Addition of Lawson Merchandising Gives Company 360-Degree Solution for Retail
ST. PAUL, Minn., July 1, 2002 - Lawson Software Inc. (Nasdaq: LWSN) today announced the acquisition of certain assets of Armature Holdings Ltd., a leading provider of merchandising/category management and supply chain management solutions for retailers, consumer goods manufacturers and wholesalers. The assets acquired include all software applications, related trademarks and technologies. The acquisition price for the assets of the privately held company is 5 million pounds sterling and the sale is effective immediately.
Armature`s corporate office is in Leeds, U.K., and the company currently has 54 employees. The Armature product suite will be integrated with Lawson Solutions for Retail. The new solutions have been renamed Lawson Merchandising and are immediately available for purchase.
Armature`s software applications enhance Lawson`s value proposition to retailers by dramatically improving all activities associated with merchandising, including demand planning, promotions, pricing, supply chain management and category management. The acquisition also significantly improves Lawson`s retail industry competitiveness relative to retail-specific companies and traditional ERP software providers.
"With this acquisition, Lawson is redefining the scope of a comprehensive merchandising solution for the retail industry," said Jay Coughlan, Lawson president and chief executive officer. "Retailers are looking for ways to gain market share, increase profitability by improving their net margins and achieve operational excellence. Lawson Merchandising, combined with other Lawson applications, really addresses those primary needs. In fact, we believe we now have a whole retail solution that`s unmatched in the industry."
According to Gartner Dataquest, worldwide retail software spending was approximately $3.9 billion in 2001 and is forecast to increase to $6.4 billion by 2005. (Gartner Dataquest, "Market Forecast: Retail and Wholesale Industry, 2000-2005," May 10, 2002).
"Vendors recognize that while retail has had a legacy of conservative technology adoption, this is rapidly changing. Integrated multichannel retailing requires a complete technology makeover for most retailers. The integration of the online channel with brick-and-mortar stores, catalogs, kiosks and eventually wireless requires a sophisticated IT strategy and the systems to implement it." (Gartner, "Trends in the Global Retailing Market, 2002," April 10, 2002).
Lawson Merchandising includes both category management/merchandising and supply chain solutions. Merchandising functionality includes assortment management, promotion planning, category planning, strategic pricing and performance monitoring. Supply chain functionality includes replenishment and store logistics.
According to Retail Info Systems (RIS) News` Leaderboard 2001 study of the 50 top software companies serving retail, Lawson is the leading enterprise software provider to the retail industry. Lawson`s industry-focused software solutions enable retailers to easily integrate the systems they use to run and grow their businesses. These solutions provide financial information and analysis needed to increase profit margins, and solutions to manage inventory flow and the employee "hire to retire" process. Lawson customers include 23 of the top 100 restaurant chains, 20 of the top 100 specialty chains, eight of the top 20 apparel retailers, seven of the top 25 grocery chains and five of the top 10 U.S.-based retailers.
About Lawson Software
Lawson Software provides mission-critical enterprise software solutions that help services organizations in the healthcare, professional services, financial services, retail, public sector and other strategic markets achieve competitive advantage. Lawson`s proven Internet solutions deliver unprecedented visibility to drive operational excellence in services automation, human resources, financials, procurement, distribution and enterprise performance management. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., Lawson has offices and affiliates serving North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Additional information about Lawson is available at www.lawson.com.
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For further information contact:
Terry Blake
Director of Corporate Communications
PH: 651-767-4766
Tim Westermeyer
Weber Shandwick
Ph: 952-346-6347
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