RIS Executive News Brief - April 18, 2006

4/18/2006

Hallmark Signs Massive POS and Service Contract
Hallmark Cards, retailer of cards that are sold under brand names such as Hallmark, Shoebox and Ambassador in U.S. retail stores, will roll out a point-of sale (POS) implementation of 10,000 Fujitsu TeamPoS terminals starting in July 2006.
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Macys.com Gains Marketing and Customer Insight
Macys.com, retailer of fashion and affordable luxury items, gains marketing and customer insight by using SSA Global's Outbound Marketing.
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Kroger Installs Self-Service DVD Rental Kiosks
Kroger, one of the nation's largest retail grocery chains, installs TNR Entertainment self-service DVD rental kiosks in an additional 84 locations throughout the Dallas/metropolitan area.
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Harris Teeter Adds Biometric ID for Shoppers
Harris Teeter, a Wilmington, North Carolina-based grocery store chain, adopts biometric technology in its stores located in Wilmington to reduce the amount of time shoppers spend in checkout lines.
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Timex Adds Amazon Services to Web Site
Timex, worldwide retailer of watches, is offering new online capabilities to increase control over their brand, customer experience and their online business.
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Dell Introduces Customizable POS
Dell announces a customizable point-of-sale (POS) configurator, which guides customers through all available options for retail systems, peripherals and services prior to making a purchase decision.
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Lawson Develops a Strategic Sourcing Application
Lawson's Strategic Sourcing is designed to create more collaborative relationships with suppliers. The software provides secure, 24/7 access that allows suppliers to manage opportunities and processes in real time.
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TradeStone Upgrades Global Sourcing Product
TradeStone Software, a supplier domestic and international sourcing systems, releases TradeStone for Trading and Product Development.
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Industry Events
May 21 - 24 Retail Systems 2006
Produced by Retail Systems Alert Group, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. For more information: www.retailsystems.com

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Industry White Papers
Transforming Legacy Systems: What Retailers Need to Know to Pick the Right Path

Retailers large and small are realizing that many of their legacy IT systems, while workable, are inadequate to support the fast-changing needs of today's marketplace. In fact, such systems may actually be a drain on resources, due to rising maintenance costs and the need to maintain out-of-date tools and skill sets. Transforming legacy systems has become a high priority in many retail organizations, with retailers seeking the best ways to gain new functionality along with stability and scalability---all while protecting razor thin profit margins. To learn more about how your retail organization can benefit from legacy transformation initiatives, download Transforming Legacy Systems: What Retailers Need to Know to Pick the Right Path, an executive whitepaper brought to you by RIS News and Cognizant.

Executive Intelligence
Build or Buy: what is the best option for creating a responsive master data foundation?
By Venkata K Velugubanti and Abhijit V Upadhye, Infosys
Retailers and CPG companies have realized the need for building a robust master data foundation before embarking on any other strategic organizational and collaboration initiatives. Typical components of a master data management system include establishing a master repository, electronic exchange of information with trading partners through external synchronization, internal synchronization of master data across the enterprise, role clarity on data ownership and streamlined master data lifecycle processes supported by workflows. It is also recommended that the master data repository should not be embedded in any ERP system, thereby ensuring that both can be upgraded, modified independently.

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Tempur-Pedic Improves Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Effectiveness
Tempur-Pedic International Inc. is now live on the Hyperion Compliance Management Dashboard to assist with its ongoing Sarbanes-Oxley activities.
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Cole Haan Japan Manages Global Operations Locally
Cole Haan Japan, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cole Haan, rolls out Jesta's Vision Merchandising solution across all of Cole Haan Japan's retail stores.
[FULL STORY]

WD-40 Smoothes Out Financial and Sales Reporting
WD-40, a global name in household products, deploys QlikView, QlikTech's business analysis application, to simplify and improve financial and sales reporting in real time. After deploying QlikView, WD-40 immediately experienced increased productivity and gained access to invaluable company information that previously was inaccessible. Through the use of QlikView, WD-40 replaced weekly hard copy ERP reports and eased demands of the IT department.
[FULL STORY]

NCR Acquires IDVelocity
NCR, a provider of end-to-end RFID solutions, acquires the assets of IDVelocity, a supplier of RFID infrastructure and process management software.
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Global Payments Announces Payment Processing Deal with ACH Direct
Global Payments, a leader in payment processing services, announces an agreement with ACH Direct to provide front-end credit card authorization and back-end settlement for MasterCard and Visa transactions.
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VeriFone Acquires Lipman
VeriFone acquires Lipman, the Israel-based provider of electronic payment systems. Following the acquisition, VeriFone will become the largest global provider of electronic payment solutions and services.
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Circuit City Posts Fourth Quarter Growth
Circuit City reports that net sales grew 12.8 percent, driven by a comparable store sales gain of 11.6 percent. Sales growth was led by a triple-digit comparable store sales increase for advanced technology televisions.
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Ann Taylor Announces Strong March 2006 Results
Ann Taylor announces that total net sales for the five-week period ending April 1, 2006 increased 10.5 percent to $212.5 million over total net sales of $192.3 million for the five-week period ending April 2, 2005.
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Bebe Stores Release Upbeat March 2006 Results
Bebe stores report retail sales of $55.8 million for the five-week period ending April 1, 2006, an increase of 12.3 percent compared to sales of $49.7 million for the five-week period ending April 2, 2005.
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Tandy Leather Factory Reports a 15 Percent Sales Increase
Tandy Leather Factory sales for the month of March 2006 were $5.3 million, an increase of 15 percent from $4.6 million last year.
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