Sailing clothing and accessory brand Musto said this week that it has enhanced the way it operates pop-up retail stores, thanks partly to its partnership with technology solutions provider Cybertill.

Musto is now working with the Merseyside-based technology business as part of the retailer’s sponsorship of the Volvo Ocean Race.

During the event, the sailing brand opens pop-up shops at 11 ports where the competitors, their teams and their supporters rest and repair their kit in between the race stages, and it naturally requires a different form of retailing to that which is typically seen on the high street.

Operating temporary stores in new markets has various logistical challenges, including the need to design a store that efficiently represents the brand while also being easily erected and dismantled. Managing the technology challenges of having a fully operable electronic point of sale (EPoS) system with integrated chip and PIN – sometimes with regional variations – is aided by a cloud-based EPoS system from Cybertill.

Frank Potts, IT director of Musto, commented: “Managing pop-up stores in 11 ports around the globe, some of which where we don’t currently have retail operations in, has been a complex challenge.

“This involves getting fully operable point of sale systems that can accept multiple currencies with integrated chip and PIN devices in every location. There are also local variations of PINs, which all need to be PCI compliant.

“Essentially we are setting up a high street store in each village where the retail experience should mirror that of our high street stores but these stores are only operational for a couple of weeks so the solution needs to be cost efficient. Cybertill is instrumental in allowing us to achieve that.”

Musto has a dedicated team of four people that travel to every port to set up and manage the stores throughout the nine months of the race, and Cybertill’s cloud-based PoS system will be used so the staff on-site don’t have to manage the software and can get on with selling products.

“Event retail is very different to in-store retail,” Potts explained.

“You get one chance with a customer. Any technical issues result in big queues and people put down items and walk away. This could not be more vital, as they won’t come back tomorrow, they have come to see the event and stay for the day and then they leave. So it is imperative the solution we chose was proven and resilient.”