XProtean Unveils One-Stop Retail Management Solution for Small Format Stores

Comprehensive Solution Designed by and for Retailers Improves Overall Operations for Convenience, Quick Serve and Fuel Stores

MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA, May 19, 2008 -XProtean today introduced an integrated retail management solution to optimize operations for small format retailers--from the point of sale and the back office to corporate.

Small format retailers represent one of the fastest growing segments of retail. However, the high cost of traditional retail management technology has forced small format retailers to use fragmented services that increase complexity and cost of doing business. XProtean levels the playing field for small format retailers by providing advanced tools, previously only available to large retailers, at an affordable price.

XProtean is designed specifically for the fast-growing segments of mixed environment retail, convenience stores, restaurants, and retail fuel.  Retailers using the solution are able to increase revenue by improving speed of service, order accuracy, customer loyalty, product availability and sales per visit while lowering overall costs by reducing inventory shrink, fraud and employee training time.

"Small retailers represent a growing customer segment in the Retail POS Industry. However, up to now, retail POS technology was developed for enterprise customers like large banks and grocery store chains," said Dorothy Rosenthal, vice president of Viewpoint Research.  "Now POS manufacturers are realizing the enormous potential for expanding product capabilities for the millions of small businesses. As small stores increasingly adopt web-based services, flexible, on-demand solutions are well positioned to capture this market."

“Before XProtean, each of our locations was its own island with just the cash register to calculate overall sales, XProtean ties them all together, giving us real-time visibility into all our locations,” said Ram Bangalore, regional manager for Una Mas, a quick serve restaurant chain with locations throughout California. “We are now able to quickly execute promotions across all stores, develop strong customer loyalty programs and effectively manage employees and inventory. XProtean has delivered a considerable increase in sales and time savings that improve our bottom line.”

XProtean’s solution is built for retail managers and employees, not IT professionals. Based on 50 years of hands-on store experience, XProtean includes features that could only come from “behind the counter.”  The web-based, modular solution integrates advanced point-of-sale (aPOS) with in-store and enterprise systems, offering retailers complete visibility into their business. Key features include:

1. aPOS to handle transactions, payment processing, customer rewards and time management
2. In-Store Systems to address demand based replacement, inventory management, price optimization, loyalty programs and more
3. Enterprise-Wide Systems for merchandise management, lifecycle planning, order fulfillment, marketing and promotions and business intelligence

“XProtean is built on years of retail experience. Working with more than 100 small format retail locations, we know the pain points of both the franchisee and the franchisor and have designed a solution to solve them,” said Jag Kapoor, CEO of XProtean. “In this economy, it is all the more important that retailers have access to cost effective, on-demand technology solutions that improve margins and enable small format retailers to compete effectively.”

About XProtean

XProtean provides innovative store solutions that optimize operations for small format retailers--from the point of sale and the back office to corporate. With hands-on retail experience across key segments like convenience, restaurant, retail fuel and mixed environment retail, XProtean solutions include features that could only come from “behind the counter.” XProtean levels the playing field for small format retailers by giving them advanced tools previously only available to large retailers. XProtean solutions give retailers complete visibility into their business, enabling them to grow revenue by improving speed of service, order accuracy, customer loyalty, and sales per visit while lowering overall costs by reducing inventory shrink, fraud and employee training time. XProtean is headquartered in Milpitas, California. For information, please visit www.xprotean.com.

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