Borders Group Selects Endeca for the New Borders.com Site

Business Wire, May 29, 2008

Endeca's market-leading search, navigation and merchandising technology to power integrated online and in-store shopping experience

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Endeca Technologies, Inc., an information access software company, today announced that Borders([R]) has selected the Endeca Information Access Platform (IAP) to power the search, Guided Navigation[R] and merchandising capabilities on the new Borders.com. The Endeca-powered capabilities are key components of Borders' new, integrated, cross-channel customer experience, which combines the assets of the retailer's new online channel with the many advantages of its stores and vice versa (see related news).

Endeca works with Borders to give shoppers new ways to explore and find more than two million books, CDs, DVDs, as well as access Borders' exclusive and original programming. Endeca is also being used to create highly targeted promotions of featured products based on shoppers search terms, browse path and other criteria, helping Borders deliver a superior shopping experience across all channels.

"Endeca offered us the best search, navigation and merchandising capabilities, and was uniquely suited for cross-channel deployment," said Kevin Ertell, vice president, e-business for Borders Group Inc. "More importantly, Endeca has proven to be a trusted partner and is playing a key role in long-term customer experience innovation -- working with us to create new capabilities that will fundamentally change the way people explore and shop for new products."

Endeca's integrated search, Guided Navigation and merchandising capabilities give shoppers the ability to interchangeably search and browse products and content of interest on Borders.com. Shoppers can query the Endeca engine in a variety of ways. They can perform keyword searches, click on sites categories and other navigation options, refine searches and navigation selections, and even explore the new Borders.com signature Magic Shelf which uses rich internet application (RIA) capabilities to let people browse virtual book shelves. The same capabilities will be available at all 500-plus Borders superstores when Borders.com becomes accessible on existing in-store kiosks in the coming weeks, giving shoppers the ability to search and browse localized inventory and content.

To provide a consistent, compelling and differentiated shopping experience, Borders has integrated the Endeca IAP with a variety of best-of-breed retail and web software offerings. For example, an integration with the Endeca IAP and Allurent Details, lets shoppers mouse over search results to see a variety of product detail information - or place an item in their shopping cart, reserve a copy in their local store, or add to their wish list - without having to click through to a specific product page. Borders is the first major retailer to use this combination of Endeca's information access capabilities and Allurent's RIA capabilities (see related news).

"By creating an innovative and compelling online shopping experience while leveraging the strength of their in-store experience, Borders has raised the bar when it comes to true cross-channel retail" said Steve Papa, CEO of Endeca. "We've taken a collaborative approach to working with innovative retailers like Borders. Through our alliance with Borders, we have pioneered state-of-the-art capabilities to foster Borders' competitive advantage and to accelerate the development of future, cross-channel retail capabilities in our products."

The Endeca IAP is used to power the shopping experiences of more than 200 of the world's top online and multi-channel retailers. More than 40 of the top 100 online retailers, ranked by revenue, use Endeca for search, navigation and merchandising - more than all competing solutions combined. These retailers include leaders like Boots, Circuit City, Costco, Crate & Barrel, Eddie Bauer, Hallmark, The Home Depot, JCPenney, Nike, PETCO, Tesco, Walgreens, and Walmart.com.

About Borders Group, Inc.

Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading global retailer of books, music and movies. Through its subsidiaries, Borders Group employs approximately 30,000 and operates over 1,100 stores worldwide as well as the newly launched Borders.com. More information on the company is available at www.borders.com.

About Endeca

Endeca's innovative information access software helps people explore, analyze, and understand complex information, guiding them to unexpected insights and better decisions. The Endeca Information Access Platform, built around a new class of access-optimized database, powers applications that combine the ease of searching and browsing with the analytical power of business intelligence. More than 500 leading global organizations including ABN AMRO, Boeing, Cox Enterprises, the (US) Defense Intelligence Agency, Dell, Ford Motor Company, Hyatt, IBM, John Deere, the Library of Congress, Texas Instruments, and Walmart.com rely on Endeca to power business-critical applications that increase revenue, reduce costs, and streamline operations.