California Apparel News

Los Angeles retailer Lisa Kline was in a bind a couple of years back. Her edgy Robertson Boulevard stores were taking off because she was staying on top of trends and keeping a pulse on her customers’ needs. Everything was going great—except for her management of inventory and point-of-sale data.

The software system she used from the market leader at the time was still DOSbased.

“If it broke down, we could never get support,” she said. Phone support would require that she dole out her credit card number for problems that usually were caused by the software.

It wasn’t long before Kline’s husband, Robert Bryson, a Microsoft Corp.–trained engineer, came up with a better solution. After more than a year of research, Bryson found that the only way to address Kline’s needs was to combine the technologies from several different applications into one package.

The result is Remote Retailer, a browser- based system that allows technicians to address errors remotely by linking to the Internet. Kline benefits because she can access the system remotely, as well.

“She’d be in Miami and would be able to watch her registers in real time [via security cameras plugged into the browser],” Bryson said.

After observing how well the program worked in Kline’s two boutiques, Bryson decided to market the technology to other retailers. He established a distributorship about one year ago with the programmer and has grown ever since, gaining accounts with Planet Blue, Trina Turk, Kate Daniels and Belle Gray.

Bryson, who will show the product at this month’s MAGIC International show in Las Vegas, plans to expand distribution to the Midwest and beyond.

Remote Retailer provides order management, inventory tracking, point-of-sale data and remote electronic surveillance, as well as services such as Web development and inventory auditing. Bryson said the system is geared for boutiques and independent retailers that need more control over managing their businesses.

“Most retailers start out by investing in how their stores look, so they’re doing inventory and sales manually,” Bryson said. “This system can tell you what ladies from what zip codes are in on Tuesdays. I can tell what bra sold and from what vendor, as well as style and cup size.”

Bryson said the system costs about 15 percent less than the current market leader’s product and provides sales reports, inventory data and customer data aimed at improving customer service.

Kline uses the system to track the birthdays of her customers, whom she then gives birthday discounts. She gathers her customers’ e-mail addresses, which she uses to alert clients to sales and new products. She can also track how sales associates are doing and, in general, gain more control over business.

“It’s been incredible. It’s given us more confidence,” she said. —Robert McAllister