Brika uses Vend on iPad to scale quickly and easily
Watch BRIKA'S story
Home & Gifts
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Multi-store
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CA
Canada
Brika is a gift and home decor store that sells handcrafted items from artists all over North America.
Multi-location retailer with 3 brick and mortar locations in Toronto and an ecommerce presence.
brika.comAt a Glance
3 pop-up stores opened during the holidays and 20 new staff trained in just a few hours.
Using Vend on iPad, Brika is able to:
The Challenge
Gift retailer Brika wanted to ramp up business over the holiday season. To do so, they needed a system that would allow them to do two things very quickly: get locations up-and-running and train new staff.
Since Jen Lee Koss and Kena Paranjape founded Brika in 2011, the gift and home decor retailer has put a serious stamp on the city of Toronto.
The company, which works with carefully selected craftspeople and artisans across North America to bring handcrafted items to Canada, now has an ecommerce store and 3 brick and mortar locations in prominent Toronto shopping areas.
Once the brand was well established in Toronto, Brika decided to take advantage of the holiday shopping surges by opening 3 pop-ups — but they needed the ability to do this quickly and without disrupting any of their usual operations, as well as to train new staff without expending loads of time.
“We use Vend to run all customer transactions, make sure our inventory is constantly updated, and communicate effectively with our artists.”
Catherine Cramer, Store Operations Manager
The Solution
Vend’s ability to add new registers with the tap of a finger meant the Brika team could scale as they needed to, and the system’s ease-of-use lent itself to quick staff training.
Brika decided to use Vend’s easy-to-scale functionality to help them ramp up their holiday business without causing road-bumps or confusion along the way.
Using Vend’s convenient ability to add or remove registers with just the click of a button, Brika opened 3 pop-up stores throughout the holiday period — and thanks to the system’s user-friendly nature, they were able to train 20 new staff in just a few hours.
As for how simple it was? “It was as easy as pulling out an iPad!” says Store Operations Manager Catherine Cramer.
“Vend allows us to track our sales and revenue wherever we are in the world — which allows us to give our customers the best experience possible.”
Catherine Cramer, Store Operations Manager
Brika brings their solution together with the best in retail
The Results
3 pop-up stores opened during the holidays, 20 new staff trained in a few hours, seamless inventory management across locations, and an improved customer experience.
Vend has given Brika total control over the inventory across their stores, as well as allowing them to scale at their own pace and to easily and quickly train new staff.
The cloud-based nature of the system has meant that the team can work from anywhere and track sales data and store performance while they’re at it.
Vend has also given them the ability to provide customers with a better experience, thanks to its sleek design and portability. “Vend allows us to seamlessly take care of a part of the retail experience that can be a bit tricky,” says Catherine. “You’re asking people for money and personal information, and Vend really smooths that over.”
And the kicker? Vend’s world-class support team, which has promptly taken care of any issues to provide the Brika team with comfort and peace of mind.
“Vend is cost-effective, time-efficient, organised, clear, and beautiful.”
Catherine Cramer, Store Operations Manager
