Ace Hardware Transforms Its Customers’ Shopping Experience with Multi-Channel Focus of Redesigned Website
Complete Site Redesign Brings Ace Stores to Life Online
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. and OAK BROOK, Ill. – March 28, 2007 – Ace Hardware Corp. has launched a significantly redesigned online retail website (www.acehardware.com) through its partnership with e-commerce solutions provider GSI Commerce Inc. (NASDAQ: GSIC). The redesigned website, which has been met with praise from users, offers consumers a host of advanced interactive features and services that support Ace’s multi-channel strategy across its 4,600 retail stores. Among these new features is a premier store locator that incorporates both geo-location software and the enterprise Google™ interactive maps functionality. This store locator automatically identifies and displays site visitors’ local Ace stores without a single click and saves that information for future visits.
Additional features of the redesigned site include:
•Personalized “My Local Ace” pages, through which visitors can access store-specific information at the top of the website pages throughout their site experiences;
•Projects and solutions section, with interactive project videos and step-by-step how-to guides;
•Printable product pages and shopping carts, designed to create unified online and offline shopping experiences for Ace customers, and
•Customer ratings and reviews of products to help shoppers with their purchasing decisions.
“We are thrilled with how well Ace’s new online site supports our integrated approach to promoting the Ace brand,” said Lori Bossmann, vice president of marketing, advertising and merchandising for Ace Hardware Corp. “The level of interactivity and depth of content that GSI built into acehardware.com reflects our commitment to ensuring our customers readily find the right products and information for all of their hardware and home project needs. We know that our website is the first place customers go for product research, project help and local store information, and we’re confident that this deeper level of integration will meet their needs.”
Ace unveiled its redesigned site to more than 2,000 retailers who attended its annual Ace Retailer Show last week. Directly from the tradeshow floor, Ace retailers were able to add content and other information unique to their store locations, all of which was made live on the site earlier this week. Retailers can add to their store-specific content 24 hours a day, seven days a week through Ace’s retailer extranet.
“Ace’s redesigned online store is a testament to the benefits of uniting the online and offline shopping experiences,” said David Ginsburg, vice president of Client Services for GSI Interactive, GSI’s marketing services division. “Through this redesign, Ace has embraced the ways its customers research and buy products. They had very specific goals in mind for the site, and they worked closely with our marketing and design services division to ensure the carefully tailored redesign would truly bring its physical stores to life online. This will help solidify Ace’s position as a leading multi-channel hardware retailer.”
In support of its ongoing focus on multi-channel retailing, Ace will continue to offer free shipping to any participating Ace retail store for purchases made at its online store. More than 40,000 customers visit Ace’s website each day.
About Ace Hardware
Throughout its 80-year history, Ace Hardware has been known as the helpful hardware store by both customers and communities. With 4,600 hardware, home center and building materials stores that generate annual retail sales of more than $13 billion, Ace Hardware is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the industry. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace currently operates 14 distribution centers in the U.S. and its retailers’ stores are located in all 50 states and 70 countries. More information about Ace can be found at www.acehardware.com.
About GSI Commerce
GSI Commerce is a leading provider of e-commerce solutions that enable retailers, branded manufacturers, entertainment companies and professional sports organizations to operate e-commerce businesses. We provide solutions for our partners through our integrated e-commerce platform, which is comprised of three components: technology, logistics and customer care, and marketing services. We provide e-commerce solutions for more than 60 partners.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements made in this release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “guidance,” “potential,” “continue,” “project,” “forecast,” “confident,” “prospects,” “schedule” and similar expressions typically are used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business of GSI Commerce. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors which may affect GSI Commerce’s business, financial condition and operating results include the effects of changes in the economy, consumer spending, the financial markets and the industries in which GSI Commerce and its partners operate, changes affecting the Internet and e-commerce, the ability of GSI Commerce to develop and maintain relationships with strategic partners and suppliers and the timing of its establishment, extension or termination of its relationships with strategic partners, the ability of GSI Commerce to timely and successfully develop, maintain and protect its technology, confidential and proprietary information, and product and service offerings and execute operationally, the ability of GSI Commerce to attract and retain qualified personnel, and the ability of GSI Commerce to successfully integrate its acquisitions of other businesses, if any, the performance of acquired businesses. More information about potential factors that could affect GSI Commerce can be found in its most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and other reports and statements filed by GSI Commerce with the SEC. GSI Commerce expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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GSI Commerce, Inc.
Corporate Marketing
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