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GNX and WWRE boards agree to landmark merger, creating the definitive business platform and industry forum for the global retail community
Paris, France – April 26, 2005 – GNX and the WorldWide Retail Exchange (WWRE) today announced that the companies have entered into an agreement to merge. The two companies will combine their technology solutions into a single platform that connects retailers, manufacturers, and their business trading partners to more efficiently and effectively share information and manage work processes. The new company will leverage the greater scale economies to reduce unit costs and drive adoption of industry standards, and will operate the definitive forum for retail best practices.
Under the agreement, which has been approved by the Executive Boards of both companies, the combined entity will operate under a new name, still to be determined. Christopher Sellers, the current CEO of WWRE, will serve as the Executive Chairman, while Joe Laughlin, current CEO of GNX, will serve as CEO of the new company.
The combined entity is backed by the world’s largest retailers and suppliers, including: Aeon, Ahold, Albertsons, Auchan, Best Buy, Carrefour, Casino, Coles Myer, CVS, Delhaize, El Corte Ingles, Federated, KarstadtQuelle, Kingfisher, Kroger, Lotte, Metro, PPR Group, Safeway, Sainsbury’s, SCA Hygiene, Sears Holdings, Tesco and Walgreens. With more than 8,000 retailer and manufacturer users to date between GNX and WWRE, the new company will bring together a critical mass of the world’s largest retailers on a single platform. The resulting entity is expected to accelerate adoption of best practices in trading partner collaboration and relationship management for the entire retail industry.
"Since GNX and the WWRE were founded more than five years ago, the industry has sought a partnership between the two organizations to create a definitive exchange and voice for the retail industry. We share the same vision, have some overlapping solutions whose cost will decrease after consolidation, and where our solutions do not overlap we are perfectly complementary and aligned,” says Christopher Sellers. “The industry will benefit as we drive de-facto standards that will be adopted. We will utilize secure networks and the latest proven technology in order to reduce costs of goods and cost to serve, and ultimately in consumers reaping the benefits of improved product availability and pricing.”
Says Joe Laughlin, CEO of GNX, “One of the characteristics both GNX and the WWRE share is their close, value-adding community – the new company will build on this, as we intend to leverage the strengthened community to create a unique and definitive global retail forum for sharing best practices and addressing industry issues and opportunities. 45 of the largest global retailers and suppliers are involved in this combined entity, creating an incredibly strong force for pushing forward key retail industry objectives.”
The new company, which will have the secure backing of multiple year subscription agreements across its retailer members, will leverage the best of both GNX’s and WWRE’s value propositions to more quickly make their shared visions a reality. Of note:
- GNX and WWRE will consolidate operations and rationalize their solution portfolio, to lower the price and the cost of delivering these solutions to encourage their wider adoption across the retail industry.
- The new company will operate the same product lines that GNX and WWRE each currently offer: sourcing, supply chain collaboration, supplier performance management, and private label product development.
- Retailers will operate on a single service platform for Global Data Synchronization, based on GS1 standards, interoperable with the Global Registry and compatible for EPC/RFID.
- With the combined size and adoption rates of GNX and WWRE, the new company will be a strong, stable financial entity, ideally positioned to drive collaborative standards, and create a unified forum for the retail industry worldwide.
About GNX
GNX is Retail Connect, providing e-business solutions and services that connect retailers, manufacturers and their trading partners to streamline and automate sourcing and supply chain processes. GNX solutions help retail industry trading partners reduce costs and improve efficiency by leveraging information visibility and joint work processes. With a hosted platform, comprehensive customer support and deep retail experience, GNX simplifies the implementation process – and makes technology investments go further. GNX customers include many of the world’s largest retailers and manufacturers: Federated Department Stores; Carrefour; Coles Myer; KarstadtQuelle AG; The Kroger Co.; Metro Group; PPR Group; Ace Hardware; J Sainsbury plc; Sears, Roebuck and Co.; Diageo; Unilever; Colgate-Palmolive; and Kimberly Clark. Based in San Francisco, California, GNX also has offices in Herndon, Virginia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan. More information is available at www.gnx.com
About the WWRE®
The WWRE® is the premier Internet-based business-to-business exchange for retailers and suppliers. Designed to facilitate and simplify trading practices between manufacturers, retailers and suppliers, the WWRE® currently consists of members from Asia, Europe, North America and South America with combined sales of approximately U.S. $900 billion. For more information, visit the website at www.wwre.org or www.worldwideretailexchange.org
The WWRE
Jane Smith
(703) 234-5208
jsmith@wwre.org
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