Meet the Team

Alan Jones - Technical Director

After leaving School, Alan while working at British Telecom got involved with personal computers back in the early days of computing for the masses. In 1978 he left to run his own retail business and in 1993 he returned to computing, working for MRS (Micro Retailer Systems) initially as a programmer, then ultimately as technical support manager; working alongside Ian Willis and David Powell. MRS was taken over in 2000 by Alphameric Retail (now Torex Retail) and 12 months later both Ian and Alan left to form Retail Accounts, which was rebranded in 2008 to its current name Touchretail. 

Ian Willis - Financial Director

Ian trained as a Chartered Accountant and has spent his entire career in a retail environment. In the mid 1970’s he joined the family business, which operated a group of convenience supermarkets under the Spar franchise where he implemented many of the electronic systems which today we take for granted. On the sale of the family company in the early 1990’s he continued to develop his expertise in retailing and accounting by offering software products and introducing them into a wide range of retail businesses. This has enabled Ian to establish an unrivalled knowledge of how ‘back office’ systems can help businesses to become more efficient and successful. 

Stuart Francis - Development Director

Stu started work in Cardiff for Fashion Support in the late 90’s. His main tasks were to update existing DOS based applications over to Windows and to support clients. Stu became a Director of Retail Software Ltd in 2004 (t/a Fashion Support) where he was project leader in developing Stock Control, EPOS and integrated web systems. Stu is responsible for many of the key technologies we currently use today and joined Touchretail as Director of Development in 2008 where his focus is primarily on application development, online systems and customer support.

David Powell - Sales Director

Having originally graduated in Textile Technology, and worked as an agent for fashion brands, David has always had an affinity with fashion retailers. In 1988 David formed Fashion Control Systems with Rick Francis (Stu’s father) which was one of the early pioneers of IT systems for fashion retailers, after which from the early 90’s he worked with Alan Jones and Ian Willis at MRS (Micro Retailer Systems) supplying solutions to Department stores, fashion retailers and convenience stores. After a 4-year spell operating a couple of off-licences, David re-united with Alan and Ian in 2007 to help move the business forwards with the exciting new technologies that have enabled Touchretail to be at the forefront of innovative retail solutions.