Retail Industry's Call to Adapt to Impending 2009 Changes

PARSIPPANY, NJ, Jan 12 (MARKET WIRE) --
As retailers and suppliers respond to the economic decline and a changing
regulatory landscape, 2009 is expected to bring about more change to
strategy and business processes for the retail industry. Technology,
distribution, go-to-market strategies, and the approach to
retailer-supplier collaboration will all be impacted. In response, VCF
and TPMA are launching a series of collaborative initiatives in 2009 to
help retailers and their suppliers address this shifting environment.

Change as Opportunity

The continued roll-out of third party testing requirements by the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), and impending legislation of the
Importer Security Filing (ISF), also known as "10+2," have increased
demand for supply chain synchronization and communication. CPSIA has
changed the retail landscape by holding retailers and importers now
accountable for unsafe products, along with their manufacturer. In
addition, the impending "10+2" ruling will mandate increased
collaboration within the trading partner network with new data reporting
and shortened timeline requirements.

"Though managing change brings new challenges to any business, the current
retail landscape and regulations can be a positive catalyst for
development," says VCF and TPMA CEO Diane Berry. "Companies will have the
opportunity to be more proactive in improving internal processes and
overall supply chain performance because the current environment will now
mandate them to assess the gaps that make them vulnerable to supply chain
disruptions and government fines."

As the current economic state requires a new approach and set of
responses, VCF/TPMA is providing a program to address these needs. The
State of Retail: A Financial Perspective will bring together experts in
finance, the economy, law, retail and manufacturing on February 11, 2009
in Newark, New Jersey. Participants will discuss the current state of
retail and strategies to manage through the financial crisis. Speakers
include Morgan Stanley and leading law firm Cooley Godward Kronish.

Ineffective planning models must also be addressed in this present
environment. "In many cases, the current forecasting models are limited,"
says TPMA Executive Director Bob Houk. "They're based on consumer behavior
during the last several years and cannot account for behavior in the
current environment. The consumer goods industry will need to adjust its
forecasting processes in order to avoid overstocks. This needs to be
balanced, of course, against the usual problems with out-of-stocks. TPMA
is in the process of creating a Forecast Accuracy Community of Practice to
attack these problems."

VCF and TPMA are also expanding their Trading Partner Communities of
Practice to provide opportunities for increased retailer-supplier dialogue
and development. These collaborative communities focus on specific areas
along the forecasting-to-cash continuum to strategize and design
compelling research, gather new ideas and develop innovative strategies.
A current community addressing an existing issue is the Import Guidelines
Community of Practice, launched November 2008 with founding members
JCPenney and Burlington Coat Factory.

To facilitate the development of trust, communication and collaboration
among trading partners, VCF is launching TPNexus(TM), a private, secure
online peer network for the retail industry. The network will allow
participants to: network and share best practices with peers within
supplier/retailer communities; find professionals with experience working
with the same customers or suppliers; share documents and schedule
meetings; and participate in VCF and TPMA Communities of Practice, each of
which will host its own, dedicated online community.

TPMA itself is bringing innovation to industry events by hosting the trade
promotion's first Brown Bag Virtual Forum in the virtual world of
SecondLife on February 3, 2009. Industry experts will participate on
three panels to address collaboration, customer-centricity and positioning
trade promotion programs for recovery. Panelists will include
professionals from Booz & Co., IRI, afterBOT, DemandTec, SAP and Oracle.

To reduce sourcing time for retailers and suppliers, as well as their
trading partners, VCF and TPMA have launched the TradingPartners Buyers
Guide. This online resource directory lists hundreds of products and
services specifically for the retail industry, while also providing a
cost-effective method for service providers to the retail industry to
reach their target audiences.

About VCF

VCF is the leading organization focused on solutions, services and best
practices for supplier-retailer collaboration within consumer durables,
ranging from fashion and cosmetics to electronics and home furnishings.
VCF is an advocate for retailer-supplier trading synchronization and
champions initiatives to increase strategic industry-wide productivity,
profitability and growth. VCF serves a multitude of touch points in
perfecting retailer-supplier execution to shorten cycle times and drive
overall velocity in the supply chain. VCF draws participation from leading
retailers and suppliers such as Sears, JCPenney, Nordstrom, Lowe's, Liz
Claiborne, Estee Lauder and Kellwood.

About TPMA

TPMA is the leading organization driving best-in-class process for global
trade promotion management (TPM) and trade promotion optimization (TPO).
TPMA is dedicated to the effective and efficient use of trade promotion
dollars and serves as a collaborative resource for research and metrics
for companies such as Hormel, Dial, Del Monte, ConAgra Foods,
Hewlett-Packard, Nintendo, Land O'Lakes, and Johnson & Johnson.

Contact:
Anna Lee
Manager, Marketing & Alliance Development
VCF and TPMA
1055 Parsippany Boulevard, Ste 405
Parsippany, NJ 07054
Phone: 646-442-3707
alee@vcfww.com
www.vcfww.com
www.tpmaww.com

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