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To: niceguy767 who wrote (28868)	2/19/2001 3:51:54 PM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 275872

Re: "Kmart Blue Light Special" branding campaigns " Looks like its paying off for Intel !! "All of the SurePOS 700 units will run IBM's POS operating system and each is powered by a 500 MHz Intel Celeron processor. " Thursday February 15, 8:21 am Eastern Time Press Release Kmart Purchases More Than $200 Million in New IBM Systems and Services to Improve Customer Checkout IBM SurePOS 700 Brings Advanced Technology, Multimedia and the Internet to the Checkout Counter RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 15, 2001-- IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) and Kmart Corporation (NYSE: KM - news) today announced a purchase agreement worth in excess of $200 million for new Internet-enabled IBM point-of-sale systems to be used in more than 2,100 Kmart stores. Featuring advanced technology, multimedia and Internet capabilities, Kmart's new IBM SurePOS 700 systems are designed to dramatically improve the customer checkout experience. Kmart selected IBM's new SurePOS 700 units as its new POS system due to the system's Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectivity, Internet capabilities and IBM's implementation services and support, as well as IBM's depth and breadth of experience in the retail industry. The IBM SurePOS 700 units will be installed at all Kmart locations. The new units have already been installed in the highest volume Kmart stores this year, with the remainder of them being completed by 2002. ``One of our strategic imperatives is focused on dramatically improving the customer experience at checkout. IBM's SurePOS 700 along with our other technological investments are enabling us to leapfrog to a new generation of POS technology to make this experience reality,'' said Mike Jones, Divisional Vice President of Information Systems, Kmart. ``Not only will these units keep us ahead of the competition, they will increase our customer service, which is our top priority.'' ``The advanced capabilities of the IBM SurePOS 700 work with Kmart's other information technology systems, giving Kmart a powerful tool to improve both customer service and operations,'' said Tom Peterson, general manager, IBM Retail Store Solutions. ``IBM is the leader in point-of-sale and e-business technology, and we see more and more major retailers looking to leverage technology at the point of sale as part of an overall e-business infrastructure.'' All of the SurePOS 700 units will run IBM's POS operating system and each is powered by a 500 MHz Intel Celeron processor. Each unit will be fitted with a hand-held barcode scanner from Symbol Technologies, a flatbed bioptic scanner from NCR, an IBM SureMark 4610 thermal printer and an IBM 4820 SurePoint touchscreen. All are designed to work together to improve customer checkout. For example, the increased processing power and advanced technology of the SurePOS 700 will significantly speed the checkout process. In addition, the handheld scanner helps with large bulky items and the new receipt printer provides faster receipt printing and credit transaction processing. The touchscreens have multiple capabilities; they can be used for training, run product advertisement, and show the customer transaction information at the point of purchase. The SurePOS 700 also has highly advanced multimedia capabilities for such applications as POS training, important in an industry that has seasonal employee turnover and shortages of qualified labor in select markets. The multimedia features of the SurePOS 700 can be used to train cashiers more efficiently by running a training program that provides step-by-step instructions right at the checkout station. Kmart's overall IT system includes a back-end of more than 8,000 IBM Netfinity servers running both the Windows NT and SCO operating systems, which run all the technology and applications in the store environment. About Kmart Corporation Kmart Corporation is a near-$40 billion company that serves America with more than 2,100 Kmart and Kmart supercenter retail outlets. In addition to serving all 50 states, Kmart operations extend to the Caribbean Islands and Asia Pacific. More information about Kmart is available on the World Wide Web at www.bluelight.com under the ``About Kmart'' section. About IBM IBM, the world's leading e-business and information technology company, provides the Retail Industry with a full range of e-business solutions, including: hardware and software technology, consulting focused on business transformation, IT strategy and planning, store operations improvement, and supply chain optimization, and with services, such as outsourcing, managed operations, systems integration, and application development and design. IBM has been the leader in retail point-of-sale systems for more than 20 years. For more information on IBM Retail Solutions, please visit www.ibm.com/solutions/retail EDITORS: To access images of IBM's SurePOS 700 Series, please go to tsicomm.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact: IBM Media Relations Greg Thompson, 404/238-5052 gregoryt@us.ibm.com or Kmart Media Relations Susan Dennis, 248/643-1021 sdennis1@kmart.com Email