When buying a new, high quality dress, the most natural thing to do is to go to a high street store. But on 12 March 2020, most stores all over the country closed, and all the occasions when a dress may have been needed were cancelled, all because of Covid-19.
This came as a shock to many, especially the CEO of Menswear, Tore Nergård, who was also aware that drastic action was needed.
Timeless fashion
Menswear’s customers are mainly lawyers and accountants. Most regular customers still come for a complete outfit from top to toe, either because they’ve biked to work forgetting a formal meeting they have to attend, or are going to a big wedding.
What they all have in common, is that they want classic design to give that timeless look that will still be as fashionable in 15 years time as it is now. What’s unique about Menswear is that they order their own clothes direct from their Italian suppliers, and have created their own ‘Viero Milano’ brand, a guarantee of high quality at a reasonable price
To be able to simplify things for existing customers, Menswear set up an online store about ten years ago. The focus was still primarily on their high street stores, and the online option was relatively low profile.
Closed stores and laid off staff
Tore Nergård was grateful that he had had the foresight to set up an online store as a sales channel, when he was forced to close all his high street stores in the middle of March. He started to update the goods in the online store with the help of his laid-off staff, adding a new communication platform and other means of keeping contact with his customers.
The result was that online sales in April were equivalent to that of the entire online turnover for 2019. Such encouraging results spurred him on to modernise other corporate processes.
“I want to be able to log into my accounts in the same ways as I log in to my emails”
Accountant is like a colleague
Menswear have been using Økonomihuset Tandem as their complete supplier of accountancy and IT solutions since 2006. Accountant Jon Faldaas has practically been a part of the company since then. Daily contact between Tore and Jon by phone and mail has been necessary for Tore to get the status of the financial situation.
He was well aware that he needed more insight into the accounts, and wanted to be able to log in to them in the same way as logging in to see mails. Maintaining tight financial control had never been so critical as it became after Covid-19. Consequently, Tore and Menswear were ready for a better accounting system.
Migration to better control and overview
That’s when Tandem came more into the picture, and took control. After looking at the opportunities available, they chose a system that suited the needs of Menswear, and within just two weeks, the accounts were fully migrated. As from 1st May, Menswear’s accounts were in the cloud, using Tripletex.
Cloud-based accounting system
When Menswear gradually began to open their stores again in May, they opened with a new cloud-based accounting system – Tripletex. They now look forward to being able to make strategic choices based on actual results, and staying one step ahead of the accounts. Tripletex gives them a much better overview of liquidity and profitability. These are critical factors in retail, where sound supplier contracts are based on the liquidity of the buyer.
Økonomihuset Tandem and Menswear are both delighted with the new accounting system. Simplification has led to new ways of working together which are more efficient, and open up new opportunities.
By the end of May, all Menswear stores had reopened. Investment in the online store continues, and with Tandem in support for IT, ambitions are high. The next step in the move towards better control and overview is to link the POS system directly to Tripletex.