LECTRA : Lectra Among 17 European Companies Chosen to Participate in 'A New Look At Innovation'--a Report Prepared by

PARIS, May 27 (MARKET WIRE) --
Lectra and Innovation

Lectra Among 17 European Companies Chosen to Participate in 'A New Look
At Innovation'--a Report Prepared by the ESCP-Europe at the Request of
Christine Lagarde, French Minister For Economic Affairs, Industry and
Employment.

Paris, May 27, 2009 - Lectra, the world leader in integrated technology
solutions dedicated to industries using soft materials--textiles,
leather, industrial fabrics, and composite materials--, is one of 17
European companies chosen to participate in the report 'A New Look at
Innovation,' presented on April 30 to Christine Lagarde, French Minister
for Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment.

To coincide with the French presidency of the European Union, "Europe
takes action to meet today's challenges" (July 1 to December 31, 2008),
the report was written by Pascal Morand, CEO of ESCP Europe (European
School of Management) and Professor of Economics, and Delphine Manceau,
Professor of Marketing at ESCP Europe and innovation marketing
specialist. The result of a collaborative working process led by the
report's authors in conjunction with teachers at ESCP Europe as well as
other academic experts, the document incorporates testimonials from 24
CEOs and senior executives of 17 French and European companies. These
business leaders were consulted by the writers in order to glean their
overall view and perception of innovation, to collect their ideas about
factors for success and failure, and to document strategies for
innovation implemented within their own companies. Companies were chosen
from extremely diverse market sectors, some with a strong technological
bent, others less so, all of varying sizes--from young, innovative
companies to global corporations. The firms selected were singled out for
their great capacity for innovation and their success in international
markets--among the 17 chosen were: Hermes, l'Occitane, l'Oreal, PSA
Peugeot Citroen, Orange, Scania, Sony Europe, Total and Lectra.

The aim of the report is to propose "a wider definition of innovation
which goes beyond research and development and integrates all other
business factors," and also to establish "indicators that enable, within
the framework of an update of the Lisbon strategy, better measurement of
the results of innovation policies implemented by member states and
institutions of the European Union."

Arguing for a wider vision of innovation that does not stop at R&D but
integrates work done on business practices, economic models, design and
marketing, the report makes a number of points that favor European firms'
capacity for innovation. It also proffers new indicators for measuring
capacity for innovation and presents 10 points of action destined for
public authorities as well as member states and institutions of the
European Union.

"With innovation an essential factor in economic competitiveness, it
cannot be limited to just research and patents," say Morand and Manceau.
"In an age of globalization, investment in research is just not enough.
Innovation only creates value and revenues for companies and for the
economy if it filters into the business and operating activities of
firms."

The observations, ideas and conclusions presented in this report
coincide, for the most part, with the attitude, approach and innovation
strategies Lectra has implemented every day since its inception--and
which have propelled it to global leadership.

"Andre Harari, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and I are both
extremely honored to have been consulted for the creation of this
comprehensive report which adopts such an original approach, presentation
and conclusion," said Daniel Harari, Lectra CEO. "We were very happy to
share our 33 years of experience and to contribute to the writers'
research. In 1976, when Andre, then one of the pioneers of venture
capital in France, met Lectra's two founders, the company employed fewer
than 10 people--he raised the initial capital necessary to implement the
company's development plan. We hope to help other companies realize that
innovation, in all its forms, is a key factor for competitiveness of
European companies and for their success in world markets. We are very
proud to ally ourselves with the report, initiated by Christine Lagarde
and the French government. For us, being chosen to take part in this
project is recognition of Lectra's success and a clear indication of our
place in this country's industry."

Lectra: a passion for innovation

Since its inception, Lectra's passion for innovation has led it to
channel all its expertise and creative energy into one single objective.
It aims to support its customers--whether they operate in the fashion,
automotive, furniture, aeronautical, wind energy, or personal protective
equipment sector--in an ever more demanding world without geographic and
cultural boundaries, where tough competition exerts incessant pressure on
prices, production cycles and creativity.

Lectra considers innovation to be its overriding business strategy that
clearly fuels its business model and thus its competitiveness.
Established as one of Lectra's five key values, along with leadership,
entrepreneurship, excellence and customer care--other essential values
outlined in the report--innovation has always been the pillar of Lectra's
identity. The company's main strength lies in the long-term,
value-creating relationships it creates with customers to help them face
new strategic challenges and which have enabled Lectra to become world
number one in its sector. Lectra has consistently demonstrated its
commitment to being a forerunner in its field. Today's technological
advances and the development of future improvements are the result of
Lectra's ability to anticipate. With experience and expertise in their
customers' business activities, Lectra's teams are able to analyze their
challenges, identify their needs, support their evolution, and bring them
state-of-the-art solutions. Lectra's invests heavily in R&D--EUR 18
million in 2008, representing 9% of its revenues; 15% of its workforce
are allocated to R&D, with a team of 220 specialized engineers, of which
200 are in France.

A marketing strategy to accompany innovation--the importance of which is
highlighted in the report--enables Lectra's 23,000 customers, spread
across 100 countries, to implement technologies, roll them out, and
optimize their use. Lectra presents innovative solutions combining
equipment, software and services and which cover design, production and
product lifecycle management. They help customers manufacture faster and
better, while reducing costs and allowing all participants in the process
to collaborate using secure, electronic methods. For Lectra, the best way
to encourage innovation uptake is to support its customers' change
management in order to promote renewal of solutions, guide progressive
evolution of their implementation, and encourage optimal use of
technology.

For the writers of this report, "Diversity within teams generates
open-mindedness and curiosity for difference...and a new approach to
subjects, which stimulates creativity." Diversity is indeed an important
vector for innovation at Lectra, hence the extremely varied sociological
and cultural backgrounds of its personnel. A workforce made up of 55
different nationalities across 31 international subsidiaries--a total of
1,500 partners worldwide--certainly prompts the company to look at things
from a unique angle.

The report also highlights, "the important role of different ways of
thinking and of viewing risk and failure...Innovation is mainly about
perception, firstly, because it forces teams to re-think a company's
products and activities, and, more importantly, because it requires
audacity and a high level of risk-taking." A capacity for encouraging
initiative and capitalizing on past successes and failures is one of the
fundamental strategies by which Lectra is characterized.

Finally, Morand and Manceau highlight the fact that, "One of the most
noteworthy decisions taken over the last few years to promote innovation
within business has been the French Research Tax Credit...in its new,
expanded and simplified form, introduced by Christine Lagarde in 2008."
The result of this measure has been "to put France among those countries
that offer companies the strongest incentives for the promotion of
research." Reaping the full benefits of this credit, Lectra's strategic
decision to maintain R&D activities in France and resist the temptation to
move them offshore, something which has remained unchanged throughout the
years, has been vindicated and strengthened.

The report 'A New look at innovation' is available on the website of the
Ministry for Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment:
http://www.minefe.gouv.fr/directions_services/sircom/rap_autre_vis
ion_innovation090430.pdf

About Lectra

Lectra is the world leader in integrated technology solutions that
automate, streamline, and accelerate product design, development, and
manufacturing processes for industries using soft materials. Lectra
develops the most advanced specialized software and cutting systems and
provides associated services to a broad array of markets including
fashion (apparel, accessories, footwear), automotive (car seats and
interiors, airbags), furniture, as well as a wide variety of other market
sectors, such as the aeronautical and marine industries, wind power,
personal protective equipment. Lectra serves 23,000 customers in more than
100 countries with 1,500 employees and $292 million in 2008 revenues. The
company is listed on Euronext Paris.

For more information, please visit www.lectra.com

This information is provided by HUGIN

Contact:
Lectra Headquarters / Press Dept.:
Nathalie Gerbal
E-mail: Email Contact
Tel: +33 (0)1 53 64 42 37
Fax: +33 (0)1 53 64 43 40

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