Hobbycraft

Hobbycraft is the UK’s largest arts and crafts retailer, with over 100 stores nationwide.

Since its founding in 1995, the business has grown rapidly, reaching 50+ stores by 2009. To support this expansion, Hobbycraft implemented Microsoft Dynamics NAV alongside LS Retail’s management system, working with a Microsoft Partner to streamline operations.

By early 2020, Hobbycraft’s IT team recognised that their existing support Partner was falling short. Service quality wasn’t meeting expectations, and while the team worked to resolve issues, they were also weighing up the risks of switching Partners. Then, unexpectedly, their Partner went into administration.

Matt Louth, IT Director at Hobbycraft, recalls, “In early 2020, it was clear that our Partner was not meeting our expectations in terms of service quality, but changing Partners is never an easy decision to make or one that we would take lightly. We were working with them to try and resolve the issues and giving ourselves time to think about making a change.”

The decision was made for them. And within minutes of hearing the news, Matt received a call from Node4 (formerly TNP).

Since the switch, we have resolved a number of long-standing support issues that had previously caused delays and frustration.

Matt highlights the contribution of Hugo Resende, one of our NAV/BC Developers “He’s made a huge difference and is a cut above what we were used to.”

Hugo reflects, “Working with Hobbycraft is amazing – they know their stuff and trust us to do our jobs. We have confidence in each other.”

That mutual trust has laid the foundation for a strong working relationship. Matt says, “Open and effective communication has made, and will continue to make, our relationship with TNP. We’re looking forward to working with them in the future.”

Looking ahead, Hobbycraft plans to open at least five new stores and launch a new ecommerce platform and we will be there to support every step.