Since smoking restrictions were introduced leisure venues and licensed premises in particular have needed to offer customers an area outside the building that will comply with current legislation. This has created a new phenomenon and the café barrier has become a familiar sight outside bars, cafés and restaurants, throughout the country. Providing a contained, external area that extends the facilities of a premises, café barriers are invaluable in helping to ensure customer loyalty but according to some industry figures the can do even more for a business.

David Tuppin a Director of Xtracs, believes café barriers contribute to the bottom line and can actually make a business more profitable. “The capital outlay for an Xtracs café barrier system is easily offset by the advantages of retaining profitable customers,” David said. He sees a café barrier system as a fast and easy way to expand floor-space at a fraction of the cost of a bricks and mortar extension. “Of even more significance, to anyone who knows just how expensive high-street ground-rents can be, is the fact that they allow a business to realise the potential of passive, non-profitable areas.”

“Xtracs café barriers are made of stainless steel so they can remain in place whatever the weather providing further benefits for businesses taking advantage of the option of our printed banners,” he added. “Printed in full colour, banners can be used for corporate branding and provide a significant marketing opportunity, without the kind of print and media costs associated with outdoor posters. Our clients tell us that banners offer an advertising platform with real impact which continues attract passing traffic as long as they are left in situ. What business can afford to miss out on that in todays economic climate.”

Tuppin also sees even more opportunities for businesses that are able to obtain sponsorship of their systems. “A savvy business may be able to gain an income through revenue generated by media sponsorship. We have several examples of how this could work including a bar offering sponsorship of their café barrier banners to a brewer and promoting a beer brand outside their premises. However they are used one thing is certain, businesses profit from Xtracs café barriers.”

For more information visit: www.xtracs.com

Tel: 01908 511740

email: sales@xtracs.com

Villandry, in Bicester Village, offers fresh & authentic French cuisine in a relaxed bistro along with a take away service of gourmet sandwiches and rotisserie. Indulgent gift hampers and exclusive products are available from the foodstore. With a bakery, restaurant and bar, Villandry is one of the most exciting new restaurants to have opened recently in Oxfordshire. It has a fresh and modern atmosphere and this is reflected in the elegant, stylish decor. Naturally, they have chosen Xtracs café barriers to enclose the outdoor terrace seating area.

“Our name is taken from one of the most lovely chateaux in the Loire Valley and everything at Villandry must reflect this. Xtracs’ café barriers are high quality and durable. They maintain our standards yet provide a practical means to create a clear boundary that improves the presentation of the terrace at our new restaurant,” said Alain Decesse, Operations Director of Villandry. “Having our branding on the banners offers added value which emphasises the house style in the outside space. There’s no doubt that the café barriers make us more noticeable and help to make Villandry even more attractive to passing customers.”

“Xtracs has been providing café barriers since early 2004 and we were the first company in the UK to offer a complete off-the-shelf cafe barrier product,” David Tuppin of Xtracs, said. “We originally supplied branded, cafe barriers to the Villandry restaurant some years ago for their premises in Great Portland Street, London. Now they have come back to us for a system for their new site. This is further evidence to support our belief that we are now the first choice for cafe barriers amongst discerning customers in the catering, entertainment and retail environments.” he concluded.

For more information visit: www.xtracs.com

Tel: 01908 511740

email: sales@xtracs.com

In 1909 Richoux began as a patisserie and confectioner and quickly became the place to be seen. As time went by Richoux developed into the restaurant it is today, where the well-known sit side-by-side with Londoners and visitors from farther afield. Richoux is unique, as customers may order what they like, when they like and each Richoux restaurant is in a superb location. Restaurants can be found in South Audley Street, in the heart of Mayfair, in Piccadilly near Fortnum and Mason, in Brompton Road, opposite Harrods and in John’s Wood close to Lords cricket ground. The newest restaurant is located ‘out of town’ and has just opened in High Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire.

Nello Gregori of Gregori Chiarotti Architects, who are responsible for the re-fit of the new Richoux site said, “This is an A1 development in the very heart of the £300 million Eden Centre. It is a stand alone building with access from all sides so we needed to create a scheme that had impact and yet would be tasteful. The Richoux branding is particularly individual and we have used this to great effect. Outside Xtracs Café Barriers provide a boundary for the ‘al fresco’ dinning area and these have been incorporated into the design. We specified PVC mesh banners and have the ‘R’ from the client’s logo printed over the whole surface area of each one which is very distinctive.”

“Architects, surveyors and interior designers are increasingly specifying our barrier products in new developments because we offer banners in a range of materials as well as four colour printing,” reported Richard Falzon of Xtracs. “We regard this as an endorsement by the professionals in the construction and FM sectors and a clear indication that we are achieving one of our most important goals and delivering quality and value throughout the Xtracs range. We want Xtracs barrier systems to be the brand leaders in queue management and retail applications and being selected for a prestigious refurbishment project, such as this, will help to remind customers that Xtracs equipment is used at the very top end of the market.” Richoux is still the place to be seen.

For more information visit: www.xtracs.com

Tel: 01908 511740

email: sales@xtracs.com

“We are committed to becoming the market leaders in queuing systems and related products. Our whole range is undergoing constant product improvement so that we can supply our customers with the very best equipment available,” said Xtracs’ Director, Richard Falzon. “Our latest products are better than ever! Improvements include, new heavier base weights for added stability, an anti-scratch surface on the base of products designated for indoor use and upgraded, more resilient materials in the posts and beams. We have also reviewed the centre of gravity in the base weight and adjusted the dimensions of our Café Barriers. And, using grand prix standard wind testing criteria, they have a tipping ratio of 40 degrees.”

Products with an 8.5Kgs base weight are now recommended for internal use only and the base has been re-engineered with a plastic sleeve to avoid scratching or damaging floors. A new 15 Kgs base weight has been introduced; this is the maximum weight that can be moved by one person to comply with manual handling regulations. There are also new 22Kgs and 24Kgs base weight options. Parts on the posts have been upgraded to stainless steel or brass and the Brandline beam end is now the hardest wearing on the market, manufactured in stainless steel and riveted in position.

“We have also upgraded the material thickness of the cross beam in our Café Barrier to 2mm and introduced a lower beam. This improves stability and provides a tapping rail for the visually impaired. Our product is now fully compliant with DDA regulations and with a more taught banner, offers an improved marketing platform. In addition to all this we are constantly developing our product range. We believe that Xtracs is the only manufacturer of an acrylic screen system that can be supplied off-the-shelf,” Falzon added. “These upgrades mean there has never been a better time to upgrade to an Xtracs system.”

For more information visit: www.xtracs.com

Tel: 01908 511740

email: sales@xtracs.com

“All Xtracs queuing systems can provide great benefits for retailers if they take advantage of our option of printed webbing,” he continued. “Webbing can be used to build on the corporate theme through a colour scheme and branding or to convey messages which can create a more relaxed environment for customers who are queueing. This can really improve customer relations. But Impact provides even more exciting marketing opportunities at the point of purchase, such as sponsorship of the queuing environment by a third party.”

Falzon considers this has immense potential for future development in queue management systems. “While customers are in a queue they are a captive audience and, depending on what they are queuing for, they are ideal targets for cross selling. Impact could be used in a queuing system at the airport and the tape could be marketing suntan lotion, for example. A smart retailer or service provider may even be able to offset the cost of the actual queuing system through revenue generated by a media sponsorship deal. We already have an example of this with an Impact queuing system in a chain of cinemas.”

“We aim to offer Xtracs customers more and provide a reason to choose Xtracs. Impact is an innovative product that does just that,” Falzon, concluded. “I see this as the product that will take queuing systems to the next level.”

Xtracs Impact is set to make a big impact.

For more information visit: www.xtracs.com

Tel: 01908 511740

email: sales@xtracs.com

“In difficult times when there are fewer customers you can’t afford to have anyone, who wants to spend money, wait for too long in a queue. Xtracs has been in business for over six years and we have distributors throughout Europe. This has taught us that the most important function of a queuing system is to get people to the check-out as quickly as possible. It’s all about speeding up the transaction time and improving the customer experience, because dissatisfied customers will shop elsewhere,” he said.

“We aim to offer our customers more and provide a reason to choose Xtracs. Our best selling product, the Elegance retractable tape barrier demonstrates this,” Xtracs’ Richard Falzon, explained.

“We have recently supplied this to Westfield, London. It’s a great, quality product which offers complete flexibility and a seamless upgrade path. The retail environment is constantly changing and if you need to adapt your system it’s not a problem when you have Xtracs products. All our barriers are designed and manufactured with four integral vertical channels that allow Xtracs’ customers to add writing tables, infill panels or even rigid bars; the options are endless. If you use any of our posts you can upgrade at any time without having to replace the whole system,” he concluded.

Xtracs is showing the way to queue in 2009.

For more information visit: www.xtracs.com

Tel: 01908 511740

email: sales@xtracs.com

“Not everyone realises Thorntons offers hot drinks and food in addition to chocolate so we wanted to enclose the Coffee-on-the-Go areas with a system that had banners which would extend the theme of the stores and cafés,” said Sarah Bramley, Project Administration Manager at Thorntons. “We chose Xtracs to supply the café barriers after researching the company on the internet and we were not disappointed. The service is excellent. We originally tested the product in several outlets and Xtracs were very pro-active; offering great advice on different product specifications. The Café Barriers are a great success and we are currently looking into utilising other Xtracs products within our stores.”

“For most businesses branding is vitally important and we are finding that orders for branded and personalised banners are increasing month on month,” Richard Falzon of Xtracs, reported. “As our system can be specified with printed banners of up to 2 metres in width this provides an amazing free, platform for advertising and promotion. In addition to the core use of the product this ‘media’ application for café barriers is a growing area of business for us. It has become quite normal for our café barrier products to be specified with bespoke, highly visible branded banners because they make such an impact on passing traffic.” Get your brand across with Xtracs Café Barriers.

For more information on Xtracs café barriers visit: www.brandline.co.uk

Tel: 01908 511740

email: sales@xtracs.com

Since their introduction to the Xtracs range of products, Brandline Café Barriers have grown in popularity, year on year. They have become a familiar sight in many well known high street stores, cafés and restaurants and are now beginning to be used in a variety of exciting new ways. A recent example of this is the innovative use intosport.com has found for the product. Based in Loughborough, intosport.com is the UK’s leading internet resource for sports coaching and education, producing video training material for use on-line.

The Xtracs café barrier system was purchased to enclose an indoor tennis court for a recent tennis coaching video. “They ingeniously used our system as the perimeter ‘fencing’ that facilitates advertising and promotions,” reported Richard Falzon of Xtracs. “It’s an interesting use for the product and the idea of developing a ‘media’ application for café barriers has great potential. We are finding customers are using café barriers in more and more imaginative ways, demonstrating just how versatile and practical this product is.”

The system featured 2 metre PVCA banners that were printed in full colour onto a single side. Graphics were supplied with the order and the print and delivery were completed in record time. Colin Miles, Founder and MD of INTOSPORT Ltd, said, “We needed a system in place for the video shoot and Xtracs were able to deliver in double quick time. I’m delighted with the banner system and Xtracs did a great job!” The customer service team at Xtracs are delighted that their café barriers could serve a new purpose.

For more information on Xtracs café barriers visit: www.brandline.co.uk

Tel: 01908 511740

email: sales@xtracs.com

Xtracs is well known for queue management and merchandising equipment and has an excellent reputation in the cable display area. What is less well known is that the company is one of the country’s foremost suppliers of ‘display-to-checkout’ shopping bags and baskets. “We supply some of the largest and most successful retailers in the UK but other than our actual customers not many people are aware that we offer a comprehensive range of merchandising bags and baskets,” said Xtracs Director, Richard Falzon.

Complementing the Xtracs stable of products the merchandise carrying equipment is hard wearing and high quality. House of Fraser, M&S Outlets and Hotel Chocolat are all customers using netted baskets in-store and the shopping facility at the new Wembley Stadium uses wire baskets supplied by Xtracs. Wella, Waterstone’s and Ethel Austin are amongst a host of other well known high street names that Xtracs also supply. If you have a requirement for any form of in-store merchandise carrier, Xtracs could be just your bag!

For more information on Xtracs bags and baskets visit: www.retaildisplay.net

Tel: 01908 511740

email: sales@xtracs.com

Brook Street is one of the best known recruitment agencies in the UK and is renowned for the provision of high quality personnel and staffing solutions. With a network of 130 offices spanning the whole of the country it is an extremely successful business. Contributing to this success is a commitment to marketing and presentation with window displays of particular importance. Joy Nicholson at Brook Street, has responsibility for Marketing and she has asked Xtracs to implement bespoke display packages for the windows of a number of the branches.

Xtracs Director, David Tuppin, commented “Our close working relationship with Brook Street has developed through the display package installations, which comprise cable and rod display items, light boxes and printed vinyl window graphics. We provide a one-stop service but it is extremely flexible. Elements can be tailored to fit in with the architecture of any window so we are able to maintain the same corporate look in different premises, wherever they are. This has worked particularly well for Brook Street and we have now gained preferred supplier status.”

“The window displays in about 30 branches have been up-graded so far and we intend to roll this out across the entire country,” Brook Street’s Joy Nicholson said. “Xtracs are excellent. It’s a very relationship driven organisation and they really take an interest in the work. What makes them particularly suited to helping us is that they are consultative. Each of our branches is different but they have come up with ideas and offered us options to get the best out of each location.” Xtracs is obviously right up Brook Street’s street!

For more information on cable and rod display systems visit:
www.window-displays.com

Tel: 01908 511740

email: sales@xtracs.com