Electronic Ink Makes Chicago Debut At Area JCPenney Department Stores

Business Wire, August 3, 1999

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 3, 1999--

Use of E Ink's Immedia technology in Chicago area

JCPenney department stores showcases future of retailing

E Ink Corporation, the leading developer of electronic ink technology, and J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP), one of America's largest retailers, today announced the installation of Immedia displays in Chicago area JCPenney department stores. This announcement comes on the heels of the first ever Immedia display, which debuted in May at a JCPenney department store in Massachusetts. Immedia uses electronic ink to combine the superior look of ink on paper with the ability to change images instantly. JCPenney is currently using the Immedia signs in the Simply for Sports department of its Woodfield Mall, Lincoln Mall and Fox Valley Shopping Center department stores. The signs provide shoppers with continuously updated information about sales, special offers and highlighted brands.

"Immedia displays offer us so many advantages," said Al Bell, director of catalog, target marketing and publications at JCPenney. "Just think of how much faster we can respond to market conditions when we are not limited by the fixed nature of paper signs. Immedia will allow us to reach out to shoppers more effectively because messages can be tailored to each store in real time. The possibilities are endless, from information on the latest sale to an update on last nights ball game."

"As a major retail center, Chicago is the perfect city for the Immedia displays," said Lisa Merriam, marketing director at E Ink. "Chicago offers an area with high sales volume and a large cross section of consumers, which presents a great opportunity for JCPenney to maximize customer promotions and demonstrate their leadership in adopting the most innovative technologies."

Traditional point-of-sale signage has suffered from labor expense and field compliance issues due to the need to design, print, ship and install thousands of paper signs on a frequent basis. Immedia products solve this problem by giving the retailer the ability to wirelessly change messages in seconds, whether in a single store or across the entire retail chain.

The signs in the Chicago area JCPenney department stores can hang from the ceiling or against the wall. They are approximately four by four feet, weigh approximately eight pounds and are extremely thin. Even while updating the message every five seconds, each sign consumes less energy than a household light bulb.

"The JCPenney test is an important demonstration of how our proprietary electronic ink changes the way people communicate visually," said Jim Iuliano, president and CEO of E Ink. "This is our first step in introducing a series of novel products, such as electronic books and wireless newspapers, to the marketplace."

About J.C. Penney Company, Inc.

J.C. Penney Company, Inc. is one of America's largest department store, drugstore and catalog retailers. The company operates nearly 1,150 JCPenney department stores in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Chile and Brazil. JCPenney Catalog, including e-commerce, is the nation's largest catalog merchant of general merchandise. Eckerd Drugstores is comprised of nearly 2,900 drugstores located in the Northeast, Southeast and Sunbelt regions of the U.S. The JCPenney direct marketing services markets insurance products and membership services to various credit card customers by direct response solicitations primarily in the United States and Canada.

About E Ink

E Ink Corporation, headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., was founded in 1997 to commercialize unique electronic displays. The company has developed a proprietary "electronic ink" that provides significant advantages over traditional flat panel technologies. Electronic ink displays possess unique properties such as flexibility, ultra-thinness and larger sizes when compared to traditional displays. When exposed to an electronic signal, the electronic ink changes color to provide revolutionary display capabilities. The company's Immedia display products can be updated remotely and offer a contrast equivalent to printed media. E Ink is a private corporation whose investors include Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT), Creavis GmbH (NYSE:VEB), The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG), The Hearst Corporation, Atlas Venture, Applied Technology and Solstice Capital.

Note to Editors: Photos of the Immedia display can be found at http://www.schwartz-pr.com/client/eink/index.htm