[April 20, 2005] Retail Systems Alert Launches New Industry Research Initiative and Trade Journal Based on Extended Retail Industry Concept Tweet NEWTON, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- April 20, 2005 -- Retail Systems Alert Group announced the launch of its New Horizons Research Initiative and ERI - Extended Retail Industry(TM) Journal - as the first of many services it will provide to its customers based on its redefinition of the retail industry as a broader consumer-focused industry encompassing retailers, manufacturers, transportation/distribution/logistics, warehousing, solution providers, and other supporting organizations. "Retail Systems Alert Group has been tracking systems and process development in the retail, CPG and apparel industries for more than 15 years," said Thomas Friedman, founder and president of Retail Systems Alert Group, "and we recognize that these industries have become part of a larger ecosystem of compatible and inter-connected companies across the globe. We have defined this as the Extended Retail Industry. We feel it is important to our customers to help them adapt to this change and provide them with information and insights into how they can create long-term value for their companies in this broader industry." New Horizons Research Initiative This international industry research initiative seeks to change how the Extended Retail Industry anticipates major influences by looking out over the next five, ten, and twenty years in ways the industry does not currently do, which no single company is capable of doing. It will isolate those long-term influences that will impact consumerism and retail practices globally. Retail Systems Alert Group is introducing this program to provide a methodology by which the industry can examine the impact of major trends such as demographic, economic, social, governmental, and technological in order to produce near-term, credible, and measurable progress toward determining which breakthroughs can be achieved and how to go about it. The first step in this research initiative is the New Horizons Survey. Sponsored by Oracle, this survey will be conducted by Retail Systems Alert Group and will look at what influences are impacting executive decisions surrounding key corporate investments and strategies. The purpose of the New Horizons Survey is to seek opinion on trends and factors that may influence the Extended Retail Industry from product design through consumption, now and in the near future. "It is our hope," comments Brian Kilcourse, Chief Strategist for Retail Systems Alert Group, "that the survey will offer unique and actionable insights about fast-evolving trends that impact marketing, merchandising, consumer service, sourcing, store development, the Internet, information technology, and the supply chain, both now and in the future." Preliminary results of the survey will be shared with survey participants in early May and announced at a special breakfast at the annual Retail Systems 2005 Conference & Exposition, Wednesday, May 25, in Chicago. The event runs from Tuesday, May 24 to Thursday, May 26. For more information, please visit www.retailsystems.com. ERI - Extended Retail Industry Journal Beginning with its launch issue in May 2005, ERI - Extended Retail Industry Journal will offer a forward-looking approach to providing in-depth analysis about the effective integration of people, process, and technology to create current business strategies that have long-term, sustainable ROI. Editorial will include feature articles, trend analysis, custom research, executive interviews, and in-depth case studies. "ERI - Extended Retail Industry Journal is the evolution of our Retail Systems Alert Research Report, which we have been publishing monthly since 1987," said Eric Olson, VP products and services for Retail Systems Alert Group and Editor in Chief of ERI - Extended Retail Industry Journal. "This new publication will provide executives throughout the Extended Retail Industry with a resource for understanding how technology, business strategy and process, and people intersect in the scope of this broader, interconnected industry. We do not think such as resource existed prior to this journal." Retail Systems Alert Group will distribute the journal to 23,000 senior IT and business executives. It will be launched as a bi-monthly publication in May at Retail Systems Alert Group's annual Retail Systems Conference and Exposition in Chicago, IL. Plans call for the new journal to begin monthly publication in January 2006. For more information about advertising opportunities, please contact Scott Chase, 301-879-1613, [email protected], Barry Pollack, 516-681-0735, [email protected], David Shaw, 301-963-6162, [email protected], or Miles Weiner, 617-527-4626, [email protected]. About Retail Systems Alert Group Retail Systems Alert Group is a global research and events company that has followed the advancements of technology applications within the retail, CPG, and apparel industries for more than a decade. The company provides analysis and insight about a broad spectrum of issues and trends through publications, events, Internet services, special reports, and customized research. Retail Systems Alert Group has organized the annual Retail Systems Conference & Exposition, America's leading Retail IT and Supply Chain Event for more than 15 years. Retail Systems 2005 will be held May 24-26, at McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. For more information, visit www.retailsystems.com. Retail Systems Alert Group is a trade name of Retail Systems B2B LLC, a Proximus Company. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]