Mint Velvet appoints Retail Assist as its outsourced IT partner

Mint Velvet , the new womenswear retailer, has engaged Retail Assist to provide a Managed Solution to include its Merret merchandising and warehousing solution, Triquestra’s Infinity PoS, plus complete IT support service.

Mint Velvet is headed up by former Principles brand director Liz Houghton and is backed by non-executive directors Peter Davies (Chairman), Chris Inman and Richard Sims who were founding directors of Rubicon Retail, the former owner of the Principles and Warehouse brands, which they sold in 2005.

The Managed Solution developed for Mint Velvet delivers the foundations and capabilities to support a growing business from the outset, and combines all the required hardware, software and services in a single package and integrated with store EPos and website.

For Mint Velvet, Retail Assist provides:

• Hosted and managed Data Centre
• Implementation and support of Triquestra’s Infinity PoS on Toshiba Tec hardware plus Retail Assist’s Merret supply chain as an end-to-end solution
• Integration with BT Fresca to support Mint Velvet’s e-commerce site
• First and second level Help Desk services to store staff, covering a range of retail applications, plus support for a BT communications solution
• Set up and maintenance of the systems infrastructure for head office and stores
• Core domain infrastructure including email, Microsoft Office applications, file and print servers

Stuart Grant, Commercial Director explains; “Retail Assist was our natural first choice for IT outsourcing. Having worked with the team before, we were confident they had the knowledge and experience to deliver a complete managed service to a very tight deadline. We launched the Mint Velvet website and 14 concessions during October and have just opened our first stand alone stores in Windsor and Chichester. The implementation was planned and delivered from scratch within 3 months – a remarkable achievement. We expect to get clear business benefits from having this Managed Solution as part of the Mint Velvet business.”

Mint Velvet’s launch plans left no margin for error or delay in project timescales. The new business planned to be multi-channel from day one, with an online store playing a key part.

Alan Morris, Managing Director of Retail Assist concludes: “We are delighted to be working with Mint Velvet’s management team. Their talent and vision is just what the market needs right now, and we’ll be pulling out all the stops to make Mint Velvet a resounding success over the coming months and years. We’re confident our end-to-end Managed Solution will give Mint Velvet a complete and cost-effective resource for their retail-essential technology.”