DSI Executive Challenges Brands to Better Navigate the Tech Environment; Cites Newfound Religion of ''In-Store'' Impacting the Retail Landscape.

NEW YORK -- The founder of The DSI Group, a leader in the design, development and manufacture of displays and digital signage, challenged brands and brand managers to truly understand the new technology evolving in today's retail environment, and harness it to better navigate this "Brave New World".

Benjamin S. Weshler, DSI's president and chief executive officer, told the HBA Health & Beauty America show concluding at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center here today, that the industry has assumed an "Alice in Wonderland" quality with digital signage systems, self-checkout kiosks, plasma screens and other accoutrements, which have transformed the retail landscape.

"The real challenge," he argued at a panel on creative displays and new technology, "is how to apply these technologies to engage, inform and educate consumers at retail."

Although in-store merchandising has grown over the past 40 years with the proliferation of brands, Mr. Weshler said it never got the formal recognition it deserved as an essential part of the media mix, citing two reasons for this predicament - it couldn't be measured and it wasn't as sexy as network TV.

"With the advent of cable television, TIVO, video games and the Internet, the time a consumer now spends in front of a TV set has greatly diminished. And, now, the media is starting to recognize this newfound religion of 'in-store', which The Wall Street Journal extolled in a front-page article (September 21). In it, Procter & Gamble identified P-O-P (point-of-purchase) as the 'first moment of truth'.

"This sea change underscores that we now dealing with a consumer that is more knowledgeable, more demanding and more savvy in their product choices and, certainly more pressed for time."

Mr. Weshler, who holds 15 patents and founded DSI in 1975, emphasized that the role of P-O-P fixtures and displays in selling merchandise is indisputable, citing statistics from a recent Point-of-Purchase Advertising Institute study.

"Our challenge as marketers and developers of in-store solutions is to work together in this new climate to create an environment that seizes 'best practices' to meet consumer and retailer needs and help fulfill product and brand objectives."

About The DSI Group

Founded in 1975 as Display Systems, Inc., the company is a leader in the design, development and manufacture of displays and fixtures for retail merchandising environments. The company maintains a 100,000 square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility in Maspeth, Queens, slightly to the east of midtown Manhattan, and a design, engineering and manufacturing operation in Taipei, Taiwan. Altogether, DSI Group has over 165 employees. Clients served have included Kellogg's, L'Oreal, Kmart, Target, Timex, Swatch, Revlon, Gillette, Philips, Reebok, Coca Cola, Champion, Healthtex and Calvin Klein, to cite a few. Additional information may be found at www.thedsigroup.net.