Arrow Factory Stores Collar Retail Solution Based on Apropos and Informix.

SEATTLE and MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 1999--

Complete Suite of Informix-Based Apropos Systems to

Improve POS, Back Office Operations for Well-Known

Shirt Manufacturer and Retailer

Apropos Retail Management Systems Inc., the leading provider of software for chain retail management for small and mid-size chain retailers, and Informix(R) Corporation (Nasdaq:IFMX), the technology leader in enterprise database-powered solutions, today announced that the complete suite of Informix-based Apropos retail systems has been selected and is currently being deployed by Arrow Factory Stores, the well-known shirt manufacturer and subsidiary of the Cluett American Group.

Arrow will use the Informix-based Apropos solution to improve in-store and back office operations at its 28 store locations in the United States and Canada, as well as its corporate headquarters in Atlanta. To date, Arrow's 25 United States stores and its Atlanta headquarters are up and running on Apropos, and the company's three Canadian stores will be in production by the end of July.

"With Informix and Apropos, we can finally manage the data, whereas the data managed us in our previous system," said Sam Moore, retail systems manager for Arrow.

"Now, we can take advantage of the Informix relational database that underpins Apropos to see the data in any way we want. For example, we can look at sales for anything -- any region, any store, any range of dates, any part of the merchandise hierarchy -- it's fantastic. We expect Apropos to deliver significant bottom line benefits, including cost savings associated with faster information delivery, as well as increased revenues due to better decision making."

Informix and Apropos Hit Retail Target at Arrow

Developed with Informix Dynamic 4GL, the Apropos suite serves as the foundation for in-store and back office operations for Arrow. The company uses Apropos Store Manager to handle all in-store operations, including point-of-sale, merchandise transfers, physical inventory, in-store analysis, customer capture and profiling, store merchandise receiving, and markdowns, and markdown confirmations.

Each of Arrow's stores will run Apropos Store Manager in conjunction with an Informix database running on an SCO OpenServer-based Compaq server.

Meanwhile, Arrow uses Apropos Corporate System and Apropos3 Data Warehouse to automate and expedite back office operations and decision making at its Atlanta headquarters. Running Informix Dynamic Server(TM) on a multiprocessor Compaq server under SCO OpenServer, Apropos Corporate System handles Arrow's inventory control, purchasing, sales analysis, mail order processing, distribution center management, merchandise management, loss prevention and security, and wholesale order processing.

Based on Informix MetaCube(R) ROLAP Option, Apropos3 Data Warehouse brings an entirely new level of data analysis capabilities to Arrow, including the ability of managers, buyers, planners, and executives to ask free-form questions of the Apropos3 Data Warehouse and get answers quickly, accurately, and reliably. The Apropos3 Data Warehouse at Arrow runs on Informix Dynamic Server via a Windows NT-based server from Hewlett-Packard.

To tie together Arrow's stores and corporate office, the company uses Apropos Intranet to instantly disseminate reports, graphs, and other data from its Apropos Retail Management System to their corporate employees, stores, vendors, and customers.

"We looked at just about every available Unix-based retail solution on the market," said Moore. "No other system could rival the power and elegance of the Informix/Apropos solution, which gives us one-stop shopping from point-of-sale to decision support. That's why we selected the Apropos Retail Management System for our mission-critical business operations."

Further explained Kent McNall, president of Apropos, "We're delighted that Arrow selected our Informix-based solution. Emerging as the winner in Arrows' exhaustive evaluation, which pitted us against Oracle and others, validates all the effort we've put into tightly integrating Informix technologies with Apropos to make it a robust, comprehensive solution for small and mid-size chain retailers."

According to Kenneth Leung, global retail industry manager for Informix, "Since 1989, Informix and Apropos have worked hand-in-hand to deliver high performance, easy-to-use retail management solutions that address a retailer's needs in the stores and the back office. By integrating our leading-edge database, relational OLAP, and programming language technologies into its retail solutions, Apropos has created an unparalleled value proposition for Arrow."

About Informix

Informix Corporation, based in Menlo Park, provides innovative database products that assist the world's major corporations to attain competitive advantage. Informix is widely recognized as the technology leader for corporate computing environments ranging from small workgroups to very large parallel processing applications.

Informix's database server, application development tools, superior customer service, and strong partnerships enable the company to be at the forefront of major information technology solution areas including data warehousing, high performance OLTP, and Web/e-commerce. For more information, contact the sales office nearest you or visit the Web site at www.informix.com.

About Apropos Retail Management Systems

Founded in 1989, Apropos Retail Management Systems has become the leading supplier of advanced technology retail software and system solutions to the growing market of small to mid-size chains, from 5 to 250+ store locations. Apropos provides complete software systems for growing chain retailers who want to be more profitable and productive.

Apropos is a suite of retail applications built on the advanced SQL database environment. Apropos provides a complete, one-stop solution from POS to Back Office to Accounting and Data Warehousing -- all built on the most advanced technology, and tied together with full professional services.

Note to Editors: The following are trademarks of Informix Corporation or its affiliates, one or more of which may be registered in the U.S. or other jurisdictions: Informix(R), Informix Dynamic Server(TM) and MetaCube(R).

In the product name "Apropos3" noted in this news release, the "3" is superscript.

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