T UCHj2 RETAIL sysTEms nEwsLETTER
LED backlightingis the way forward for J2 terminals
Catering to the needs of Qantas
New POS terminals in fashion at
Forever New
IT sTyLE BUsInEss
j2RETAILsysTEms.com.AU ^
For some retailers, it was all about expansion and
increased sales. For others, times have been challenging,
with tough financial markets, online shopping and cautious
consumers all having an impact.
Online shopping has driven many retailers to re-think
how they do business. Savvy operators such as
Forever New, for example, have adapted their business
models to suit, with improved customer service and
better in-store experiences that help differentiate from
their online presence.
While there is no miracle formula for ensuring your
retail business prospers in today’s changing
marketplace, there are a few certainties you can count
on: a good customer experience and good service are
keys to building customer loyalty and repeat business.
And that’s where a reliable POS system can help.
Serve your customers well and they’ll thank you by
spreading the word and driving more customers your
way, and that’s a great thing for any business – whether
you’re in fashion, food or hospitality.
It was a busy year at J2 Retail Systems: we released
some exciting new products, including the impressive
J2 225 and the J2 101 printer, both of which are featured
in this newsletter, and reached some key milestones.
In fact, I’m very pleased to announce that we broke a
number of sales records in 2012 and had our best year
to date.
As we enter 2013 it’s a good time to reflect on the year that has just passed...
IntroDuCtIon
As always, we’re here to help with advice on any
technical or product enquiries you may have. Feel
free to contact J2 Retail Systems on (02) 9584 5222
All the best for 2013 and we look forward to being of
assistance!
Sincerely,
PhIllIP WIld
Managing director, J2 Retail Systems
j2retailsystems.com.au summer 2012
nEws & InformatIon
It’s dusty, hot and miles to the
nearest shower, but Variety Bash
veterans Burt Admiraal and John
hardy from our long-standing
customer h&l wouldn’t have it any
other way. “We all get a thrill out of
driving along the tracks and seeing
beautiful parts of the country – it’s
great fun and a real adventure. But
the true highlight comes when you
meet the children and you see what
a wonderful job Variety is doing to
help these young kids.” Said John
from h&l.
This year’s bash – coined ‘Back of
Beyond’ (for obvious reasons) – was
an eight day drive that traversed four
states, kicking off in Tanunda in the
Barossa Valley and finishing in Mildura,
Victoria. The circuit snaked its way
up and over the border to Birdsville
and then back down through NSW
and Victoria, passing through some
of Australia’s finest countryside along
the way.
J2 was a major sponsor of car number
351: Burt and John’s 1970 Ford Fair-
lane – a trusty vehicle that has taken
the dynamic duo through many miles
of dusty back roads and open roads.
The event was a huge success, raising
over $1.8 million for the children’s
charity. It also gave Burt and John
a chance to pass on their passion
to the next generation – both men
brought their young sons along for
the ride: “We’ve completed eight
Variety bashes all up, but this one
was extra special as we were able
to introduce the next generation to
this wonderful charity event.” John
added with a smile.
POS POWER DRIVES FUNDRAISING FOR THE 2012 SA VARIETY BASH.
J2 680 CATERS TO THE NEEDS OF QANTAS.Busy in-flight catering company Q Catering makes and delivers meals to over 270,000 domestic and international
flights a year for Qantas and other carriers. Committed to rigorous business improvement, Q Catering was hungry for
a solution to streamline operations across their entire production floor. They found the answer in the J2 680.
A number of J2 680s have now replaced desktop PCs at Q Catering’s Sydney and Brisbane locations. As such,
production staff now benefit from using the J2 680 – in conjunction with their web-based solution – to schedule work,
track time, tasks and attendance as well as provide notification of when work is completed.
So why did Q Catering go with the J2 680? While reliability and performance were key factors, the J2 680’s ability to
operate effectively in harsh conditions such as locations near fridges, ovens and food preparation areas, made it the
ideal choice; as were its WiFi capabilities, compact size, spill-resistance and built in UPS.
On the back of implementing the J2 680 into their Sydney and Brisbane catering centres, Q Catering plans to roll out
more J2 terminals across their catering centres in Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.
proDuCt showCasE
Unlike any other J2 terminal before it,
the J2 225’s screen can be adjusted
and used upright, folded or even flat.
And thanks to the ‘all in head’ design,
in which all components are mounted
within the screen, the 225 can also
be pole or wall mounted.
The striking compactness of the
terminal is in part due to the 14 inch,
16:9 wide aspect ratio screen that not
only runs touch screen applications
written for 4:3 screens, thanks to in
built scaling options, it can also run
new applications written to take
advantage of the wider screen
orientation.
Powered by the latest Intel Atom
32nm Cedarview processor, the
J2 225 delivers a higher speed
performance with lower power
consumption. Furthermore, the
processor will be available for seven
years from its release date ensuring
ongoing parts support throughout
the life of your installation.
Options include MSR and secondary
displays as well as interchangeable
bezel colours options for the ultimate
in customised look. Its laptop-like
compactness, high performance and
unique features make the J2 225 a
The J2 225. It’s got the looks... and the moves.With its sleek, modern design, impressive manoeuvrability and competitive price point, the J2 225 is perfectly suited to customers wanting a reliable, high performance integrated touch terminal that’s economically priced.
great choice for those who value the
look of their POS installations yet
enjoy the power to effectively drive
their software solutions.
A standard three year return to base
warranty provides further peace of
mind that you will be making the
right choice in the J2 225 for your
POS needs.
To find out more about the J2 225,
watch the product video: Click here.
tEChnICaL
j2retailsystems.com.au summer 2012
A fter years of design and development and more than 1.2 billion hours in
testing, Microsoft launched Windows 8 in late October to an expectant
audience around the world.
Billed as their biggest operating system overhaul in years, Microsoft 8
presents the user with quite a different experience. The company has
replaced familiar features – such as the almost iconic ‘start’ button – with
an opening screen, resembling a mosaic, built of colourful tiles displaying
software applications.
While Windows 8 does present a markedly different user experience, those
familiar with tablet and smart phone operating systems – not to mention
touch screen interface design – will be able to get up to speed with Windows 8
fairly quickly. So if you’re keen to upgrade your POS operating system to
Windows 8, we’re pleased to announce the following J2 models fully support it:
›› J2 680
›› J2 680l
›› J2 480
›› J2 485
Please note: to support the built-in gesturing features of Windows 8, a PCT
touch screen is required.
The J2 225 and J2 625 do not, at this point in time, support Windows 8.
Windows 7 is therefore recommended.
J2 products working with Windows 8.
j2680
j2480
In today’s competitive retail landscape, consumers have the luxury of many choices, both online and
offline. And now, more than ever before, retailers have to work harder to get noticed, attract new customers
and retain existing ones – all while keeping an eye on product, operations, stores and staff.
But while there’s a lot to do to keep the business and brand on track, clothing and accessories brand
Forever New must be doing something right. Since starting operations in Melbourne in 2006, as a
boutique start-up retailer, the business has evolved into one of the fastest-growing Australian fashion
brands with just under 200 retail stores across eight countries, including Turkey, South Africa, Malaysia,
Singapore, China and Indonesia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Today, the Forever New brand
extends beyond women’s fashion to bags, shoes and a wide range of accessories.
fEaturE
report: david brand
New POS Terminals for fashion--forward brand...
Forever New.
j2retailsystems.com.au summer 2012
“Forever New were looking for international support for their overseas expansion in the USA...
we’re ideally placed to support Forever New in markets abroad.”
Being a business that strives to keep their finger on
the pulse, Forever New adopts this forward-thinking
approach to every aspect of their operations, and that
includes IT. As such, the General Manager of IT at
Forever New, Matthew Keays, and his team went
shopping for a smarter solution to their in-store POS
needs and found it in J2.
“It was time to upgrade our ageing fleet of POS hard-
ware across a number of our stores, but we didn’t want
to rush into anything. The POS system we went with
had to meet a number of criteria, namely performance,
reliability, ease of maintenance and design. J2 hit the
mark on all fronts.”
Performance, reliability and easy configuration across
multiple stores were amongst several key factors that
led Forever New to go with J2.
j2retailsystems.com.au summer 2012
terminlas with cables protruding with our store
experience. J2 terminals have powered USB ports and
comms ports, and that reduces the number of cables
and external power cords needed.”
As the Forever New brand continues to expand overseas,
Matthew and his team were reassured by J2’s capabilities
to offer international support.
Phil Wild, Managing director of J2, said: “Forever New
were looking for international support for their overseas
expansion in the USA and Canada. Our head office is
based in the UK and we have wholly-owned
subsidiaries in those areas, so we are ideally placed to
support Forever New in markets abroad.”
Phil added: “We’re proud to be working with such a
dynamic and pro-active brand in the fashion retail space
and look forward to supporting their retail operations
both in Australia and abroad.”
“After doing some extensive research, we discovered
that J2 Retail Systems were the first to market with a
terminal that provided a Sandy Bridge chipset within
an all-in-one terminal. And that’s exactly the level of
performance we were looking for.”
Easy configuration and installation of POS terminals
across multiple stores were also critical factors for
Forever New, and Matthew confirmed that: “Because
we’ve got close to 80 stores across Australia, we
needed a solution that was easy to install and configure
across multiple sites. Again, J2 Retail Systems met this
requirement.”
Another reason Forever New went with J2 came down
to looks and aesthetics, two important factors in the
fashion industry.
“Because we’re in the women’s fashion and accessories
business, we couldn’t have messy-looking POS
“We needed a solution that was easy to install and configure across multiple sites. Again, J2 Retail Systems met this requirement.”
LED backlighting isfor J2 terminals.
EDuCatIon
Atouch screen is arguably one
of the most important parts of a
POS touch terminal. It not only needs
to withstand considerable wear and
tear – and a great number of ‘taps’
every day – it must also clearly
display information such as prices,
stock and customer information and
promotions.
While light emitting diodes (LEDs) are
small items, they sure do pack a punch
and provide the light, picture and
performance needs demanded by
today’s busy retail environments.
As such, the design and development
team at J2 set about searching for
ways to update J2 terminal screens
with LED backlighting, as opposed
to more traditional and somewhat
problematic tube lighting.
LED screens have been common-
place in the consumer landscape for
some time – in TVs, laptops, mobile
phones and tablet devices. And for
good reason. An LED screen offers
more vivid colours and life-like images
and better gradation, and these are
certainly factors that can provide
added value and better useability for
POS touch terminals.
As a result of mixed marketing
messages, there exists a general
perception in the marketplace that LCD
and LED screens are vastly different
pieces of technology. In reality, both
screens are quite similar and, in fact,
use the same basic technology for
image display. The key point of
difference lies in the kind of back-
lighting used: one screen uses tube
lighting – such as a CCFL (cold
cathode filament lamp) – whereas
another uses LED panels. When you
compare the two, LED technology
delivers many advantages for back
lighting screens, and here are some of
the benefits:
Reliability LEDs are very reliable and normally
do not have a hard failure mode; they
just become less bright over time. A
CCFL, on the other hand, is much
more likely to have a hard failure once
it reaches its rated life.
A CCFL tends to be more problematic
than an LED as it has many more
failure modes such as gas leaks (not
able to hold a vacuum) and filament
burn out.
In cold weather, a CCFL takes time
to warm up to provide full brightness
whereas LEDs do not. If the climate
drops below a certain temperature,
the CCFL screen may not work at all.
LEDs, on the other hand, function in
all kinds of temperatures.
the way forward
j2retailsystems.com.au summer 2012
Less power consumptionLEDs are not power-hungry and use
about 20-50% less power than
lamp lighting to achieve the same
brightness.
Better for the environment LEDs contain no mercury, whereas
CCFL contains a small amount, which
makes them hazardous to dispose of.
Superior picture quality As LEDs offer a truer colour quality,
images are more vivid and lifelike,
with better gradation. LEDs also have
the ability to display true black hues
and provide better contrast.
With these advantages in mind, it’s
not hard to see why LED is the way
forward for all J2 touch terminals.
j2 680
j2 225
j2 225
LED technology delivers many advantages over tubes for lighting screens.
• Reliability • Less power consumption• Better for the environment • Superior picture quality• Compact size• Fast switching• Create less heat• Durable• No hazardous metals
Phone: (02) 9584 5222 Email: [email protected]
j2rEtailsystEms.com.au
Every care has been taken in compiling the contects of this newsletter, but we assume no responsibility for the effects arising therefrom. J2 Retail Systems do not accept any responsibility arising in any way (including negligence) for errors in, or omissions from,
the information provided in TOUCh newsletter. All information was correct at the time of print.
