Claritas Extends Longstanding Contract With Levi Strauss & Co.; Prominent Clothier Utilizes MicroVision Segmentation System And Data Integration Capability of iMARK Online.

Business Editors

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 26, 2001

Claritas Inc., the premier provider of intelligent marketing information and target marketing services, today announced it has extended its agreement with longtime client, Levi Strauss & Co., to provide customer segmentation and targeting services.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Commenting on the extension, Joseph Weber, Ph.D., director of business information development for Levi Strauss & Co. said, "One of the benefits of using the iMARK Online (IOL) system is it allows us to integrate our proprietary data with Claritas' demographic, business and psychographic information, enabling Levi Strauss & Co. to identify demand for our products and pinpoint opportunities that may exist for our retailers within specified trade areas."

And, coupled with the IOL capability, the MicroVision segmentation system allows Levi to determine consumer demand, he added.

Claritas Senior Vice President of Sales, Matt O'Grady, said the agreement reaffirms the bottom line effectiveness of quality market research.

"For several years Claritas has provided Levi with the most accurate and comprehensive market research data, which, by all accounts, has played an integral role in helping this industry giant maintain its competitive edge. Accordingly, we are very heartened to have the opportunity to extend our successful partnership," O'Grady said.

He explained that Levi representatives also tap into IOL for such information as:

-- Reports of shipment volume

-- Levi retail locations

-- Potential retail locations, and

-- Competitor locations.

MicroVision, which is annually updated, classifies every U.S. household into one of 95 unique market segments based on demographic, lifestyle, socioeconomic and behavior characteristics of households within a ZIP+4 geography.

IOL combines Claritas' powerful demographic databases over the Internet with a client's proprietary information to deliver fast access to actionable information -- anytime, anywhere. IOL users can save various templates, allowing quick access to pre-determined map and report layouts. They can also interact with a presentation-quality map from the outset with the ability to overlay multiple thematic views of their data.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world's leading branded apparel companies, marketing its brands in more than 80 countries worldwide. The company designs and markets jeans and jeans-related pants, casual and dress pants, shirts, jackets and related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi's(R), Dockers(R) and Slates(R) brands.

About Claritas

Based in San Diego, Claritas Inc. is regarded as the premier worldwide provider of precision marketing solutions, developed, in part, through intricate customer segmentation systems and other such marketing tools. Along with MicroVision, its PRIZM system, introduced in 1974, is widely acclaimed for identifying, locating and targeting customers and best prospects. Claritas is a division of VNU Marketing Information Inc. (VNU MI Inc.), an established leader in providing a wide variety of industries with innovative precision-marketing solutions including geodemographic information and qualitative audience research. VNU MI Inc. is a subsidiary of VNU Inc., which also includes Nielsen Media Research, Bill Communications, BPI Communications, SRDS, VNU eMedia, and VNU Expositions.