KBAY Kanbay International (MM)

-- Results of NRF Foundation and Kanbay Research Institute Report to be Announced at NRF BIG Show -- NEW YORK, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In the retail industry, how companies differentiate themselves from their competitors is often the difference between sustained success and mediocrity. The past few years, a select group of retailers have been competing on a whole new level, according to a new study conducted for the NRF Foundation by the Kanbay Research Institute (KRI). The study, "New Dynamics that Create and Build Retailer Competitive Advantage 2007," found that the top 10 most competitive retailers in 2007 have generated a return on invested capital (ROIC) three times higher than other retailers (15.43% vs. 5.03%) since 2001. The UPS Store (NYSE:UPS) tops the list as the most competitive retailer in 2007, with Dollar Tree ranked second and Dollar General third. The top 10 is rounded out by Walgreens (NYSE:WAG), Kenneth Cole (NYSE:KCP), Petco, Kohl's (NYSE:KSS), Target (NYSE:TGT), Men's Wearhouse (NYSE:MW), and PetSmart (NASDAQ:PETM). "Investor Warren Buffet coined the term 'moat' to define how companies must create a barrier to entry in order to protect their profits," said Gary A. Williams, President of the KRI. "Our analysis of five years worth of consumer and financial data shows that to achieve an economic moat, companies build a consumer moat first. In fact, one of Mr. Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway companies -- GEICO Insurance -- possesses three of the nine consumer moats our study discovered." Williams will announce the results of the 2007 study at NRF's 96th Annual Convention and EXPO. In stark contrast to last year's findings, pricing power for retailers has increased substantially from 2.6% to 6.4% going into 2007. As found with other sectors of the U.S. economy that the KRI studies, pricing power is a leading indicator that innovation is underway. "Retailers cannot simply rely on everyday low prices to keep their customers coming back," said Kathy Mance, vice president of the NRF Foundation. "Companies will need to find creative ways to fuel their marketing and merchandising strategies and rethink how they view customer service in order to remain relevant." The report, "New Dynamics that Create and Build Retailer Competitive Advantage," is co-branded with the NRF Foundation, the research and education arm of the National Retail Federation, and co-sponsored by Abacus and Adjoined Consulting LLC, of which KRI is an operating unit. A full version of the report will be available for purchase online beginning Jan. 15, through the NRF bookstore at http://www.nrf.com/bookstore/Bookstore.asp . About the Study The KRI analyzed data collected on the top performing companies in the US over a five-year period from 2001 to 2005. Firms that built competitive advantage had to meet two conditions throughout all five years: 1) A relatively stable or increasing market share, and 2) A high return on invested capital (ROIC). The KRI then scrutinized data collected from tens of thousands of consumer interviews about how well those same companies were meeting customer expectations. The analysis revealed that nine patterns exist when creating a barrier to entry for holding off competitors. The KRI then applied these same patterns against recently collected interviews with consumers to discover the most competitive retailers in 2007. The retailer only data in the 2007 report covers 13,662 respondents. About the Kanbay Research Institute The Kanbay Research Institute (KRI) is an operating unit of Adjoined Consulting LLC, a subsidiary of Kanbay International, Inc. Originally founded in 1998 and formerly the independent research division of Adjoined Consulting, Inc., the KRI conducts primary research on an original set of leading indicators that measure consumer demand across functional, emotional and economic factors. Through a patented research system, comprehensive market models are built based on consumer desires that measure how well leading companies are building competitive advantage. The KRI researches and analyzes over 300 market leading companies on a continual basis, with over 20 million data points collected since 2001 in a standardized fashion. To subscribe to our data, contact (800) 840-5148 (U.S. only) or (703) 788-6751 worldwide, or visit http://www.kanbayresearch.com/ . About Kanbay Founded in 1989, Kanbay International, Inc. (NASDAQ:KBAY) is a global IT services firm with more than 6,900 associates worldwide. Kanbay provides a highly integrated suite of management consulting, technology integration and development, and outsourcing solutions through a proven global delivery platform to clients focused on financial services and consumer and industrial products, as well as an emerging presence in the communications and media and life sciences industries. Kanbay is a CMM Level 5 assessed company headquartered in greater Chicago with offices in North America and India as well as London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Melbourne. Further information about Kanbay can be found at http://www.kanbay.com/ . About Abacus Abacus is a leading marketing solutions provider enabling data-driven marketers to better create, build and maintain profitable relationships with their customers. Combining an innovative mix of data and data-related services -- such as marketing databases, analytics, and cooperative data -- with deep expertise, Abacus' solutions strengthen marketers' competitive position by enabling more intelligent marketing. To find out more on how we can help build on your success, contact us at 877-368-2532 or visit http://www.abacus-us.com/ . About the NRF Foundation NRF Foundation is the research and education arm of the National Retail Federation. The Foundation conducts original research on topics of importance to retailers worldwide and develops educational and certification programs to provide the skills and knowledge to drive success. The National Retail Federation is the world's largest retail trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet and independent stores as well as the industry's key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF represents and industry with more than 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments, more than 23 million employees-about one in five American workers-and 2004 sales of $4.1 trillion. For more information on the NRF Foundation, visit http://www.nrf.com/foundation . DATASOURCE: Kanbay International, Inc. CONTACT: NRF Contacts, Kathy Grannis or Scott Krugman, +1-202-783-7971, or , or ; or Kanbay Contacts, Megan Grabos, +1-312-861-4710, or , or Laura Micheli, +1-312-861-4712, or Web site: http://www.kanbay.com/ http://www.nrf.com/foundation http://www.abacus-us.com/ http://www.kanbayresearch.com/ http://www.nrf.com/bookstore/Bookstore.asp

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