| [May 10, 2006] |
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Pret a Manger Selects Alpha Retail Technology for POS Credit Payments; Pret a Manger Provides Speedy Service to the Lunch Time Rush
CALABASAS, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- May 10, 2006 -- Pret a Manger (www.pret.com), a leading hospitality retailer, is integrating online credit card processing at their Point of Sale terminals across its U.S. enterprise with the assistance of Alpha Retail Technology. Pret caters to professionals on the go who want to quickly grab a fresh, healthy, high-quality meal. Pret run more than 160 stores, employ 3,000+ staff and sell $300M worth of products every year.
Pret's motto is "Passionate about People" and their focus on people and customers is demonstrated by their fast and friendly service and customer facing initiatives including strict guidelines to serve every customer within 90 seconds. During the busy two-hour lunch rush up to nine cashiers can be positioned shoulder-to-shoulder processing more than 1,000 transactions from a single store. In order to decrease transaction times Pret US looked to leverage the speed of the Internet to accept cashless payments, authorize credit cards and reduce processing time to less than 20 seconds.
Pret had been using standalone dial-up methods which required initiating the primary modem; average credit card transactions took in excess of 55 seconds to process. Alpha Retail Technology's high-speed credit card solution reduced 55-second approvals to 1 to 3 second approvals, thus significantly reducing transaction times and checkout lines. Pret also benefited from a reduction in POS equipment. The addition of MSRs on Pret's POS units saved selling space on their compact cash-wrap counter.
With Alpha Retail Technology's online credit card solution, Pret reduced costs by eliminating the expense of dial-up and multiple dedicated telephone lines. In addition, Pret increased efficiency with the direct integration of payment information into enterprise applications. Instead of reconciling transactions from the dial-up terminal with other software programs (e.g. accounting software), the transaction data is sent directly to these programs. Finally, and most importantly, Pret increased customer throughput and satisfaction.
About Pret a Manger
Pret A Manger is a privately owned company founded in 1986. It delivers high quality food with fast, friendly service. The menu features handmade sandwiches, wraps, salads, sushi, and desserts, along with teas and coffees. Fresh ingredients are delivered each morning to the shops, and unsold products are donated to local charities in the evenings.
There are approximately 160 Pret shops located in the UK, US and Hong Kong. In 2000 Illinois-based McDonald's purchased a 33% share in Pret.
About Alpha Retail Technology
Alpha Retail Technology Inc. is a leading integrated retail software and professional service solutions provider. Alpha Retail's point-of-sale, merchandising, enterprise, and business intelligence solutions increase operating efficiencies, revenues, and bottom line profits. Additional software modules including e-commerce and warehouse management provide retailers with enterprise multi-channel and supply chain visibility and control. For additional information about Alpha Retail solutions, call 877-484-3344 or visit www.alpharetailtech.com.
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