UK’s largest independent cinema chain, Apollo Cinemas, screens a new EPoS solution from cinema sector specialists, J2 and Vista

May 2012: Locally-focused, independently-owned multiplex cinema chain, Apollo Cinemas, has turned to two companies that specialise in the cinema sector for a new EPoS solution on which to run its business. Apollo has now equipped each of its fourteen cinemas with a point-of-sale solution comprising PC-based touchscreen terminals from J2 Retail Systems running software from Vista Entertainment Solutions.

Between them the cinemas have forty points-of-sale, each a J2 615 terminal running Vista POS and enterprise management software, running ticketing and sales of food, drinks and confectionery.

Both J2 Retail Systems and Vista are known for their expertise and extensive installed base in the sector. The companies share many UK cinema clients, including Vue, Empire, Cineworld and Everyman, to whom they supply and support an integrated solution that they tailor to the needs of the cinema operator.

Explains Imtiaz Ullah, Head of IT at Apollo Cinemas: “We pride ourselves on being innovative when it comes to technology. We were the first fully digital circuit in the UK and use equipment such as Sony 4K Digital Cinema projection, Real D screens and Dolby Surround sound that produces a picture detail at the highest level the human eye can see.”

Continues Ullah: “We are equally demanding when it comes to the systems that run our commercial and customer-facing operations. Efficiency at point-of-sale is critical to keep queues down and customer service standards high. We were influenced by the credentials and experience that both J2 and Vista could offer in our industry. The performance and reliability that the J2 terminals give us is critical, as is the range of functionality at front-of-house and in the back-office that Vista provides to run our business.”

With 83 screens over 14 sites, Apollo Cinemas is the UK’s 6th largest operator in screen terms. The company’s vision is to be a local entertainment hub and to achieve this it is extending the range of its non-film screen performances to include concerts, sporting events, opera and ballet. It is also developing existing and new cinemas to include café-bars, lounge areas, gaming and Wi Fi.

Apollo Cinemas can be found nationwide, from Torbay in Devon to Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. London’s Piccadilly Circus is its flagship venue, and additional openings are planned this year in Brentwood and Bicester.