‘Icing on the cake’ for J2 Retail Systems, as Greggs commits to a further 500 tills in its point-of-sale upgrade programme

Greggs and Bakers Oven

Specialist manufacturer of PC-based touchscreens, J2 Retail Systems (J2), has secured a further contract from its largest bakery client, Greggs, for the supply of 500 additional J2 560 tills.
J2 was selected in May 2006 to supply hardware into the 1,353-strong Greggs and Bakers Oven store estate. With some 800 new tills now already installed, this latest contract marks the next milestone in the baker’s point-of-sale replacement programme.
As Greggs’ Head of IT, Roy McDougal, explains: “We find the J2 560 the ultimate in flexibility. We can easily convert the tills ourselves to be flat counter-mounted, or mounted on the glass serving counters with the screen on a bracket at the server’s eye-level.”
Greggs’ requirements have played a major part in the design of the J2 560, which is J2’s latest machine. The reliability issues and environmental issues which Greggs had experienced with previous tills have been eliminated. The result of J2 and Greggs’ collaboration is a rugged and simplified terminal that it easy to operate and maintain. The J2 560 uses a Compact Flash card which, in case of problem, can be immediately replaced by the user.
Continues McDougal: “Being fanless, the J2 560s can’t overheat or suck in dust and flour. The result is a space-efficient, practical and hygienic unit, ideal for our retail bakery environment.”
Originally formed as a family business in the 1930s, Greggs is today a public listed company and the UK’s leading bakery retailer. As a result of acquiring a number of regional bakery chains, Greggs enjoys presence from Scotland to the south coast of England. More than 5 million customers are served every week, with two-thirds of trade deriving from shop-made sandwiches, drinks and freshly-baked savoury items to go, and the remainder from cakes and sweet items.

Greggs’ ambitions now include becoming Europe’s finest bakery-related retailer. Its recent expansion into Continental Europe has seen it open 11 branches in Belgium, each of which is equipped with J2 560s.

“J2 are very easy to work with,” concludes Roy McDougal. “They are flexible and always willing to accommodate your requirements. Importantly, too, for a store estate of our size, their equipment remains competitive in the market place.”

J2 Retail Systems is now the leading EPoS supplier to the bakery sector. In addition to its relationship with Greggs and Bakers Oven, J2 supplies many regionally-dominant bakery chains such as Simmons, Martins, Thomas of York and Greenhalgh’s.