Harry & David Selects SAP to Support Retail and Wholesale Growth Strategy

MEDFORD, Ore., March 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In a continuing demonstration of its leadership in providing innovate solutions to the retail industry, SAP America, Inc., a subsidiary of SAP AG , today announced that Harry & David Operations Corp., the premium multichannel gourmet food retailer, has selected SAP for Retail solutions to develop a scalable, integrated IT platform to drive continued growth.

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Harry & David selected SAP over Oracle, as it looks to gain greater long- term efficiencies and visibility into its retail and wholesale businesses. The company is one of the nation's oldest catalog mail-order companies and currently operates stores in 34 states. The company's signature fruits, baked goods and confections and hallmark gift box towers have been a staple of gift giving for more than 70 years.

"We are poised for tremendous growth, both as a direct retailer and as a wholesaler to numerous retail outlets," said Joe Foley, CIO, Harry & David Holdings, Inc. "The seasonality of our business demands a platform that can rapidly scale and meet our ever-changing needs. Only SAP's fully integrated business model can provide us with a single operating platform that will take costs out of our infrastructure and give us a solid basis for growth."

With its well-known retail trade and rapidly expanding wholesale operations, Harry & David will gain enhanced efficiency in proactively managing its demand-driven processes, including store operations, inventory management and wholesale operations. Harry & David will leverage the strength of SAP for Retail solutions, including SAP(R) Merchandise and Assortment Planning and SAP Forecasting and Replenishment applications, to drive business benefits in inventory and retail and channel sales, which will support Harry & David's ability to offer more targeted merchandise selections in its retail stores. Harry & David will initially begin its implementation with food and beverage capabilities, followed by SAP ERP Financials.

"SAP's retail solutions are a perfect fit for helping midsize companies like Harry & David achieve greater efficiencies," said Jim Mattecheck, senior vice president and general manager, Retail, SAP America, Inc. "It is a complex, yet focused, retailer with a need for integration and visibility in order to achieve a complete, controlled experience in its multichannel environment. We are proud to add Harry & David to our growing family of 'best run' retailers."

About Harry & David Holdings, Inc.

Harry & David Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Medford, Oregon, is a leading multi-channel specialty retailer and producer of branded premium gift-quality fruit and gourmet food products and gifts marketed under the Harry and David(R) brand, and premium rose plants, horticultural products and home and garden decor, marketed under the Jackson & Perkins(R) brand.

About SAP for Retail

SAP for Retail is a solution portfolio that helps retailers understand their business, anticipate the needs of their business and inspire their customers, employees and shareholders by delivering results. The portfolio comprises an end-to-end set of retail solutions; merchandise management and planning; store operations (through the acquisition and integration of Triversity POS solutions); and base finance and HR solutions. SAP for Retail helps retailers of all sizes to create shopping experiences that their customers will want again and again, by providing the ability to make the right decisions quickly and profitably (Additional information at http://www.sap.com/retail/).

About SAP

SAP is the world's leading provider of business software*. Today, more than 38,000 customers in more than 120 countries run SAP(R) applications-from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small businesses and midsize companies to suite offerings for global organizations. Powered by the SAP NetWeaver(R) platform to drive innovation and enable business change, SAP software helps enterprises of all sizes around the world improve customer relationships, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across their supply chains and business operations. SAP solution portfolios support the unique business processes of more than 25 industries, including high tech, retail, financial services, healthcare and the public sector. With subsidiaries in more than 50 countries, the company is listed on several exchanges, including the Frankfurt stock exchange and NYSE under the symbol "SAP". (Additional information at http://www.sap.com/)

(*) SAP defines business software as comprising enterprise resource planning and related applications such as supply chain management, customer relationship management, product life-cycle management and supplier relationship management.

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