Privacy Policy

Who we are

Southern Retail Systems Limited is the controller responsible for the personal data described in this policy.

The information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

• Your name, job title and organisation.
• Your business or delivery address.
• Your email address and telephone number.
• Information included in an enquiry, quotation request or support request.
• Details of the products and services in which you are interested.
• Order, delivery, payment and transaction information.
• Records of correspondence and communications with you.
• Marketing preferences, including whether you have agreed to receive our newsletter.
• Technical information such as your IP address, browser type, device type, approximate location and how you use our website.
• Information received from customers, suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and other business partners.
• Publicly available business information, including information shown on company websites, professional directories and platforms such as LinkedIn.

We do not normally seek to collect special-category personal data, such as information about your health, ethnicity, religion or political opinions, through our website. Please do not provide this information unless it is necessary for us to deal with your request.

How we collect your information

We may collect personal data:

• Directly from you when you contact us, submit a website form, request a quotation, place an order, subscribe to our newsletter or communicate with our team.
• During the delivery, installation, support or maintenance of products and services.
• From the company or organisation for which you work.
• From manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and referral partners.
• From publicly available business sources.
• Automatically through cookies and similar technologies when you use our website.

How and why we use your information

We only use personal data when we have a lawful basis for doing so.

Where we rely on legitimate interests, we consider whether the processing is necessary and balance our interests against your rights and reasonable expectations.

Marketing communications

If you subscribe to our newsletter or otherwise agree to receive marketing communications, we may contact you about relevant products, services, events and business updates.

Where permitted by law, we may also send relevant business-to-business marketing communications to corporate contacts where we believe the information may be useful to their organisation. We will always provide a clear way to opt out.

You can stop receiving marketing communications at any time by:

• Using the unsubscribe link in a marketing email; or
• Contacting us at sales@southernretail.co.uk.

Opting out of marketing will not prevent us from sending necessary communications relating to an enquiry, order, contract or support request.

We may retain a minimal suppression record after you opt out so that we can respect your preference.

Cookies and website analytics

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to:

• Operate essential website features.
• Maintain website security.
• Remember your preferences.
• Understand how visitors use the website.
• Measure and improve website performance.
• Support embedded content or other third-party services.

Cookies that are strictly necessary may be used without consent. We will not place optional analytics, advertising or similar non-essential cookies unless you have given consent through our cookie controls.

You can accept, reject or change your cookie preferences through the cookie banner or settings available on our website. You can also manage cookies through your browser, although disabling essential cookies may affect how the website functions.

Further details about the cookies used on the website, their providers, purposes and duration should be provided in our Cookie Policy or cookie settings panel.

Who we share information with

Where necessary, we may share personal data with:

• Manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and delivery partners involved in providing the products or services you request.
• IT, website hosting, email, cloud storage, customer relationship management and technical-support providers.
• Payment, accounting, banking and professional-advisory providers.
• Marketing and communications service providers.
• Contractors working on our behalf.
• Regulators, law-enforcement bodies, courts and public authorities where disclosure is required or permitted by law.
• A purchaser, investor or adviser in connection with a proposed sale, merger, restructuring or transfer of our business or assets.

These organisations may act as processors working on our instructions or as independent controllers responsible for their own use of the information.

We do not sell your personal data.

International transfers

Some service providers or technology platforms may process personal data outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal data is transferred internationally, we take appropriate steps to protect it. These may include transferring information to a country recognised by the UK government as providing adequate protection, using approved contractual safeguards, or relying on another lawful transfer mechanism.

You may contact us if you would like further information about the safeguards relevant to your personal data.

How long we keep information

We keep personal data only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected, including legal, accounting and reporting requirements.

As a general guide:

• Enquiry and quotation records are normally kept for up to two years after the last meaningful contact.
• Customer, order, contract and financial records are normally kept for six years after the relevant transaction or the end of the customer relationship.
• Support and service records may be retained for the product’s support period and for a reasonable period afterwards.
• Marketing information is retained until you withdraw your consent, object to marketing or the information is no longer accurate or required.
• Website security and technical records are retained only for an appropriate operational and security period.

We may retain information for longer where required by law or where necessary to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim. Information that is no longer required will be securely deleted or anonymised.

How we protect your information

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

Access to personal data is limited to employees, contractors and service providers who need it for legitimate business purposes and who are subject to appropriate confidentiality and security obligations.

No method of transmitting or storing information is completely secure. However, we regularly review our procedures and take reasonable steps to reduce the risks associated with processing personal data.

Your data-protection rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:

• Request access to the personal data we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Ask us to delete your personal data.
• Ask us to restrict how we use your information.
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Object at any time to the use of your information for direct marketing.
• Receive certain information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.
• Ask us to transfer certain information to another organisation.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.

These rights are subject to legal conditions and exemptions. We may need to confirm your identity before dealing with a request. We normally respond within one month and do not usually charge a fee.

To exercise your rights, contact us at sales@southernretail.co.uk.

Automated decision-making

We do not use personal data to make solely automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning website visitors or business contacts.

Children’s information

Our website and services are intended for businesses and are not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children through the website.

If you believe that a child has provided personal data to us, please contact us so that we can investigate and, where appropriate, delete the information.

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to websites operated by manufacturers, partners or other third parties. We do not control those websites and are not responsible for their privacy practices.

We recommend reading the privacy policy of any external website you visit.

Complaints

Please contact us first if you have a concern about how we have handled your personal data. We will investigate and try to resolve the issue.

You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk

Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes to our website, services, business practices or legal obligations.

The current version will be published on this page, and the “Last updated” date at the top will show when it was most recently revised.