KT Textiles: Etrader
Helen Townsend, managing director
Tell us a bit about your business
We are a retail shop based in Yateley, Hampshire. We have been trading for almost 25 years having begun as a home business started by my father, Kevin, progressing to retail premises. We supply school uniform to several of our local schools and printing and embroidery to local businesses, clubs and schools and we are fortunate to have many loyal, longstanding customers.
What software do you use?
We got Etrader in 2017 after seeing it demonstrated at a small roadshow. At the time we had a website and a separate ecommerce system for online school uniform buying and we were looking for the next step, which Etrader offered us. The system cost £1,799 set up and then £179 + VAT monthly.
What other systems, if any, did you look at before purchasing this one?
We had tentatively looked at other systems, but Etrader ticked all of our boxes so we went straight in with it.
Why did you choose to buy Etrader?
We wanted to be able to offer print and embroidery online alongside the school uniform we were already selling online at the time. The costs of having a purpose-built website for this are high and Etrader’s platform offers a solution that is affordable, easy to use and quick to implement.
What do you think are its main advantages?
It is easy to use and maintain, whilst offering products that we buy through our main wholesaler, PenCarrie. It is particularly good for customer shops: for example, we supply the kit to a local ski club so we have set them up a mini shop within our website, which enables the team members to order their kit directly from us.
Is there anything you’d like to see in an upgrade or don’t particularly like about it?
The delivery options are very rigid, it would be good to be able to add specific delivery options to one particular shop. For example, we offer free delivery to school for one of our schools, but they can’t have this as a delivery option, which would be a huge advantage.
What’s it like to use? Do you have any tips on how to get the most out of it?
It is very easy to use. The quote system is great for making it easy for the customer to click and pay for their order. The customer shops are also a great advantage to offer to local clubs and schools.
What sort of work do you use it for?
We have four school shops and another coming soon and these make up most of our online orders at present.
Which of your machines does the software work with?
We currently use plotter cut and digital print for garment printing, we also have a Brother embroidery machine.
What’s your advice to others thinking of purchasing a new software system?
It is a brilliant tool for expanding your business, you just need to find the time to keep it up to date and make the most of the features available.
