Announcing RetailWire 2.0 -- Improvements Offer Higher User Productivity

March 16, 2004

PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Editorial inquiries, contact:
George Anderson
908-709-1690
geoanderson@retailwire.com

Announcing RetailWire 2.0 -- Improvements Offer Higher User Productivity

• New features
• Improved navigation
• Richer resources
• Higher productivity

With two years under our belts and thousands of Discussion topics in our knowledge bank, we wanted to make RetailWire a better resource for you. We wanted to:

1. Bring our archives closer to the surface, so relevant material would be only one or two clicks away.
2. Find more apt ways of organizing the content, to inspire you to draw comparisons from subject to subject, across channels and business disciplines.
3. Provide new specialized Discussion areas to give some of the smartest folks in our industry a platform for investigating newly emerging marketing trends and business processes.
4. Bring more resource offerings to the table, to extend RetailWire's capabilities as a destination for research and analysis.

So here's RetailWire 2.0. It's just the beginning of our phase two. With the help of our talented programmers, we've made important infrastructure changes that will, in coming months, enable us to do more and make your RetailWire experience even more productive.

Some details of what you'll find:

NAVIGATION

• New TABS across the top of each page provide quick access to all major sections.
• At the top of the right column, a sub-menu of handy features for research, industry networking and support.
• Bordering down the right side, one-click access to relevant content in all forms.

HOT ISSUES

In place of broad "Info Center" topic categorizations..."General Retail", "Grocery", "Beverages", etc... we've re-organized our Discussions by trends and niche topics. Each Discussion article is now flagged with it's most closely related "Hot Issue"...such as rising concerns over "Obesity" and the "Aging Population" or controversial new technologies such as "RFID" and "Biotechnology", or fundamental business principles, like "Customer Retention", "Management Advice" and "Ethics". Now, with one click on the Discussion's Hot Issue link, you'll see our complete archive on each subject.

RETAILWIRE IN-DEPTH

RetailWire's editors are teaming up with experts in specialty fields to create In-Depth knowledge centers. Come here for perceptive analysis from specially recruited panels, relevant headline news and downloadable resources to round out your understanding in critical business areas. Kicking it off...LOYALTY MARKETING, with assistance from a panel headed by John Hennessey of Concept Shopping. And coming soon...ETHNIC MARKETING, moderated by Bill Bishop of Willard Bishop Consulting, Terry Soto of About Marketing Solutions, and David Morse of New American Dimensions.

HEADLINE NEWS

The same fast-breaking retailing news items from industry sources across the globe that you see in our daily email DELIVERY...now conveniently displayed on our website and archived chronologically.

TIPS and IN-SITES

Business-building ideas and advice produced in cooperation with leading industry suppliers and organizations. We're now displaying these more prominently on banners throughout the site, on the "tabs" bar, and down the right column. Check them out. We're confident you'll agree they're truly valuable resources.

RETAILWIRE STORE

(Well...we are talking retail here. Maybe we can try our own hand at it.) In addition to best-of-class products from Trade Dimensions and Retail Forward, through a special arrangement with Datamonitor, we now offer hundreds of reports featuring the latest consumer insights, market trends and category profiles. If you buy industry reports, we think these are among the best. Help support RetailWire by buying them here! You'll get the same prices...and often substantial discounts...as when buying direct.

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FEEDBACK PLEASE!

We'll be continuing with our refinements and upgrades in months to come. You're suggestions and opinions would be greatly appreciated: info@retailwire.com

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About RetailWire.com

RetailWire is a unique online news analysis and discussion forum, which launched in February 2002. RetailWire goes beyond conventional headline news reporting. Each business morning, RetailWire editors pick news topics worthy of commentary by its "BrainTrust" panel of industry experts, and the general RetailWire membership. The results are virtual round tables of industry opinion and advice covering key dynamics and issues affecting the retailing industry.

Membership to RetailWire is free to all qualified retail industry professionals. Over two-thirds of members are in top executive or senior management positions, representing a broad cross section of retail channels and the companies that supply them.

RetailWire is supported via sponsorships by leading retail suppliers and service organizations. Sponsorship packages take the form of information-rich "In-Sites"...mini-web-sites within the RetailWire domain...and frequently updated "Business TIPS" and "Category TIPS". Current sponsors include Campbell Soup, ACNielsen, Georgia-Pacific, Procter & Gamble, Unilever HP and Rodale.

For general business inquiries, contact:

Rick Moss
973-744-0813
moss@retailwire.com

For sponsorship information, contact:

Al McClain
203-609-0557
amcclain@retailwire.com

Editorial inquiries, contact:

George Anderson
908-709-1690