Mr. W Fireworks' seasonal sales rocket with Verizon Wireless Business Internet

For more than 60 years, families across Texas and New Mexico have relied on Mr. W Fireworks for the sparklers, aerials and firecrackers they need to celebrate Independence Day and New Year's Eve with a bang. What began in 1963 as a roadside stand just outside San Antonio, Texas, is now a major fireworks retailer, with deep roots in the community.

Today, this family-owned business is managed by Vice Presidents Kelley and Julio Martinez. Kelley is the granddaughter of founder W.A. Wildman, while Julio joined Mr. W Fireworks after retiring from the U.S. Air Force. As a veteran with a highly technical background, Julio was determined to bring fresh structure and innovation to the company.

"When you're in the military, there's tons of structure, so it's natural to apply that to the company," Julio Martinez said. "Kelley's parents ran the business in a way that made sense for the time. But retail expectations have changed, and we knew the business had to evolve, too."

A short sales window with slow transactions dampened sales

Due to local regulations, Mr. W Fireworks is only allowed to sell its products for 10 days before the Independence Day and New Year's holidays. This means Mr. W Fireworks needs to maximize every second of its limited sales time at its more than 150 indoor stores.

Every minute of downtime during those short sales windows meant long lines, lost revenue and frustrated customers. To address that challenge, Julio Martinez set out to modernize the technology behind the company's point-of-sale (POS) systems to speed up transactions. Just as important, the Martinez family wanted to make it simple for store operators to get up and running without stress.

"The struggle of being a seasonal business is that you come back to open a store and find phone lines destroyed from being chewed up or from weather damage. We had to do so much work beforehand just to make sure our technology was operational," Julio Martinez said. " Not only that, but we were paying for the service year-round only to use it for 20 days a year. It just didn't make sense."



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Every register can now process payments almost instantly. It gets people through lines faster and out the door.

Julio Martinez, Vice President, Mr. W Fireworks

High-speed wireless business internet powers retail connectivity

With locations spread far and wide at stores and roadside stands outside city limits, Mr. W Fireworks needed a connectivity solution that could work virtually anywhere. To provide connectivity for operators, Julio Martinez partnered with Verizon to deploy Wireless Business Internet at its locations. Fixed wireless access helped provide connectivity in a variety of locations, while the plug-and-play setup was ideal for a business that needs to ramp up quickly for two key sales periods.

"Because of regulations, we're usually outside city limits where the fiber just isn't there," Kelley Martinez said. "Having access to technology in those areas has been a game changer. We were finally able to put a solution in place where before we had limited options."

Verizon's team partnered with Mr. W Fireworks' technology vendor to implement 5G Business Internet for a test group of stores. The response was immediate.

"The operators in that market said it worked great, which gave us the confidence to roll it out more widely," Julio Martinez said. "Operators from different stores would talk, and in the stores where we didn't have Verizon yet, operators started begging for it. They wanted that advantage, too."

Mr. W Fireworks has now deployed high-speed 5G connectivity to nearly half of its retail locations and LTE Business Internet to the other half,  with plans to expand after each holiday sales cycle.

Having access to this kind of technology in those areas has been a game changer. We were finally able to put a solution in place where before we had no other options.

Kelley Martinez, Vice President, Mr. W Fireworks

Mr. W Fireworks lights up with a faster connection to growth

With Verizon powering its POS terminals, checkout speeds at Mr. W Fireworks have improved dramatically. Instead of a single credit card reader per store, every terminal is now equipped for transactions.

"Before, we could only run one credit card reader, so customers often had to wait," Julio Martinez said. "Every register can now process payments quickly. It gets people through lines faster and out the door, so they can get to their picnic or party sooner."

The reliability of  Wireless Business Internet also helps Mr. W Fireworks provide a smooth sales experience for operators, many of whom aren't technology experts.

"It's less stressful," Kelley Martinez said. "They don't have to learn something new every season. The system is intuitive, which increases their confidence."

Access to near real-time sales and inventory data enabled by wireless internet connectivity has also helped transform how Mr. W Fireworks manages demand. Rather than wait for an operator to call in an order, the logistics teams can proactively send the right products at the right time to keep shelves stocked.

"Our operators are busy, so it's easy to procrastinate calling in an order until they're out of stock. Now, we can see when someone needs stock and send it before they run out," Julio Martinez said.

By modernizing operations, Mr. W Fireworks is able to build on its legacy, keep customers happy and fulfill its mission to support deserving organizations and families.

"We operate outside city limits, but having this technology helps provide a city-like retail experience," Julio Martinez said. "It might be a little stand on the side of the road, but with Verizon as a partner, it now feels like the same shopping experience people are used to."


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