Perry Ellis selects SkillNet’s technology to optimize customer shopping experience

International Fashion Retailer Improves System Functionality Through Common POS System.

NEW YORK – NRF Booth #358 – JANUARY 15, 2007

SkillNet, Inc., the only consulting and technology solutions company focusing exclusively on the retail industry, today announced that Perry Ellis International, a leading fashion retailer, has selected SkillNet to implement a next-generation, Java-based POS solution, integrated with Merchandising, Inventory and Sales Audit systems, across its stores worldwide. StoreHub – SkillNet’s process based and templated store integration solution – enables Perry Ellis to dramatically reduce the time and cost of implementing a new POS system while also providing the infrastructure for a superior customer experience.

In order to compete in the new world of retail, retailers are re-thinking overall business strategies to be wholly customer-centric. This focus is driving the adoption of new generation systems at the store level to provide superior transaction support and enable an optimal customer experience through the seamless execution of processes between physical stores and other channels as well as between stores and the corporate office. New POS systems are one piece of the puzzle. Equally important is how this new POS integrates with the rest of the retail enterprise.

StoreHub – SkillNet’s Store Integration Framework – uses pre-fabricated integration process templates, application connectors for industry leading applications and data transformation logic that makes the integration between store systems and other applications in the retail enterprise as easy as plug and play. It uses business standards such as NRF IXRetail and technology standards such as BPEL and XML Webservices to provide the technology foundation for such a solution ensuring the integration approach provides better flexibility and faster response to changes demanded by the market. Given the technology foundation, StoreHub also provides a tangible starting point for retailers to evolve to a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA).

Perry Ellis International is a leading apparel company, which successfully competes in the marketplace through a multi-brand, multi-channel and multi-product category strategy. With a family of 27 brands, Perry Ellis International provides high quality apparel to different consumers and lifestyles, across multiple categories – from sportswear to fragrances and from swim to outerwear; and across all distribution channels – from luxury, department and specialty stores to regional chains and mass retailers.

As Perry Ellis International is further expanding its retail channel, it needed to bring in industry leading systems at the store level that can support its projected growth, and ensure that it can continue to provide a superior experience through a tight integration between its stores and corporate office.

“Along with its consulting services, SkillNet’s StoreHub technology ensures we can go from project start to pilot in a dramatically reduced time and at a significantly lower implementation cost” said Luis Paez, chief information officer at Perry Ellis International. “As we expand we want to ensure our systems will enable a consistently high level of customer experience at our stores. SkillNet’s expertise and integration technology enables us to do just that by providing a best practices driven implementation plan for the new generation POS system delivering a simple, elegant and cost effective solution for integrating this system with others.”

About Perry Ellis International
Perry Ellis International, Inc. is a leading designer, distributor and licensor of a broad line of high quality men’s and women’s apparel, accessories, and fragrances. The company’s collection of dress and casual shirts, golf sportswear, sweaters, dress and casual pants and shorts, jeans wear, active wear and men’s and women’s swimwear is available through all major levels of retail distribution. The company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, owns a portfolio of nationally and internationally recognized brands including Perry Ellis(R), Jantzen(R), Cubavera(R), Munsingwear(R), Savane(R), Original Penguin(R), Grand Slam(R), Natural Issue(R), Pro Player(R), the Havanera Co.(R), Axis(R), Tricots St. Raphael(R), Gotcha(R), Girl Star(R) and MCD(R). The company enhances its roster of brands by licensing trademarks from third parties including Dockers(R) for outerwear, Nike(R) and JAG(R) for swimwear, and PING(R) and PGA TOUR(R) for golf apparel. Additional information on the company is available at http://www.pery.com.