Will debut in REI's first international store... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DANVERS, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 1999--MarketMAX(TM), Inc., the leading provider of integrated enterprise merchandise planning software for the retail supply chain, today announced that REI has selected MarketMAX Space Productivity Manager(TM) to design its space, floor planning and displays for its first international store in Minami Machida (Southwest Tokyo), Japan. Slated to open in April 2000, the store will be a space planning model for future REI international and domestic stores. The product, which will be used by REI's Seattle headquarters staff, will enable the company to fully manage space planning for the new store. The system will integrate financial and product performance information with store floor plans and AutoCAD designs. In addition, REI will use MarketMAX Space Productivity Manager to tie seasonal plans with fixture designs and allocations and to make space allocation adjustments based on performance results. "Using MarketMAX Space Productivity Manager, REI hopes to gain additional insight into the performance of all of our products," commented Mike Boshart, director of International Merchandising and Logistics. "In the past, effectively measuring spatial productivity was difficult. We selected MarketMAX Space Productivity Manager to help us manage critical metrics and key performance indicators. Now, we believe we have a better tool for developing space and merchandise layouts, projecting financial results and analyzing the overall performance of our store plans." "With MarketMAX Space Productivity Manager, REI will have access to features and capabilities that are not available with any other product in the marketplace," commented Lori J. Schafer, president and CEO of MarketMAX. "They will be able to define merchandise presentations and placements for all of their products from parkas to freeze dried food to snowshoes; establish minimum, maximum and average presentations on fixtures; and, most importantly, analyze financial performance and return on space to determine successes, opportunities and trends. Of equal importance is that in selecting MarketMAX software, REI has gained the ability to add even more integration of its planning processes in the future." For the Japan store, the system will be implemented along with SAP's R/3 Retail Industry Solution and Fujitsu's Global Store POS and Back Office systems, both running on SQL Server databases. It will be used for future international stores as well as for domestic planning. REI selected the MarketMAX solution due to MarketMAX Space Productivity Manager's strong product capabilities and the option of upgrading to enterprise-wide merchandise planning with MarketMAX IMS/Enterprise(TM). About REI Seattle-based REI was established in 1938 by a group of 23 Pacific Northwest mountaineers who were seeking climbing equipment. The group formed a consumer cooperative to ensure quality products for its members. More than 60 years later, REI operates 53 retail stores in 22 states, an international mail order service, an adventure travel company, REI Adventures, and two Internet stores (REI.com and REI-Outlet.com). REI is open to non-members, but only members share in the company's profits through an annual patronage refund based on regular-priced purchases. In 1998, REI returned more than $30 million to its 1.6 million active members. REI memberships are available for a one-time $15 fee. About MarketMAX MarketMAX, Inc. is the leading provider of integrated enterprise merchandise planning software for the retail supply chain. MarketMAX products enable retailers and suppliers to fully integrate merchandise financial planning, assortment planning, cluster analysis, store floor planning, space planning and category analysis into one seamless, decision support system. The products support graphical and dynamic report-based analysis at all levels of the corporate and product hierarchies and uniquely maximize retail productivity by linking all aspects of the merchandise planning process. MarketMAX can be reached at 978/777-0057 or http://www.marketmax.com.  