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KarstadtQuelle Awards EDS Contract Expected to be Worth Approximately US$1 Billion


WEBWIRE

PLANO, Texas and ESSEN, Germany – EDS today announced an agreement with an expected total contract value of approximately US$1 billion with KarstadtQuelle AG, Europe’s leading retail and tourism group, to manage the company’s applications and information technology (IT) environment for the next eight years. The deal is subject to standard regulatory approval.

“As a trusted business partner, we look to the EDS team to apply its global knowledge and best practices to help us modernize our application landscape, lower IT costs and manage growth,” said Professor Dr. Helmut Merkel, member of the board of KarstadtQuelle Holding. “EDS’ expertise in our industry and worldwide reach will play a critical role as we achieve our business objectives.”

As part of the contract, EDS will assume responsibility for the company’s IT services subsidiary, ITELLIUM Systems & Services GmbH. ITELLIUM will provide the foundation for EDS’ new Germany-based Competence Center of Retail Expertise (CORE), which will be located in Essen and Nuremburg and will support KarstadtQuelle and the European retail sector.

ITELLIUM has approximately 700 employees with profound knowledge and experience in IT support for department stores and e-commerce. In addition, EDS Agility Alliance partners will bring to CORE their expertise in the retail industry.

“This transaction strengthens EDS’ position in the European retail market and provides a platform for growth in Germany and Europe,” said Bill Thomas, EDS executive vice president, Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) region. “With the combined expertise of KarstadtQuelle, ITELLIUM and EDS, KarstadtQuelle will see more efficient and productive processes and lower costs while being able to focus its efforts squarely on its core business.”

CORE will focus on ways to further modernize and optimize KarstadtQuelle’s IT environment offering the company significant savings over the life of the contract.

The agreement’s scope includes IT services for Karstadt’s department stores across Germany and the international mail order businesses of Primondo (Quelle). EDS will develop and maintain KarstadtQuelle’s critical software applications used for running the department stores and supporting its diverse e-commerce activities.

EDS will also manage all third party contracts with regard to the company’s entire IT infrastructure including a communications network that connects all of its locations and sales outlets. Lastly, EDS will manage and provide support to employees for the company’s desktop computers, PDAs, laptops, and printers – more than 15,000 computing devices.

EDS serves more than 200 consumer and retail industry clients and generates more than $1.2 billion in revenue in this sector annually. As a leading IT provider in the consumer and retail industry, EDS focuses on a variety of market segments including food/beverage, apparel/footwear, consumer products and all retail outlets including restaurants, mass/department, grocery, drug, convenience, online/catalog and specialty.



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