ARLINGTON, VA -- The Tri-State Automatic Merchandising Council reports that Jim Brinton of Evergreen Vending (Tukwila, WA) and Vending Equipment Center (Kent, WA) will be a featured speaker at the association's upcoming 2011 conference and membership meeting. The event is set for Caesars Atlantic City Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ, on June 16 and 17.
Brinton is a veteran operator who served as chairman of the National Automatic Merchandising Association in 2008-2009. He is also president of the Unified Strategies Group (Arlington Height, IL), a national purchasing cooperative. He will speak about self-checkout systems during the council's annual meeting, which is scheduled from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 16.
Brinton has installed 75 new Avanti Markets unattended self-checkout micro-stores. The self-service shops can accommodate a wide variety of merchandise, read product barcodes on checkout and allow patrons to pay with a major credit card or an Avanti keytag stored-value instrument.
Brinton, who now heads Avanti Markets Northwest, regards the system as a game-changer for the full-line vending business. He says the system has increased sales from 50% to 125% in test sites suitable for its deployment. It's designed to eliminate problems with currency validation systems and the hazards of collecting and transporting cash. Web-based remote inventory management in real time tightens control and minimizes out-of-stocks. It also supports promotions and reward programs.
The Tri-State Automatic Merchandising Council, formed by combining the Pennsylvania Automatic Merchandising Council and the Automatic Merchandising Council of New Jersey, is a state council of the National Automatic Merchandising Association. It represents the vending industry in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
