Major Markets: An NCR Case Study

The customer

Major Market was founded in 1988 by Dick London and partner Sam Logan with the goal of providing old fashioned service to their customers and up-scale products with extensive variety, freshness and convenience. The first store opened successfully in Fallbrook, CA, November 16, 1988. It was purchased from the Lucky chain of grocery stores. In November, 1989, the second location in Escondido was opened with equal success. Major Markets is planning on opening a third store in 2009. There are three goals at Major Markets: keep the store shining clean, offer a large variety of merchandise at competitive prices, and give great customer service. Major Market’s motto: “More than a market….experience the difference!”

The challenge

Both of the stores were using outdated point-of-sales (POS) equipment and were in need of a complete POS solution to help them as they move into the future and begin opening new stores. The owners wanted the solution to help them improve productivity while still providing the kind of old fashioned customer service Major Markets is known for. The software was also in need of updating. Major Markets wanted to make sure that while their customer service remained old fashioned, their hardware and software did not. The software needed grocery scanning to interface with the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) network and Telecheck for payments.This simply uses the customer’s check like a debit card. The complete solution need to include NCR Advanced Checkout Software, front office financial balancing and reporting, and back office price file maintenance. The hardware needed to be durable enough to withstand the demands of a grocery environment while still looking attractive in the store. Since Major Markets has a strong focus on employees they wanted to make sure the new equipment was easy to use to quickly train employees.