Company to supply software solution for Thailand-based retailer's first store in China
BEIJING, Nov. 17 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- eFuture Information Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: EFUT) ("eFuture" or "the Company), a leading provider of software and services in China's rapidly growing retail and consumer goods industries, today announced that it has signed a contract to provide its eFuture ONE POS-ERP R2008 retail management system ("the system"), to Thailand's Central Retail Corporation ("CRC").
"China's retail sales are continuing on a healthy growth trend, and we're pleased to see reputable international retailers like CRC turning to our leading software and services in order to compete in China," said Mr. Adam Yan, eFuture's chairman and chief executive officer. "Our solutions help our clients increase efficiency and cut costs, capabilities that are increasingly important given today's global economic backdrop. We're confident that the recently announced $586 billion economic stimulus plan, including crucial improvements to social infrastructure will result in increased retail consumption, which is expected to generate a greater proportion of China's GDP growth in the quarters ahead. Going forward, we expect to see more international retailers entering into the Chinese market, and we are certain that our software and services will continue to be the preferred choice among retailers in China."
Once operational, the system will provide CRC's department stores with a number of versatile subsystems through a user friendly interface, including point-of-sale ("POS") payment capabilities, a visualized store operation platform, customer relationship management, purchase order and inventory management, pricing management, customer service management, real-time cost management, back office administration and multi-dimension analysis.
eFuture will deploy the system in a trial stage at CRC's department store in Hangzhou, China and expects the system to be fully operational by mid-2009. Pending a successful trial, eFuture management expects to deploy the system at follow-on projects in Beijing and Shenyang, China.
About Central Retail Corporation
For over 60 years, Central Retail Corporation has been synonymous with retail in Thailand. In 2007, CRC's total revenues were US$2.4 billion, a 14% increase over 2006. CRC operates chains such as Central Department Store, Robinson, Tops Market, B2S, Homeworks, Power Buy and Super Sports in Thailand. CRC is known for its many "firsts," including being the first company in Thailand to import international cosmetic brands, the first to employ superior customer service techniques and the first to implement innovative marketing campaigns. As the nation's leading department store chain, CRC caters to Thailand's affluent urban population, including expatriates and tourists. In numerous independent surveys of shoppers, CRC was the preferred department store of choice and is consistently ranked number one in department store sales.
For more information about Central Retail Corporation, please visit http://www.centralretail.com.
About eFuture Information Technology Inc.
eFuture Information Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: EFUT) is a leading provider of software and services in China's rapidly growing retail and consumer goods industries. eFuture provides integrated software and services to manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, logistics companies and retailers in China's front-end supply chain market, especially in the retail and fast moving consumer goods ("FMCG") industries. eFuture currently serves more than 1,000 clients, including 15 Fortune 500 companies, over 950 retailers and over 200 distributors operating in China. eFuture is one of IBM's premier business partners in Asia Pacific and is a strategic partner with Oracle, Microsoft, JDA, Motorola and Samsung Network China. eFuture has over 600 employees and 20 branch offices across China.
For more information about eFuture, please visit
http://www.e-future.com.cn/.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects, " "anticipates, " "future, " "intends, " "plans, " "believes, " "estimates" and similar statements.
eFuture may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in periodic reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to first parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: eFuture's anticipated growth strategies; eFuture's future business development, results of operations and financial condition; expected changes in the company's revenues and certain cost or expense items; eFuture's ability to attract customers and leverage its brand; trends and competition in the software industry; the company's ability to hire, train and retain qualified managerial and other employees; the company's ability to develop new software and pilot new business models at desirable locations in a timely and cost-effective manner; the expected growth of the Chinese economy and software market in the retail and consumer goods industries; and Chinese governmental policies relating to private managers and operators of software and applicable tax rates.
Further information regarding these and other risks is included in eFuture's annual report on Form 20-F and other documents filed with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of November 17, 2008, and the company undertakes no duty to update such information or any other forward-looking information, except as required under applicable law.
