos are professional in production and valuable in the content offered.

The videos can be accessed from any computer, anywhere and at any time.

The video training resources are comprehensive. They are also loved by our customers.

Regularly enhanced, the Tower Systems POS software video training library is a real asset to our business – allowing us to show a point of difference which wins us business.

In addition to POS software training, our library also includes training on business use of the software – covering how to engage on the shop floor. This is an area many POS software companies neglect in their training.

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How POS software can help small business retailers change shopper loyalty

May 16, 2015

1 Min read

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POS software can do more for small business retailers than they may think. Good POS software, like that from Tower Systems, goes deep into the business, away from the sales counter, helping in many ways.

Help with leveraging shopper loyalty.

Reward to drive deeper shopper engagement.
Track your loyalty liabilities to understand risk.
Track shopper engagement through comprehensive date, time and person engagement to understand the loyalty buttons to push.
Choose the loyalty offer right for you – good POS software will offer multiple loyalty offers for you.
Be consistent in your loyalty offer such that every shopper is offered a consistent pitch.
Un a loyalty program that is different to those around you. For example, if others nearby offer a points based program, go with something different.

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Tower Systems helps small business retailers benefit from the immediate asset write-off in the federal budget

May 13, 2015

1 Min read

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Tower Systems has begun an education campaign for small business retailers in Australia in selected specialist retail channels outlining how they can benefit from the immediate asset write-off opportunity announced in the federal budget last night.

Retail businesses turning over $2 million a year or less can immediately write off the purchase of our Point of Sale solution.

Our software delivers the productivity benefits the federal government is keen to see small businesses access.

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How POS software can help small business retailers manage employees more effectively

May 12, 2015

1 Min read

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POS software can do more for small business retailers than they may think. Good POS software, like that from Tower Systems, goes deep into the business, away from the sales counter, helping in many ways.

Help with managing employees.

Easily create rosters and share these with employees how and where they want.
Track sales by employees.
Track sales by time – allowing shift comparisons.
How employees understand performance in the context of what they can do to help the business and themselves.
Cut time taken on everyday tasks such as end of shift.
Eliminate often frustrating tasks such as the daily backup.
Give employees information that helps them more effectively serve the business.
Bring certainty to the counter and help employees be more consistent.
Provide employees with vital information about products so they can be consistently knowledgeable.

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Sunday retail management advice: challenge your POS software help desk advice

May 10, 2015

1 Min read

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Sometimes, POS software help desk advice is not right. It could be they did not understand the question, that you did not completely explain the question or that they got it plain wrong.

A good POS software help desk will offer a structured escalation process where you can take any concern and have it considered away from the help desk. Such an escalation process will involve senior management and have at its heart good communication.

Tower Systems has a structured escalation process with three points of escalation outside of the help desk function. Customers can use this or they can bypass a step as all contact points in the escalation process are published regularly.

Tower customers can speak directly with the owner of the business, Mark Fletcher, on 0418 321 338.

We encourage customers to challenge help desk advice to ensure that the advice is right for the actual question or problem. This can be done in a respectful way with the outcome always on ensuring the best possible customer service experience.

Retailers who actively engage with the POS software help desk process usually achieve a more meaningful and valuable outcome for themselves and their business.

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The new approach to stock take using POS software

May 8, 2015

1 Min read

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Demonstrating its commitment to innovation, the latest release of POS software from Tower Systems offers a completely new stock take facility.

Completely re-designed from the ground up, this new stocktaking facility works as well with tablets as it does on your traditional desktop.

Packed with new features, this new stock take facility is available for the end of financial year stock take retailers will undertake over the next two months.

Tower Systems is committed to providing its small business retail partners a continuously improving POS software experience through considerable investment in software development.

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Using POS software to drive preorders

May 7, 2015

1 Min read

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Preorders are important in several specialist retail businesses. They can help you lock-in shoppers long before product is available. Offering the service is often appreciated, especially by collectors who want to be first with a new product in their area of collection.

Using smart facilities in our POS software, retailers are able to easily manage preorders from payment to order tracking to customer communication.

Our preorder facilities are all about helping retailers grow their businesses and ensuring they do not lose sales.

The more structured your processes around special orders and preorders the more support you will achieve from customers.

Developed with retailers specialising in preorders, the Tower POS software serves this need well.

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How POS software helps small business retailers from the front door to the back office

May 6, 2015

2 Min read

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Software is only as valuable to a business as the contribution it makes. This contribution can be measured in time and money for its from these two that all other benefits flow. Here are ways our point of sale software will help gift shops, jewellers, bike retailers, pet shops and more make more money and free time

Better customer service. Our software guides the sales process and gathers all necessary information, freeing retail staff for selling.
Saving time. Using our software, sales are processed quickly. As retailers ourselves we have focused on delivering fast and efficient processing for sales.
Reducing theft. Stores without a POS system are more susceptible to employee theft. In fact nearly 50% of retail shrinkage comes from employee theft. Our software can help to significantly reduce or eliminate these occurrences. We draw your attention to suspicious behaviour. For more security, you can password protect any area that you do not want employees to be able to access.
Better decisions. We provide access to real-time information. Whether you have one store or 30 stores, you have instant and up to the minute access to sales numbers, stock, margins and more. This ability to have instant and accurate information enables you to make the absolute most out of your investment.
Increased sales. In many ways throughout the business we help with this.
After sales marketing. Using our loyalty program you send targeted letters, emails, and direct mail to customers based on purchases and other criteria. We have several loyalty options.
Payment integration. With integrated Eftpos you can un clutter the counter, streamline sales processing and make record keeping easier. Time and money saved.
Reduced mistakes. Using our software you can cut paperwork and this cuts mistakes. You can rely on the software to advise sales data and thereby stop you buying products which are not selling. Good retailing begins with good buying.
Better integration with suppliers. Thanks to the supplier links in our software you are able to give suppliers data in return for better deals. There are many case studies in our files of this working to the benefit of our retail customers. Good retailing begins with good buying.

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200 retailers using our new roster software

April 28, 2015

1 Min read

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More than 200 retailers are using our recently launched employee roster software. Even though the software is only in beta release, plenty are using it actively i their businesses to manage rostering of employees and managing the labour costs of the business.

This cloud based FREE roster software from Tower Systems is another way the company is reinvesting into small business retail channels – to provide tools retailers can use to better manage labour costs.

The Tower Systems POS software has had roster software for many years. This latest facility reflects a next generation approach. It is available to any business regardless of the POS software they use.

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More suppliers join Tower Systems EDI community

April 27, 2015

1 Min read

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Small business retailers are set from more suppliers joining the Tower Systems EDI user community offering access to electronic invoices, stock files and other benefits.

With someone dedicated full-time in our business to help wholesales and others connect with retailers, we are well positioned to be able to help overcome hurdles in suppler organisations. This service is one reason we have more suppliers connected with our customers through our software.

The latest supplier coming on board to offer electronic invoices will be a help to many customers as they trade in the newsagency and gift marketplaces – where we serve over 2,000 small businesses.

The moment they are ready we will announce to our customers.

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POS software reports on KPIs for small and independent retailers

April 21, 2015

1 Min read

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Few small business POS software products report on return on investment, stock turn, return on floor space and return on shelf space. The Tower Systems POS software delivers on reporting on these and other KPIs, enabling retailers to have a better understanding of business performance and through this the opportunity to make better quality business decisions.

Return on investment, stock turn, return on floor space and return on shelf space are the most vital of retail business Key Performance Indicators. That retailers using the Tower software can access these for themselves and easily demonstrates a valuable point of difference.

Since some small business retailers don’t understand the KPIs, the Tower help desk and business management teams offer assistance in understanding and guidance on decisions which can be made as a result of tapping into the KPIs.

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Sunday retail business management advice: leverage your top sellers for more value

April 19, 2015

3 Min read

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Every retail business can sell more to every customer. This is easy when you have good business data and use this to make good business decisions.

Making more money from every sale starts with you understanding shopper behaviour today.

Get a report from your Point of Sale software listing your top ten selling items, by unit sales for the last three months. Do not look at dollars. Unit sales is the far more valuable count since this is a discussion about leveraging volume.

In the Tower software the report is a 10×10 Report. This lists the top 10 items and the ten items selling with those 10 items. (You can set the number to anything besides 10.)

In a typical retail store, the top ten selling items will account for between 30% and 50% of revenue of the business.

Look at your top sellers report and concentrate on the top selling items. Consider these questions about the top selling items:

Do you have appropriate impulse purchase products located on either side of each top item?
Are the top items spread through the store, to maximize customer throughput?
How often do you move the top items?
Do you have the top ten items in multiple locations?
What impulse purchase items do you have at the counter which will appeal to customers who purchase any of the top ten items?
Has the list of top ten sellers changed in the last year? If so, how have they changed and what can you learn from this.
Are there products which you do not currently carry which you could add to the store to sell with the top ten sellers?
Do customers who purchase the top ten sellers ask for any other items?

The idea embedded in these questions is very simple. Use the top ten sellers, or top twenty or top thirty, to focus your attention on items with which you can work to achieve more sales in your business.

By focusing on the top sellers and what you can sell with them you can increase the size of the average shopping basket.

If you can’t see opportunities for achieving more sales by placing products next to or with the top sellers then speak with your team and speak with trusted customers. Don’t rest until you unlock suggestions to try.

There is plenty of additional money to be made from your top sellers. Invest time and attention on this project and get ready to bank the results.

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POS software helps small business retailers with targeted marketing

April 18, 2015

1 Min read

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Small business bike shops, jewellers, garden centres, gift shops, pet shops, homewares shops, newsagents and more are using the targeted marketing facilities in the smart POS software from Tower Systems to more closely engage with shoppers.

Our targeted marketing tools leverage shopper details including purchase history to facilitate selective highly-targeted marketing to attract known shoppers back into the business. These smart POS software tools are vital to small business retailers keen to be noticed in a crowded marketplace.

Tower Systems is hosting another free training workshop on targeted marketing for retailers using its software on May 6. This is part of the weekly free training workshops run by the company for many years now. These workshops are a true point of difference for Tower Systems, they are a benefit retailers love.

Linked with loyalty facilities including discount vouchers, the targeted marketing tools in the Tower software are unique to Tower, they offer a genuine point of difference on which small business retailers can rely. We have case studies which offer evidence of engagement growth as a result of using the facilities.

Targeted marketing is another part of the Tower Advantage^TM.

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Aussie POS software helps small business retailers grow

April 18, 2015

1 Min read

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Small business retailers want to grow, who doesn’t? With rent and labour costs increasing each year, growth is mission critical. POS software company Tower Systems helps its customers grow by providing advice on how to use the software to grow.

As retailers ourselves we can provide practical advice on how to use the software to more than transact sales, we can help retailers use the software to grow their businesses. We do this every day on our help desk, through our consulting services, through our knowledge base and through our business mentoring assistance.

We encourage, guide, educate and support our small business retailer customers in their desire to grow their businesses. it’s something we take serviceably.

Even on the weekend. Take today, Saturday … we have been helping one business owner understand opportunities in their slow selling inventory pool to unlock cash and space for more productive use.

We are serious in our commitment to small business retailers from our software through to the practical advice and support we provide.

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What is unique in the Tower Systems Jeweller software?

April 18, 2015

2 Min read

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In a recent Q&A for publication we were asked about what is unique about our software for jewellers. With limited space here is our answer listing the key unique offerings from Tower Systems in its service of jewellers:

We are a software company, not a consulting business using software as a mechanism for driving consulting fees.
We are in your business. Not a contractor we hire, not over the phone, when we install the system we do it in your business, working with you.
Second-hand goods. These facilities have been developed with jewellers and authorities so you have the right records on hand.
These facilities have been developed to help you streamline workflow and keep in close contact with customers throughout.
Manufactured goods. From concept to manufacture, you can manage and track what you make for whom and when. This is a billing and management asset.
We offer more facilities than any other system. These offer you flexibility for driving purchases in the current visit and for bringing shoppers back more often.
You have access to extraordinary customisation, enabling you to represent your business son receipts, invoices and other documents how you want.
Embedded in our software are facilities for tracking how the software us used. This enables us to help you monitor and reduce employee theft.
Retail focussed. The big challenge of retail is to uncover opportunities which you can still leverage them. We have smart reports which unlock for you information about your business which can help you here.

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POS software helps gift shops, small business retailers handle special orders

April 17, 2015

1 Min read

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The POS software from Tower Systems has excellent facilities for handling special orders, pre-orders and other forms of orders for customers that are unique to the customer and a point of difference for the business to offer.

Special orders and customer pre-orders are a point of difference for small independent retailers over big businesses. Being bale to do this with consistency and certainty can help these businesses more successfully compete.

Thanks to years of refinement and working with retailers in a wide variety of retail situations, Tower Systems offers a competitive advantage from the recording of customer details, tracking an order,k advising its arrival and handling a range of payment options including time payment.

We have retailers today transacting valuable business in pre-orders of highly valuable product as a result of these tools in the software. They are financially better off today and over the long term as special order customers tend to return for more orders.

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9 ways the jeweller software from Tower Systems helps small business jewellers

April 14, 2015

2 Min read

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The Tower Systems jeweller software continues to evolve thanks to suggestions from jewellers large and small, in groups and independent.

Our commitment is to provide software you can use to guide more profitable control over your business – without the need to hire a consultant.

Here are 9 ways this software can help your business:

Report smart. Our easy to read yet comprehensive reports help you better understand your business without having to hire an expensive consultant to do this for you.
Receipts, invoices and other documents can be customised toreflect the taste and style of your business.
From repairs to serial number tracking, we help you deliver consistently professional and personal service.
Get customers spending more. Our loyalty facility tuned to the unique spending habits of jewellery customers improve the spend per visit.
Easy LayBy. You can LayBy with certainty thanks to professional facilities backed by good documentation to your customers.
Cut your bookkeeping and accounting fees. From GST reporting to having an up to date P&L, we can save time and money by linking to software like Xero.
Connect your online with your shop. Our Web Store facility handles this.
Cut theft. When you are not there, our software tracks behaviour. Our free Theft Check service has been successful to catching theft before it is too late.
The Tower Advantage^TM. Our professional and friendly help from training to support to business advice. We are not your average software company.

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Small business retailers appreciate support in making the locally made pitch

April 13, 2015

1 Min read

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The free marketing collateral we released for small business retailers is being appreciated. Retailers love that the collateral is available without strings, is free and is unbranded.

We are thrilled with the feedback and are working on adding to the suite of free collateral available from our website.

We are grateful to be in a position to give back to small business retailers.

Covering a range of themes, the example included with this post is most popular as it promoted LOCALLY MADE – a very strong message in any retail situation.

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Sunday retail management advice: success today is important for tomorrow

April 12, 2015

2 Min read

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Too often we see small business retailers running their businesses thinking that they will make their money when they sell. Our experience working with thousands of retailers is that focusing on today, on the right now, will ensure the best outcome for the future of the business.

Our strategy – Make every day your pay day – is simple and effective. It’s made up of basic points:

Run with the leanest roster possibl Just about every newsagency business I review has capacity to lower labour costs.
Have your best people working the floor, helping customers spend more.
Stock what sells.
Get rid of stock which is not selling.
Have stunning displays that attract people from outside the shop.
Have compelling displays in-store that encourage people to browse beyond their destination purchase.
Always have impulse offers at high traffic locations.
Charge more every time you can. Review your prices for products people come to yoo because of convenience.
Buy as best you can.
Grab settlement discounts every time you are able.
Use your business data to guide your decisions.
Promote outside your store.

Be responsible for the profitability of your business. Don’t blame your suppliers, your landlord, your employees or some other external factor … it all comes down to you – the decisions you make and the actions you take.

If you relentlessly pursue profit with a clear focus you’re likely to see profit grow. That’s better than waiting to make money when you sell because that’s less likely to happen in this market.

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Jeweller software helps jewellers cut management consulting fees

April 9, 2015

1 Min read

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More and more jewellers are looking to reduce the fees they pay consultants to be told how to run their businesses. Jewellers we work with using our Jeweller Software tell us they like that they can produce reports and from these make decisions for themselves – thereby eliminating the need to pay consultants.

Thanks to smart reporting and ever enhancing reporting, the Tower Systems Jeweller Management Software is proving to be a terrific assist for the reduction of outside consulting fees, thereby improving the bottom line of the business.

In our next software release we will make available enhanced reporting which goes even further to helping jewellers in this area.

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POS software company provides more help to small business retailers reducing theft

April 4, 2015

1 Min read

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Tower Systems has been helping more retailers using its POS software POS software to deal with employee theft situations. We have a structured process for independently checking evidence without being influenced by stories. The process has been praised by police and prosecutors. It has been on show in court rooms where we have provided expert witness evidence.

Employees in retail businesses using our software are on notice. We have tools you will never find which can uncover behavior which indicates without a doubt that theft is occurring. This evidence has stood up scrutiny and resulted in successful action.

Our advice to retailers is to use the facilities in our software for theft reduction. If you have a concern, ask us for a free Theft Check service.

We’re here to help. That’s our motto. When it comes to employee theft, we’re in your corner and there to help you deal with it and get through the emotional and operational challenges of discovering a theft situation.

Our theft related work is undertaken at senior levels within the business. It is highly confidential. Our most cases are never discussed until completely closed and even then only ever without identifying details.

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33% of retail customers embrace reward me now opportunities in POS software loyalty offer

April 1, 2015

1 Min read

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A retail expert from Europe speaking at a high-profile retail conference in Sydney last week declared traditional loyalty is dead, people want instant gratification. In the Tower Systems POS software retailers have the opportunity for instant gratification.

Data from a range or retail businesses using the Discount Voucher facilities within the Tower Systems POS software report 33% engagement on the day of issue. Most often, these customers are not regulars, they are infrequent visitors who look for opportunities to leverage the value of the reward in that visit.

Tracking shopper behaviour we can see that those spending the reward tend to spend equal to or more than the initial purchase value. A further 20% spend on a third item or basket, further extending the value of the reward.

We are thrilled to see retailers enjoying double digit year on year growth as a result of their use of the Discount Voucher facilities. The voucher reports, sales data and business P&Ls we see show this approach is profitable and valuable for the longer term prospects of the business.

The Discount Voucher facilities fit with the model of loyalty promoted by the recent retail experts speaking in Sydney.

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