Fenwick

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced retailers across the UK to close their doors, many organisations put major investment projects on hold. Fenwick, however, took a different approach.

Rather than standing still during an unprecedented period of uncertainty, the iconic department store group made the bold decision to use the lockdown period to modernise its point-of-sale infrastructure and position the business for success when customers returned to stores. The result was a complete refresh of its retail hardware estate, delivered by BOXTEC in just 28 days.

Fenwick’s existing POS hardware had served the business well for many years, but the estate was beginning to show its age. The equipment looked dated, lacked the modern appearance expected in a premium retail environment and no longer aligned with the high-quality customer experience the retailer wanted to deliver.

The business was seeking a modern replacement that would:

• Refresh the store environment with contemporary technology
• Support a Windows operating systems and future retail applications
• Enable enhanced customer engagement capabilities
• Fit seamlessly within existing store furniture
• Be delivered within an extremely compressed timeframe

One of the most significant challenges was the physical footprint. Fenwick wanted to retain its existing counter furniture, meaning the new hardware had to fit within the same space occupied by the legacy systems.

At the same time, the retailer was moving away from a long standing incumbent vendor, requiring confidence that a new supplier could deliver both the technology and ongoing support needed for a business critical retail platform.

A Bold Decision During COVID

While many retailers were focused on managing immediate operational challenges, Fenwick chose to look beyond the pandemic.
With stores temporarily closed during lockdown, the organisation recognised a unique opportunity to carry out a large-scale hardware refresh with minimal disruption to trading.

The project represented a significant investment in the future of the business. By preparing the new retail infrastructure while stores were empty, Fenwick was able to ensure it would be ready to welcome customers back with a modern, reliable technology platform.

The timing also made an ambitious deployment schedule possible. What would ordinarily have been a much longer rollout could be completed rapidly while stores were inaccessible to customers.

Working closely with Fenwick, BOXTEC delivered a complete retail POS solution built around the BOXTEC Ninja POS platform. The solution incorporated:

• 450 BOXTEC Ninja POS terminals deployed across the estate
• BOXTEC customer-facing displays
• EPSON receipt printing technology
• Datalogic 2D barcode scanning technology
• Windows 10 IoT LTSC operating platform

The project also included professional services support and gold image management to ensure a consistent deployment across all locations.

Critically, the hardware was engineered to fit within Fenwick’s existing store furniture, allowing the retailer to modernise its technology without needing costly counter redesigns or shopfitting work.

Delivering Against Tight Deadlines

Despite the scale of the project, BOXTEC successfully completed delivery from start to finish in just 28 days.

The compressed timeline required close collaboration between both teams, particularly as many of the people involved in implementing Fenwick’s original retail system were no longer with the business. Beyond supplying hardware, BOXTEC worked alongside the retailer to support decision making, provide technical guidance and ensure confidence throughout the transition process.

This partnership approach helped Fenwick move from a well known legacy supplier to a new platform while minimising business risk.

Planning for the Future

The refresh was about far more than replacing ageing hardware.

By investing during lockdown, Fenwick created a modern retail platform capable of supporting future customer engagement initiatives and evolving store experiences. The new estate delivered the performance, reliability and visual appeal expected from a premium department store brand while ensuring compatibility with current and future software environments.