The Art of Shaving Taps NetSuite to Help Company Grow

NetSuite's One System Architecture Helps Popular Retailer Expand
Wholesale/Retail/Online Sales and Boost Revenue 62 Percent

SAN MATEO, Calif., and MIAMI, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NetSuite
Inc. (NYSE: N), a vendor of on-demand, integrated business management
application suites that provide Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) and Ecommerce functionality for small and
medium-sized businesses and divisions of large companies, today announced that
The Art of Shaving, a top-selling brand of men's premium shaving products and
accessories at high-end department stores, with 25+ locations in the U.S., has
realized substantial companywide sales growth -- 62 percent growth in 2007 --
with minimal increases in back-office costs, since it moved to NetSuite's One
System Architecture to help it sell via multiple sales channels, including
retail, wholesale and the Internet. One key to this multi-channel approach has
been NetSuite's integration with The Art of Shaving's 25+ point-of-sale (POS)
retail locations -- for easier management of merchant services.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20021024/SFTH024LOGO)
In 2004, after eight years in the business and with rapid growth on the
horizon, The Art of Shaving needed a new software system to run their
business. The company realized its software platform -- with separate packages
for accounting, inventory management, and point-of-sale (customized POS) --
was unprepared to handle the expected expansion of its sales channels from
retail to the Web to large distribution partnerships with high-end department
stores such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's. Knowing it had to
move into a more powerful system to unify its disjointed processes, the
company went shopping. The Art of Shaving's key needs were three-pronged.
First: POS metrics available on customizable dashboards. Second: a Web-based
system for back-up peace-of-mind in light of Florida's yearly hurricanes.
Third, and most importantly: having one system, including CRM, for its
growing, multiple sales channels, to replace its hodge-podge of non-integrated
software applications.
"Our goal was to have all this without breaking the bank, if that was
possible," said Eric Malka, CEO of The Art of Shaving. "Surprisingly, NetSuite
was able to give us the tools we needed in one system, and give it to us at
significant savings over other popular systems when you factor everything in.
And as a CEO, most important to me was the ability to have a dashboard that
alerts us to trends at our point-of-sale locations, giving us very strong
comparability across stores and regions, and helping us understand more
precisely what our metrics should be."
Since launching on NetSuite in January 2005, The Art of Shaving has
leveraged a full slate of NetSuite CRM and ERP features, including sales force
automation, customer support, email marketing campaigns, inventory management,
UPS shipping integration, dashboards, accounting, and reporting. The company
has been able to support a rapidly growing business, both in retail, Internet,
and wholesale channels, without having to create a rapidly growing payroll.
Companywide, sales have increased during that time -- 62 percent growth in
2007 -- with a minimal increase in staff.
Email marketing campaigns are among the most visible of NetSuite's
successes at The Art of Shaving. Thanks to NetSuite its Internet business
regularly sees a 20 to 35 percent sales increase on the items they're
promoting. Those sales benefit from a cross-over effect, too, when people come
to the site after receiving an email and buy other items as well.
Similarly, The Art of Shaving has integrated NetSuite with its retail
stores, starting at the point of sale (POS). Each day the company imports a
journal entry into NetSuite, with each of its 26 stores represented as one
division. This gets information such as gross sales, inventory, and cost of
goods into NetSuite's central database, which allows The Art of Shaving to
generate crucial reports. For example, a report could compare metrics between
stores and regions. "NetSuite lets us run reports by store, state, and region
-- even by regional manager -- so we get a very good understanding of our
retail business," said Malka.
In addition, merchant services are reconciled as NetSuite gives the
company control of its cash receipts and helps it manage its banks and credit
card services. NetSuite identifies which sales transactions were cash, which
were MasterCard, Visa, American Express, and so on. So when The Art of Shaving
receives its merchant statements from the credit card companies, they can be
reconciled exactly with the data in NetSuite and anomalies are instantly
recognized. This is normally a fairly challenging task for retailers because
in POS software there is no connection between the receipt of payment and the
merchant statement. With NetSuite, The Art of Shaving is able to easily
control and manage its merchant services.
Through NetSuite, The Art of Shaving found itself in a win-win situation.
It got the Web-based solution and the features it needed -- without the
typical IT investment. Going forward, the company plans to bring even more
detail from its retail sales into NetSuite -- in particular, individual
customer transactions. This will enable The Art of Shaving to do the kind of
email marketing for its retail customers that has proven so successful with
its Internet customers. And that will help support the continuing expansion
the company envisions.
About The Art of Shaving
The Art of Shaving is recognized as a top-selling men's shaving brand at
high-end department stores. Founded in 1996, The Art of Shaving has
trademarked its wet shaving system "The 4 Elements of the Perfect Shave" --
Prepare, Lather Up, Shave, and Moisturize -- and is considered the leading
premium shaving brand with its aromatherapy-based grooming products, high-end
shaving instruments, and a retail chain dedicated to men's shaving. The Art of
Shaving can be found in 26 locations across the country, with another 10 to 15
expected to open in 2008. The Art of Shaving was started in a kitchen. Today
the company is a worldwide organization still nurtured by the founders' talent
and passion. They have succeeded in creating a brand with a mission, one that
promises to be a household name for generations to come.
About NetSuite
NetSuite Inc. is a leading vendor of on-demand, integrated business
management application suites for small and medium-sized businesses. NetSuite
enables companies to manage core key business operations in a single system,
which includes Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship
Management (CRM), and Ecommerce. NetSuite's patent-pending "real-time
dashboard" technology provides an easy-to-use view into up-to-date,
role-specific business information.
NOTE: NetSuite and the NetSuite logo are registered service marks of
NetSuite Inc.
SOURCE NetSuite Inc.

Mei Li of NetSuite Inc., +1-650-627-1063, meili@netsuite.com; or Janette
Barredo of The Art of Shaving, +1-305-593-0667, jbarredo@theartofshaving.com