[October 17, 2003] Saks Fifth Avenue Announces Customer Relationship Management Division; Appoints Senior Vice President to Run Division, Signs Teradata as Provider of CRM Support Systems As part of its commitment to intimately understand the wants and needs of its core customer and in turn drive customer loyalty, Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises (SFAE) today announced the formation of its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) division. As part of this initiative, the company named Mr. Rob Rosenblatt as Senior Vice President to run the division, and signed Teradata as its provider of CRM support systems. By combining Teradata's expertise in building enterprise-wide data warehousing solutions with Saks Fifth Avenue's extensive market research and loyalty programs including Saks First, the CRM division will enable Saks to best define luxury shopping preferences in all segments of the market. The CRM division will be instrumental in creating new ways of addressing the luxury customer as a result of its intense focus on Saks Fifth Avenue customers' top priorities and desires. Mr. Rosenblatt, age 44, has previously been responsible for creating value-added credit card products, with a strong emphasis on loyalty/rewards, at American Express TRS Company and Virgin USA. In addition, he oversaw the efforts at US Loyalty Corporation to create a multi-retailer rewards system focusing on CRM. This is part of our plan to create the most inviting luxury shopping experience by developing new and innovative products and services that our customer has come to expect from us, said Sheri Wilson-Gray, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. As we look to connect more closely with the Saks Fifth Avenue customer, we will leverage Rob Rosenblatt's extensive experience in building and accelerating businesses through Customer Relationship Management. Mr. Rosenblatt, who will report to Sheri Wilson-Gray, will also be a member of Saks Fifth Avenue's operating committee and will oversee a team with direct reports including Elizabeth Preis, vice president of direct marketing responsible for loyalty and targeted marketing programs and Robert Schroko, vice president of database marketing. I am excited to be part of such a prominent marketing team that is truly focused on delivering products that meet its customer's lifestyle, said Mr. Rosenblatt. I look forward to building the Saks Fifth Avenue CRM department with Sheri and her marketing team. Mr. Rosenblatt most recently served as a CEO in residence at iFormation Group, a firm that partners with Global 2000 companies to build and accelerate new businesses. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University, and a Bachelor's degree from SUNY, Albany. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]