For Franchise information visit Gymboree Play & Music on BISON.

Gymboree Receives Retail System Alert's `Best in Decision Systems' Award

BURLINGAME, CALIFORNIA - (June 7, 1999) - The Gymboree Corporation received the Retail Systems Alert "Best in Decision Systems" Award. The award was presented at the Retail Systems 1999 Conference & Exposition in Chicago.

"Gymboree has become an industry role model in exceptional inventory and pricing management," the Retail Systems Alert Advisory Board said. "Gymboree's visionary approach to inventory productivity and markdown management has paved the way for the implementation of groundbreaking decision support tools that make the management of major merchandising decisions more scientific and less of a high stakes gamble."

"We are delighted to be recognized as an industry leader in advanced decision systems," said Gary White, Gymboree's Vice-Chair and Chief Executive Officer. "Combining technology and statistics with our retailing instincts positions us to respond quickly to customer demands and to maximize return on investment. For Gymboree at this time, there is no more important initiative than managing our inventories intelligently. This award endorses the efforts we have made to achieve this goal." Gymboree's decision support system is based on an advanced mathematical optimization model developed for the company by Technology Strategy, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Carver Johnson, Gymboree's Chief Information Officer, and Ed Wong, Vice President of Planning & Allocation, accepted the award for Gymboree.

The award jury consisted of information systems executives from retailers including AutoZone International, Burlington Coat Factory, Gadzooks, The Home Depot and Saks, Inc. The Retail Systems 1999 Achievement Awards are presented by Retail Systems Alert Group, the leading provider of business intelligence services for the retail, e-commerce, and supply chain industries. The group provides analysis and insight about a broad spectrum of retail, e-commerce, and supply chain issues through publications, conferences and expositions, Internet services, special reports, and customized research.

The Gymboree Corporation designs, manufactures and retails unique, high-quality apparel and accessories for children. The Company operates 589 stores, which includes 542 stores in the United States, 18 stores in Canada and 29 stores in Europe. The company also offers directed parent-child developmental play programs at 394 franchised and company-operated centers in the United States and 9 foreign countries.

For franchise information visit Gymboree Play & Music on BISON.