OPMR customers from the filing:
Our main customers have been supermarkets and supercenters, including the following retailers:
. Kroger. Kroger is the largest supermarket retailer in the United States, and owns and operates approximately 2,200 supermarkets and 794 convenience stores. Kroger is our largest customer and recently ordered an additional 200 U-Scan Express systems, of which 43 have been installed. We presently have a total of 235 systems installed in Kroger's stores.
. Meijer. Meijer is the second largest U.S. supercenter operator with approximately 130 stores. Its typical store size is over 175,000 square feet. We presently have 94 U-Scan Express systems installed in Meijer's stores. In January 2000, Meijer agreed to purchase up to 150 (with a minimum of 100) additional systems through June 2001, of which 10 have been installed.
. Ahold. Ahold operates over 3,600 stores of various types in the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America under various banners, including over 1,000 BI-LO, Stop & Shop, Tops, Giant and other stores in the United States. In December 1999, Ahold agreed to purchase 100 U-Scan Express systems for installation in its U.S. stores, of which five have been installed.
. A&P. A&P operates over 700 food stores in North America. In October 1999, A&P informed us that it intends to purchase and install 100 U-Scan Express systems, of which 24 have been installed.
. Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer with over 2,850 general merchandise discount stores and supercenters in the United States alone. We presently have 18 U-Scan Express systems installed in Wal-Mart supercenters and general merchandise discount stores. Wal-Mart is continuing to work with us as they evaluate the use of U-Scan Express in their stores.
These leading retailers figure prominently in the establishment of market standards, and we believe that our relationships with them and the increasing presence and use of our systems in their stores contribute to the market's growing acceptance of U-Scan Express. We also believe that shoppers' increasing familiarity with our systems at these retailers will facilitate future sales efforts, particularly with retailers who have not yet installed our systems in their stores.
We believe that these customers have chosen to install U-Scan Express because it:
. increases convenience for their shoppers, while accommodating typical shopping patterns and allowing shoppers to check out as if they were at a manned checkout counter,
. provides the shopper with more control over the checkout process, similar to an ATM transaction,
. builds loyalty by making shopping easier and more convenient,
. addresses labor shortages in certain markets by replacing manned checkout counters with automated self-checkout stations, and
. provides labor cost savings by allowing one employee to supervise four unmanned stations. |
