SAS Revenue Optimization family, SAS Retail Forecasting move to high-performance computing platform

NEW YORK, Jan. 16 -- Soon it won't take magic for retailers to quickly determine demand and adjust weekly local prices without all the traditional time and labor involved. In 2012, retailers will be able to leverage solutions from SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, for forecasting and all phases of the pricing life cycle as more software moves onto the SAS High-Performance Computing platform. While not a magic wand, per se, SAS High-Performance Retail Forecasting and SAS High-Performance Revenue Optimization comes close by shaving hours, if not days, off the critical processes of forecasting demand and adjusting local pricing.

"Retailers maximize returns with optimization technologies," said Deborah Weinswig, Managing Director, Retailing Team, Citi Investment Research and Analysis. "Retailers have been investing in optimization systems since the early 2000s and have realized significant top-line and margin benefits as a result of these investments. Retailers are now looking at the next generation of these technologies to build on their existing capabilities, including price, promotion, size and marketing optimization. Technology providers like SAS are at the forefront of this trend. We believe retailers are eager to implement the next generation of optimization systems given the strong track record of optimization technology on their P&L."

SAS Regular Price Optimization and SAS Promotion Optimization join SAS Markdown Optimization on the SAS High-Performance Computing platform. The combination lets retailers nimbly set, adjust and analyze prices at the SKU-store level to maximize sell-through and revenue. SAS for retail also helps retailers more efficiently plan size, assortments and space usage. Other enhancements to the SAS customer insight and merchandise intelligence portfolios in 2012 will provide greater power to know and engage customers and improve merchandising decisions.

"By combining current hardware innovations with superior predictive analytics and deep retail expertise, SAS enhancements improve a retailer's ability to tailor prices to individual stores, shopper profiles and align to brand strategies. They can grow margin gains by selling at a healthier price, clearing the way for fresh merchandise, and increasing customer engagement," said Diana McHenry, Director of SAS Global Retail Marketing. "This level of insight couldn't be reached before. Bottom line, the SAS High-Performance Revenue Optimization Suite and SAS High-Performance Retail Forecasting change the game for savvy retailers."

In addition to availability for installation on-site for customers, SAS High-Performance Revenue Optimization also is available on-demand, providing customers the flexibility to run on a hosted environment at SAS.

Progressive retailers work with SAS

SAS' unparalleled retail business knowledge -- coupled with powerful, advanced analytics -- supports flexible lifecycle merchandise planning through a variety of investment, deployment and growth options.

SAS retail customers worldwide include Aeropostale, AutoZone, Bakers Footwear, Beall's, Belk, Brooks Brothers, Cabela's, Carrefour, Casino, Casual Male, Charming Shoppes, Chico's FAS Inc., The Children's Place, DSW, Eddie Bauer, Family Dollar, Gander Mountain, Hallmark, Hudson's Bay Company, J. Crew, Kohl's, Leroy Merlin, Liverpool, Macy's, the Marine Corps Exchange, Mark's Work Wearhouse, Marks & Spencer, Northern Tool & Equipment, Office Depot, S-Group, Sainsbury's, Shopko, Sport Chalet, Spiegel Brands, Staples, Tesco, Tween Brands, Waitrose, Wakefern, Williams-Sonoma, Winn-Dixie and 1-800-FLOWERS.COM.

For more information about SAS Retail Intelligence Solutions and SAS Customer Intelligence solutions, visit www.sas.com . Visit SAS at the NRF 101st Annual Convention and EXPO in Booth 1352.

About SAS

SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions, SAS helps customers at more than 55,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW.

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Source: SAS