Established in 1939, and for a long time known as "Studios Gosselin", today Gosselin Photo is the largest retailer of photographic products and services in Eastern Quebec, Canada. Gosselin offers advanced amateurs and professionals a complete range of photography products and services at very competitive prices, delivered by staff that is highly qualified and passionate about photography. Gosselin sells more than 5,000 products and services in its four stores and on its website.
Replacing outdated technology
When Gosselin decided to change their strategy to respond to the new reality of online sales and digital media, they realized their technology was not up to the task. First, their website was aging and did not meet the new standards of online transactions: for example, the site was not responsive, didn’t offer a modern online browsing experience, and inventory was not up-to-date. Secondly, their software systems were obsolete, and could not be easily connected with new technologies. The company realized they needed to take two important steps:
- Go through a complete overhaul of their website.
- Change the integrated management system (ERP) so that it could communicate and exchange information with the website.
Finding the ideal system
At the time, the company was using Retail 1 as its POS system, which caused some problems when it came to the integration between POS and ERP. The first goal for the new system was ease of use and integration with the selected ERP. Gosselin looked at several ERP - POS combinations, and realized that the best solution to meet their needs was without a doubt the LS Retail software solution, with Microsoft Dynamics as the ERP. Both software solutions are intimately integrated; moreover, the standard solution fulfilled a large part of Gosselin’srequirements, allowing the company to avoid costly development.
LS Retail software: the right choice
Gosselin was happy with the choice of the software solution. “From a technical point of view, on day 1, the "Go Live" was successful at the first shot. We never had to go back to the old system because it did not work or because it affected the quality of our customer service,” says Michel Martin, VP Sales and Operations at Gosselin Photo. The company was supported in the implementation by XSi, a certified LS Retail partner located in Canada.
Reaping benefits
“We are evolving in a very complex industry that has forced us to review our ways of operating our stores. Retail trade has never changed as much as in recent years, and traders now have no choice but to listen to their customers and meet their different needs,” says Martin. Gosselin Photo decided that it was necessary to diversify and adapt to meet the needs of the consumer: the company now sells used appliances, and offers various services including online photo printing, appliance repair services, rental of equipment, and more. And of course, the company is now running a latest-technology retail system. The floor employees at Gosselin – the people who are directly in front of customers - have experienced real productivity gains thanks to the LS Retail software solution. Today, they can accomplish different tasks much more rapidly than before. The easy and instinctive product search in the system has made customer support quicker and much smoother. The system is also very flexible and allows Gosselin to offer customers the possibility to buy online and pick up in-store. “Customers can have an unparalleled omni-channel experience thanks to a POS system that can adapt to our new needs without modifying the routines of our store employees,” says Martin. All in all, Gosselin photo is very satisfied with the choice of LS Retail software. “Two words describe the result of the implementation of LS Retail software in our four stores: efficiency and ease,” concludes Martin.
