Animal invests US$1.6 million with Geac

Animal, one of the UKs fastest growing action sports brands, has purchased an integrated, end-to-end software solution from Geac (TSX: GAC, NASDAQ: GEAC) to help support its growing retail business and more effectively manage its increasingly complex supply chain. The US$1.6 million order incorporates a range of integrated Geac products to cover Animals entire business process, from design to cash collection at point-of-sale. The solution includes Geac System21 Aurora enterprise resource planning (ERP) software; Quest PLM (product lifecycle management) software for collaborative design and development; SellIT Customer Relationship Management (CRM); and Performance Analyser for operational performance management. Quest PLM and SellIT come from RunTime, Geacs specialist division serving the apparel and footwear industry. Third-party products will also be provided as part of the integrated solution, including the WinTill retail suite and Indigo Softwares fully interactive warehousing software. The implementation commenced in May and is expected to be completed in January 2006.

Animal started operations in 1987 with the production of sports watches for surfers. Now the Animal range incorporates clothing, watches, eyewear, footwear, luggage and accessories, and is currently sold through Animals own branded stores and other retail outlets such as Free Spirit. Animals decision to buy the Geac solution was inspired by its aggressive growth programme, which is expected to see an increase from five to 15 Animal-owned and branded stores by the end of 2006.

Richard Tape, General Manager for Animal, said:

Although we evaluated a range of ERP and retail software specialists, Geac was the only supplier able to provide us with a complete 'end-to-end' solution that is tightly integrated. The product design and development software is expected to substantially reduce our product time to market. Well use this PLM software to manage product concept, design, production, distribution and logistics worldwide.

Another major reason Animal chose the Geac solution was the tight integration between the back office operational systems and WinTills specialist retail suite for cash management at point-of-sale.

Richard Smith, VP of Operations for Geac System21 Aurora, said:

This sale demonstrates the compelling synergies that exist across various Geac product lines, and illustrates the value we can deliver to customers who seek an integrated solution. Currently more than 400 of the worlds leading apparel companies use Geac software to manage their operations. Animal joins our already impressive list of global apparel customers, including other well- known brands such as Rip Curl, Tommy Hilfiger, Barbour and VF Europe. Brand companies like Animal have a huge need to co-ordinate their global design, manufacturing and supply chain operations; Geacs end-to-end solution is proving to be a unique offering -- and in many cases, a real winner.