Retail exchanges GNX and WWRE agree to merger

May 2, 2005
GNX and the WorldWide Retail Exchange (WWRE) have entered into an agreement to merge

GNX and the WorldWide Retail Exchange (WWRE) have entered into an agreement to merge. The two companies will combine their technology solutions into a single platform that connects retailers, manufacturers and their business trading partners to more efficiently and effectively share information and manage work processes. The new company will leverage the greater scale economies to reduce unit costs and drive adoption of industry standards.

Under the agreement, which has been approved by the executive boards of both companies, the combined entity will operate under a new name, still to be determined. Christopher Sellers, the current CEO of WWRE, will serve as the executive chairman, while Joe Laughlin, current CEO of GNX, will serve as CEO of the new company.

The combined entity is backed by some of the world’s largest retailers and suppliers, including: Aeon, Ahold, Albertsons, Auchan, Best Buy, Carrefour, Casino, Coles Myer, CVS, Delhaize, El Corte Ingles, Federated, KarstadtQuelle, Kingfisher, Kroger, Lotte, Metro, PPR Group, Safeway, Sainsbury’s, SCA Hygiene, Sears Holdings, Tesco and Walgreens. More than 8,000 retailers and manufacturers have used the exchanges to date. The resulting trading partner overlap is expected to accelerate adoption of best practices in trading partner collaboration and relationship management for the entire retail industry.

"Since GNX and the WWRE were founded more than five years ago, the industry has sought a partnership between the two organizations to create a definitive exchange and voice for the retail industry. We share the same vision, have some overlapping solutions whose cost will decrease after consolidation, and where our solutions do not overlap we are perfectly complementary and aligned,” says Christopher Sellers. “We will utilize secure networks and the latest proven technology in order to reduce costs of goods and cost to serve, and ultimately in consumers reaping the benefits of improved product availability and pricing.”

GNX and WWRE will consolidate operations and rationalize their solution portfolio, to lower the price and the cost of delivering these solutions to encourage their wider adoption across the retail industry. The new company will operate the same product lines that GNX and WWRE each currently offer: sourcing, supply chain collaboration, supplier performance management, and private label product development. Retailers will operate on a single service platform for global data synchronization, based on GS1 standards, interoperable with the Global Registry and compatible for EPC/RFID.

www.gnx.com

www.worldwideretailexchange.com