Arnotts Department Stores Selects Retek to Underpin Expansion and Promote Best Practices

Today Retek Inc. (NASDAQ: RETK) announced that Arnotts, Irelands largest department store, has selected Retek merchandising, supply chain management and planning solutions to support the retailers plans to expand by opening new stores.

Selecting Retek is a key step in our growth strategy, says Paul Dickson, Director of Information Systems at Arnotts. Retek has the best retail functionality, scalability, integration, and overall business processes. The pre-packaged solution and its integrated approach fit well with our business.

The department store sought to replace its legacy systems and began its selection process for a new solution in June 2003. Originally, as a mid-size retailer, Arnotts looked at point solution vendors. However, its strategic objectives changed in 2004, and the retailer realized that point solutions would not scale or integrate well across the business as the company grew. To efficiently accommodate future growth and plans for additional stores, Arnotts needed a scalable platform that would quickly and easily integrate with existing systems and future implementations. In October 2004, the retailer began talking to Retek and was impressed by its rich functionality for mid-size retailers.

Clearly, Retek is the best retail enterprise resource planning solution available in the marketplace for retailers keen to implement best practices while controlling the costs, complexity and risks of implementing new systems, Dickson adds. Arnotts needed a system that would facilitate the implementation of leading-edge, best-practice retail processes across our entire business landscape. In particular, we were impressed with the fully integrated merchandising and supply chain solutions. Their wealth of retail functionality combined with a long pedigree in department store retailing made Retek an obvious choice.

Arnotts is a truly dynamic and innovative retailer, says Tarik Taman, General Manager for EMEA at Retek. Arnotts will capitalise on our strengths supporting leading department stores, such as Galleries Lafayette, Selfridges, Nordstrom and Federated Department Stores. Arnotts embraces the customer-centric approach to retailing. Retek will support its agile supply chain network, which will seamlessly extend from the customer to the supplier. This will allow the retailer to meet expectations and increase satisfaction by providing customers with the items they want, when they want them.