Carrefour Selects Checkpoint's Digital RF for Chainwide Installations in Spain; All Hypermarkets And Supermarkets In Spain Will Be Ready By Christmas

Business Wire, Nov 28, 2000

Business/Technology Editors

THOROFARE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 28, 2000

Checkpoint Systems, Inc., (NYSE:CKP), a leading provider of supply chain management and security solutions worldwide, announced that it has been selected by Carrefour, Spain's largest hypermarket retailer, to install its integrated scan/deactivation and digital RF systems in all of Carrefour's stores in Spain. The installations will be completed before Christmas. This means that Carrefour will have the necessary infrastructure to receive and sell RF source tagged goods in all 121 hypermarkets and in its more than 300 supermarkets. Checkpoint will also initiate a program to train some 5,000 Carrefour management and staff employees in EAS, security and loss prevention-related matters.

Checkpoint's RF technology will have a market share of 83% in hypermarkets and in supermarkets by the end of the year approaching 20,000 systems and 25,000 deactivators in Spain alone. Checkpoint Spain is successfully introducing a new line of products and services to help manufacturers with the automated process of applying RF tags to products before supplying them directly to retailers.

"After carefully comparing the competing solutions, we identified Checkpoint's RF source tagging program as the optimal way to fight shrinkage in all our stores without compromising a friendly environment for our customers. Radio frequency has now become the de facto standard in Spain, which allows manufacturers of consumer goods to respond quickly to the current demand from retailers to receive the goods source tagged directly at the stores," said Manuel Goncalves, the Director of Loss Prevention at Carrefour. "We are experiencing prompt source tagging compliance from manufacturers of consumer goods and we expect to receive most high theft items source tagged by next year."

Checkpoint will work closely with Carrefour Spain's manufacturing suppliers in order to add additional source tagged products to the 8,000, valued at $1.5 billion, currently source tagged by Spanish manufacturers. Product manufacturers such as L'Oreal, Coty, and Laboratoires Garnier/Maybelline are reaping the benefits from the program through increased sales while meeting the demand for heightened security in the stores.

Carrefour has become the largest retailer in Spain with sales currently more than 8 billion euros (approximately $7 billion) and 58,000 employees. Carrefour's web site address is located at www.carrefour.com.

Checkpoint Systems, Inc. is a $700 million multinational company that manufactures and markets labeling systems designed to improve efficiency, reduce costs and provide value-added label solutions for customers across many markets and industries. Checkpoint is a leading provider of EAS and RFID systems, source tagging, barcode labeling systems, hand-held labeling systems and retail merchandising systems. Applications include automatic identification, retail security, and pricing and promotional labels. Operating in 27 countries, Checkpoint has a global network of subsidiaries and provides professional customer service and technical support around the world. Checkpoint Systems, Inc.'s web site is located at www.checkpointsystems.com.