Former NRF Chairman Bernie Brennan Joins TradeStone Board of Directors

GLOUCESTER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TradeStone Software, the retail industry’s leading provider of private label and global sourcing solutions, today announced that former NRF Chairman and retail industry icon Bernard F. Brennan has joined the TradeStone Board of Directors. Brennan is bringing to TradeStone his deep industry knowledge and proven success as both a former retail CEO and retail technology advisor. He will work closely with the TradeStone executive team and Board to offer guidance as the company expands its Merchandise Lifecycle Management footprint and continues its current 50 percent year-over-year growth.

“Bernie's reputation as a retail CEO in this industry is unparalleled”

Brennan has served as Chairman and CEO of some of the largest retailers in the world for 17 of his 30 years in the industry. He has also served as Chairman of the National Retail Federation where he received its Gold Medal Award as National Retailer of the Year. As Chairman and CEO of Montgomery Ward Holding Company for 11 years, Brennan led the Retail Group and the Signature Group, one of the largest retailers and direct marketing companies in the U.S. Prior to Montgomery Ward, Brennan was Chairman and CEO of Household Merchandising, a multi-billion dollar retail holding company with popular chains, Coast to Coast Stores and Von’s Supermarkets. Previously, he was Chairman and CEO of Sav-A-Stop, a leading vendor of non-food merchandise to the supermarket convenience store industries that was later bought by Sara Lee Corp. Following a family tradition, Brennan began his career at Sears where he held a number of merchandising positions before moving on to serve as Director of Management Development.

In addition to his retail background, Brennan has more than 10 years experience working with retail software technology companies as both an investor & Chairman/Lead Director. His portfolio includes Marketmax (merged into SAS Institute), Spotlight Solutions, Marc Global, Tomax Corporation and EFashion Solutions.

“Bernie's reputation as a retail CEO in this industry is unparalleled,” said Sue Welch, CEO, TradeStone Software. “We plan to leverage his invaluable expertise and ability to translate the value of technology to a retailer's bottom line as we move on to our next stage of growth. On behalf of our executive management team and directors, I welcome Bernie to the TradeStone Board and look forward to working with him.”

“Although my roots are in traditional retail, I’ve always been fascinated by technology and its growing impact on how retailers manage their everyday jobs,” said Brennan. “TradeStone’s Merchandise Lifecycle Management solutions are among the most impressive I’ve seen as far as being able to deliver real change and impact to a retailer’s bottom line. The company’s already strong foothold in the retail market, tier-1 list of retail customers and industry recognized executive team made the decision to join the Board very easy. I am confident that working together we can continue, if not surpass, the 50 percent growth they are seeing now.”

About TradeStone Software, Inc.

TradeStone provides merchandise lifecycle management software that enables the world's most successful retailers to bring innovative and highly profitable private label products to market at record speeds. TradeStone's Merchandise Lifecycle Management suite, which consists of TradeStone PLM for Retail (TM), TradeStone Global Sourcing (TM), TradeStone Global Order Management (TM), TradeStone Supplier Management (TM), TradeStone Quality and Compliance (TM) and TradeStone Logistics and Finance (TM) deliver radical results - 200 to 400 basis points to the bottom line; sales increases of 3 - 6 percent; average consumer spend increases of seven percent; and sell through at margins of 78 percent. TradeStone marquee customers include American Eagle Outfitters, Boots, Deutsche Woolworth, Guitar Center, Kohl's, Macy's, NBrown Catalog Company, Pacific Sunwear, Regatta, Shoprite, The Children's Place and Urban Outfitters. TradeStone Software is headquartered in Gloucester, Mass., with offices in Atlanta, New York City, Bangalore, Hong Kong and London and can be found on the Web at www.TradeStoneSoftware.com.