Located on East Broad Street in Greenville, SC, Northampton Wines has recently expanded and relocated to a rustic brick building that once housed the city's Gas, Electric, Light Company. Built in 1891, the building's turn-of-the-century architecture provides a delightfully nostalgic setting for this successful wine retailer. Company owner Richard de Bondt recently spoke with ECRS about the benefits Catapult has brought to his growing enterprise.

Popping the Cork : Installing a Windows Solution

"A constantly expanding inventory and flourishing customer base were serious indicators to me that the time had come for Northampton Wines to upgrade its retail point of sale to the next level of automation. Catapult was a perfect match for our company when we more than doubled our inventory after relocating to a much larger retail space. I see our company continuing to grow with Catapult at the POS helm," explains Richard de Bondt.

Vintages Galore : Inventory Control

"As a wine retailer I've found that the choices of wines available to me can be overwhelming. Even with Northampton's expanded stock levels at our new and larger location, there are more than 20 potential items for every single item on the shelf. This fact alone makes efficient inventory control an absolute must. Catapult provides Northampton with powerful inventory control that lets us put more emphasis on interacting with our customers rather than on paperwork," said de Bondt.

A Matter Of Taste : Customer Tracking

Northampton Wines attracts a clientele with such incredibly diverse tastes that keeping up with customer preferences on paper or by memory is an impossible task. "Catapult's Customer Tracking feature lets us keep our shelves stocked with vintages we know our customers will be looking for when they come into the store. This kind of indirect influence on our inventory by shoppers helps build a level of unique customer loyalty that caters both to long-time shoppers and to the needs of new customers."

A Very Good Year : Discounts by the Dozen

Northampton Wines extends a "Case Discount" to customers who purchase 12 or more bottles of wine in one transaction, regardless of whether or not those wines are of the same brand. "Before we had Catapult, managers were burdened with the duty of completing these discounted transactions--a task which usually slowed down the flow of commerce at the checkout lines. Catapult's Discount Generator lets us program an Automatic Discount to be applied to all single transactions with 12 or more bottles of wine. Case discounts no longer burden our customers at checkout nor preoccupy our management staff at the registers."

Better With Age : Catapult Comes Highly Recommended

"As our business continues to prosper, I feel confident about Catapult's ability to handle our growing customer base and expanding inventory. With a large base of items such as ours, it is essential for us to fashion our inventory so that our shoppers frequently find their preferences on the shelf. Catapult helps us fulfill such customer needs often before that need is expressed," said de Bondt.