Sears honors Sony Computer Entertainment America with top vendor awards; PlayStation game console sweeps "Kids Store" category

Business Wire, March 19, 1997

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 19, 1997--Sears, Roebuck and Co. today announced that Sony Computer Entertainment America, developers and marketers of the PlayStation(TM) game console, swept the top awards in the vendor category at the annual Sears "Kids Store" Platinum Circle Awards Dinner.

The awards recognize Sears "Kids Store" national brand and private label (Sears brands) vendors.

Sony Computer Entertainment America was selected as the standout winner of all three vendor honors among national brands -- "Sales Performance vs. Plan," "Margin Contribution vs. Plan" and "Vendor of the Year" -- outperforming all other companies in the "Kids Store."

Companies being nominated for honors were selected from more than 500 vendors providing merchandise for Sears' "Kids Store," which includes children's apparel and videogame products being sold in the Funtronics portion of the department.

Less than 10 percent of Sears vendors, including Levi Strauss, Evenflo, Nintendo and Oshkosh B'gosh, are nominated for the Platinum Circle. The vendor honors are then awarded from this top tier.

"The phenomenal popularity of the PlayStation, along with the strong commitment from Sony Computer Entertainment America has helped propel Sears' Kids Store's sales and performance numbers beyond expectations," said Mary Kwan, vice president and general merchandise manager, Children's Apparel, Sears, Roebuck and Co. "We are proud to have Sony Computer Entertainment America as part of our winning team and are pleased to honor them with these awards."

"As the next-generation videogame leader, we are honored to receive these distinctive accolades," said Jack Tretton, vice president, sales, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "More than 3.4 million consumers have already selected the PlayStation as the videogame system of choice, and with the assistance of key retailers such as Sears, we are confident that our installed base will continue to grow at record rates."

Sony Computer Entertainment America has also been nominated for a Partner in Progress Award, Sears' corporate award.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. distributes and markets the PlayStation game console for North America, develops and publishes software for the PlayStation game console, and manages the U.S. third party licensing program. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

With its network of more than 800 full-line department stores and 2,800 off-the-mall stores, Sears is a leading retailer of apparel, home and automotive products and related services for families throughout North America serving more than 50 million households.

CONTACT: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

MaryAnn O'Rourke, 847/286-2880

Jeffrey Fox, 415/655-5509

jeffrey_fox@interactive.sony.com