Torex to Supply POS, Back Office and Support Services in Eight Year, £19 Million Contract

DUNSTABLE, UK - 28 January 2008 - Torex Retail Holdings Limited (Torex™), the leading European-based global provider of software and solutions to the extended retail marketplace, has been selected by Martin McColl Ltd, the UK’s largest independent convenience and newsagent store operator, to deploy a company-wide Point of Service (POS) infrastructure across their estate of over 1,300 stores in the UK. The POS solution will also incorporate full back office functionality, with integrated digital CCTV and an electronic catalogue system to enable access to a wider range of store merchandise. Torex will in addition provide hardware and software support services for the next eight years.

The decision to award the contract follows a major review programme undertaken by Martin McColl. The deal will see Torex implement and support its market-leading Torex™ Power-POS for convenience solution across the retailer’s store estate, along with the latest HP RP5700 POS retail processor units with durable MultiQ touch screens supporting customer-facing video media at the POS and bluetooth hand held terminals from Nordic for management of stock functions on the shop floor in each store.

Additional functionality will be integrated into the POS system to deliver benefits to Martin McColl employees and customers. This will include:

On-line Account Management for home news delivery customers - Martin McColl customers can order new publications, confirm holiday periods and settle bills over the Internet

Back-office support on the POS – full Back Office functionality can be driven from the POS, allowing managers to manage and maintain systems while working in the store and improving productivity

CCTV integration - Torex™ Power-POS for convenience can detect suspicious transactions and automatically capture digital video within the electronic audit. Central office or remote users can also access the digital CCTV to watch the store in a live situation
Jonathan Miller, Finance Director at Martin McColl, said, "Following a full-scale review of our in-store systems and POS strategy, we chose Torex to provide us with a completely new IT infrastructure to match our ambitious plans for future growth. Torex™ Power-POS for convenience will deliver real and measurable business improvements across our estate, increase the productivity of our stores and enhance the overall customer experience."

Graeme Cooksley, President and Chief Operating Officer for Torex, commented, "We are delighted that Martin McColl has chosen Torex to implement this end-to-end solution, as this decision illustrates our ability to deliver integrated systems and support programmes at the highest level. This contract is unprecedented within the convenience sector and illustrates our unique capability to provide competitive advantage and business benefits based on POS systems across one of the UK's largest retail estates. Customer experience being a crucial factor for success in the convenience sector, this solution will provide Martin McColl with the foundation for future success."