LAKE FOREST, Calif. and NEW YORK, New York—May 22, 2006— Vue Technology, the leading provider of item level RFID solutions, and Pricer AB, the leading supplier of electronic display and information systems, today announced that they have collaborated with IBM to provide retailers with a breakthrough solution for RFID enabled shelf edge management. The new solution leverages real time item level data collected via RFID to expand the use of electronic shelf labels (ESLs) beyond static price and stock displays. The new innovation will be on display in IBM’s booth at the Retail Systems 2006 Conference & Exposition, May 22-24.
The shelf-edge management solution enables retailers to consistently deliver the right item level inventory information to their store associates and customers; and for suppliers it is an opportunity to ensure that their new products are not sitting in the store back room. Through the integration of Vue Technology’s TrueVUE RFID Platform, Pricer’s integrated ESL solution, and IBM’s Store Integration Framework, retailers can now cost effectively deploy a seamless solution for item-level inventory tracking and shelf-level management. Displaying critical retail store information directly at the shelf edge enhances the overall customer experience while reducing out-of-stocks and increasing sales.
“Together with Pricer and IBM we are offering retailers the unprecedented ability to ensure that the right product is in the right place at the right price,” said Robert Locke, CEO of Vue Technology. “This is a groundbreaking concept in the retail world that would not be possible and certainly not scaleable without our RF networking technology and the latest retail innovations from IBM and Pricer.”
With critical item level retail information now available at the shelf edge, through the integration of RFID and ESL technology via IBM’s Store Integration Framework, sales associates can quickly and efficiently identify exact inventory needs and expedite restocking while business operations staff can remotely monitor inventory levels across stores and generate critical inventory alerts. At the same time, the TrueVUE RFID Platform provides visibility for the IT operations staff to remotely monitor and maintain the RFID network.
“With this partnership, we are ushering in the future of retail technology,” said Craig Ibsen, president, Pricer, Inc. “For years industry professionals have wondered what the store of the future would look like. By combining the innovative technologies of Pricer, Vue and IBM into the industry’s most effective and affordable item-level RFID solution, we now have the answer and it is available today.”
About Pricer AB
Pricer, founded in 1991 in Sweden, has a leading position as a supplier of electronic display and information systems to the retail industry. Pricer offers electronic information systems which significantly improve customer profitability and productivity. With the largest product range on the market, Pricer’s ESL systems are installed in more than 1 200 stores in three continents. Customers include the second largest retail chain in the world and some of the largest retail chains in Europe, Japan and the USA. Pricer, in co-operation with its partners, offers a totally integrated solution together with supplementary products, applications and services. Pricer AB (publ) is quoted on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. For further information, please visit Pricer´s website www.pricer.com.
About Vue Technology
Vue Technology is the leading provider of item level RFID solutions, delivering breakthrough technology that provides the most scalable, reliable, and ROI-driven solutions on the market. With patent-pending technologies, Vue allows standard RFID readers to network across thousands of antennas, exponentially increasing the number of zones a typical reader can support. Vue provides customers unprecedented visibility into inventory levels, location and authenticity while eliminating the prohibitive cost barriers previously associated with item-level RFID roll-outs.
With its TrueVUE™ RFID Platform, Vue off