You are here: silicon.com > Retail & Leisure > News

Moss Bros pins hopes on stock management system

Plans for fewer XXL dinner suits left on the rails

Tags: retail

By Julian Goldsmith

Published: 11 April 2007 14:11 BST

Menswear retailer Moss Bros Group has installed a stock management system and point-of-sale (Epos) system to keep track of inventory and trim costs. The implementation is in tandem with the retailer's new central distribution centre becoming fully operational.

The news comes as the retailer announced a reduction in pre-tax profits for the year ending 27 January to £5.1m, from £6.2m last year .

Like-for-like sales were also down 1.3 per cent over the period.

Moss Bros chief executive Philip Mountford admitted the restructuring of the business - of which the new systems and distribution centre are a part - had impacted on the retailer's performance.

He said in a statement: "A number of steps have been taken during the year to strengthen the business, which also negatively affected performance in the period, although they will be positive in the longer term."

The Epos system was supplied by South African company UCS and installation was already underway when financial director Michael Hitchcock assumed the role six months ago.

Speaking to silicon, he said: "The new Epos system will improve transparency of stock as it passes through the business and will give us better data-mining to identify [product] winners and losers."

silicon.com Retail & Leisure

Get the latest retail and leisure news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the R&L newsletter today!

The retailer relocated its distribution centre and introduced a stock management system that will allow improved stock control and should lead to fewer unplanned price reductions - and subsequent improvement in gross margins. The new supply-chain infrastructure will allow the retailer to turn lines around more flexibly.

Hitchcock said: "We are moving from a model of storing stock in a five-storey warehouse in Stratford to one where stock moves continuously through a new 100,000 square foot national distribution centre in Barking."

The new systems underpin the retailer's strategy of improving store portfolio, including a refit programme of its 150-plus store portfolio and an expansion of its concept store strategy.

Hitchcock said: "We expect the new systems and the national distribution centre to have a positive impact on trading by Q4 this year, with the full effect being felt by early next year."

  1. Zones
  2. Management
  3. Networks
  4. Software
  5. IT Services
  6. Hardware
  1. Verticals
  2. Public Sector
  3. Financial Services
  4. Retail & Leisure


  • Jobs
Project Manager, Business Change, Global Logistics, West Yorkshire

Skills in the following areas are required: - Project Management - Systems Development - Business Change - Prince2/Structured Methodology - Team ...

Retail Energy Hedging Manager - Leading European Energy Group

Your key responsibilities will include: - providing support analysis for changes to the Energy Market Risk Mandate that improve the distribution of ...

Managing Consultant - Financial Services

This position will be a subject matter expert in key areas of FS able to: - Conduct meaningful business conversations with both client executives and ...

Tim Ferguson
How did the Heathrow T5 launch go so wrong?
Shiny new terminal, same old story... right?

Julian Goldsmith
Retail leaders will open up in tough times
Rather than cut back, the best will innovate to ride the slump

Penelope Ody
Retail in a rut: IT to the rescue?
Technology needs to meet changing consumer demands...

silicon.com
Online age verification Bill is cynical manipulation
Leader: More about political ambition than protecting children

silicon.com
Leader: Missing Xmas parcels highlight online fulfilment dangers
Will the increase in demand backfire on retailers?

Paula Barrett
E-tailers beware: OFT web sweep is imminent
Opinion: a legal eye over Distance Selling Regulations

CIO50 2008
The silicon.com CIO50 2008 profiles the most influential and innovative tech chiefs in the UK across all industries and organisation size, from the biggest FTSE100 companies to high growth dot-com start ups and the public sector. The list was voted on by the UK CIO community and a panel of experts. Find out more in our latest special report.


IT services
Outsourcing, offshoring and much more...



Quick Sitemap Links: