A TECHNOLOGY company is totting up the benefits of a new contract, after it was asked to supply electronic cash register systems to a national shoe retail chain.

Azurri Computer Systems, based on the Wingates Industrial Estate, has been awarded the contract to supply 430 Toshiba Dual Screen ST71 POS systems to Shoe Zone.

Shoe Zone is one of the major independent footwear retailers in Britain with 400 stores, employing 2,500 staff throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland and selling more than 16 million pairs of shoes per year.

Azurri Computer Systems has partnered up with Toshiba to supply the ST71 modular POS (point of sale) terminal, including installation and implementation across all 375 stores.

Alastair Petrie, Azurri Chief Executive, said: "We are very pleased to have been offered this opportunity to move one of our support customers to a new platform, and working with the Toshiba team we have made the planning of an aggressive rollout extremely painless."

Nigel Humphries, IT manager of Shoe Zone, said: "It was an easy decision for us to make. We had already moved our POS systems support to Azurri last year.

"We have been impressed with their customer focus, retail knowledge and support capabilities.

"This coupled with Toshiba's flexibility and quality products make a refreshing change."

This is the latest win in what has been a fast-moving success story for Azurri.

Formed in 1999 by a management buyout, the company was originally part of the Riva Group. The firm has, in the last two years, focussed on growth in the retail sector, and major support contracts have been won from high street names including Instore, Mk One and Motor World. Over the last six months, the company has trebled its work force to 50, and turnover is set to double this year to £7 million.

The management team were key players in growing Bolton-based Riva from a group with a £1 million turnover to a listed European operation with a £60 million turnover.

Mr Petrie said: "We have the same feeling about Azurri as we did in the early days of Riva. We have established a solid foundation with excellent customer references."