Designer's Showroom

Until this past September, Designer's Showroom was operating its South Texas stores using 1970's technology. The 103-year-old family owned retailer, based in Brownsville, determined that a high-tech system was required to enhance operations. Previously Edelstein's Better Furniture, the company now operates under its higher-end entity, Designer's Showroom. General Manager Ryan Murphy says, "We needed a system that was best for Designer's Showroom - great tools that would help us better manage this business."

Murphy says that at least 90 days were spent closely evaluating home furnishings specific retail software systems. "It was a detailed evaluation. We looked at the pros and cons of each of the products." What Murphy and the management team at Designer's Showroom selected was STORIS' Vision R8 system. "Its key features and functionality far exceeded our needs - it worked best for us."

Murphy says Designer's Showroom subscribed to the SaaS (Software as a Service) model that enables their operation to use the software over the Internet. Thus, he says, it is not necessary for Designer's Showroom to employ an information technology specialist. "The implementation was easy. Concerning the learning curve, within a short time frame most employees were proficient at the retail level. And some employees who had worked with us for 50 years could work this system after minimal training. The ease of use is amazing."

Most beneficial for Designer's Showroom have been sales tracking and management tools, according to Murphy. "We're better able to manage our inventory - to stock more of the products that consumers want that are not already in our stores."

Muebleria Standard, S.A. de C.V., based in Monterrey, Mexico, is an operation of 16 full-line home furnishings, appliances, and audio video stores that has seen an increase in profits and efficiency in management since the implementation of STORIS in 1993. The company's President, Moishe Sandler, says that STORIS' features such as merchandising, inventory control, credit and collections, accounts receivables and payables, and its Executive Vision - which allows retailers to analytically focus on the business's bottom line - have all been extremely beneficial.

"We chose to initially implement STORIS because they were the best of the best and used by top furniture retailers," says Sandler. "To date, STORIS still offers state-of-the-art technology."

Both Sandler and Murphy point out that not only is the STORIS system 'user friendly,' but their Client Services Department is easy to work with and very accessible. Says Sandler, "It was very easy to implement and use even though my employees did not speak English. The system is in a foreign language for us, but we had no problem training them."

Murphy concludes, "STORIS has already been a tremendous help to our business."