Retail Pro New Suite of Data Warehousing Tools Premiers at NRF 99; Windows Based 32-bit Retail Data Warehouse at the Heart of System.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 1999--When the National Retail Federation's (NRF) Expo opens today at the Jacob Javits Convention Center a broad spectrum of information technology will be shown to retail executives.

One popular software application they will see is Retail Pro(R), with its new Retail Data Warehouse (RDW) and related data mining tools.

"RDW frees the retailer from the common ailment of information overload," said Tim Smyth, director for enterprise systems at Retail Technologies International. "These new tools provide information about emerging trends in a concise, crystal clear manner. This lets retailers pivot and drill down to the lowest level of detail needed, when they need the information. Further, we are offering this as an extremely scalable and affordable turnkey solution for smaller retailers as well as large chains."

The ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) compliant Retail Data Warehouse is at the heart of this innovation. RDW stores the data on every aspect of the retail business. It uses an embedded, high performance database engine that requires zero administration -- freeing the retail establishment from the requirement for Data Base Administrators. Future versions of RDW will be available in both Microsoft SQL and Oracle database platforms.

Flash Query Gives Instant Multimedia Analysis

Flash Query is a multimedia analyzer that increases the value of a retailer's entire system by allowing them to quickly view a current analysis of any product in inventory and see a photographic image and full motion video clip about the product. Additionally, it instantly provides the digested sales history, recent and long-term, for any merchandise on record.

Key statistical information is calculated "on the fly" for any item. Long searches and cumbersome reports are eliminated as the numbers for sell-through, days of supply, turn, and GMROI for a selected period appear on the screen. The module also converts statistical information into colorful graphs - linear, bar or pie charts and it exports information onto an Excel spreadsheet. Any of the graphs, spreadsheets or visuals can be sent to other persons via e-mail.

Retailers using Flash Query know instantly what to re-order, what to mark down, what to transfer, what to buy, and what to return. It is the key to making decisions fast, making them now, and making them right.

Decision Support System is Fast and Powerful

Retail Pro's Decision Support System 2.0 is a state-of-the-art data mining module. It is a multi-dimensional database, meaning that you can view data from many different angles at the same time. This occurs in a fraction of the time that it takes to process ordinary reports. It can display values (dollars, units, percents, turn rate, etc.) by various dimensions including Store, Region, Day, Month, Quarter, Year, Vendor, Department, Class, Style, Size, Color, Season, and many others. In DSS 2.0 other dimensions can be launched such as Customers and crucial marketing information on advertising campaigns, demographics etc.

Another component of this module is the ability to pivot. This allows users to switch the hierarchy of how the data is viewed. For example, assume you are looking at the sales of each department within a vendor or vendors. With a drag of the mouse you can pivot to see the sales of every vendor within a department or departments.

Among the key features of Retail Pro DSS 2.0 are the ability to:

-- Drill down and pivot to any slice of data at any time

-- Forecast and monitor selected statistics

-- Rank by any value instantly on-line

-- Alert users to problem areas

Custom Analysis

In this latest version of Retail Pro any open reporting tool, like Crystal Reports(R), can be used to customize standard reporting based on the retailer's unique requirements. While these reports can be generated directly from RDW, Custom Analysis simplifies this process using industry standard statistics, groupings, and time periods. By means of on-line analytical processing the summarized details stored in Custom Analysis are quickly brought to view.

"The real power of RDW and these data mining tools is that they provide retailers with tools to identify trends far ahead of the competition. Until now this was something that only the biggest retailers could afford," concluded Smyth.

Retail Pro is a comprehensive point-of-sale and inventory control software developed by Retail Technologies International (RTI) in 1986. Surpassing the standards set for customer satisfaction in a study conducted by the National Retail Federation, Retail Pro is a cost-effective solution for retailers ranging from small, single stores to large, multi-store environments. It is currently being used worldwide by more than 5,000 businesses including retail giants Calvin Klein Europe, Christian Dior, Hugo Boss, Louis Vuitton and United Colors of Benetton.

Retail Technologies International, Inc. is an international company that develops and distributes Retail Pro point-of-sale and inventory-control software for the management of retail specialty stores and chains. Based in Carmichael, Calif., it maintains quality control over an international support network that provides service and support to more than 15,000 retail sites in 49 countries worldwide.

For more information on Retail Pro, contact RTI at 4800 Manzanita Avenue, Carmichael, CA 95608. Phone [phone]. Fax [phone]. Or, visit RTI's Web site at http://www.retailpro.com