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Esquire Signs Seven-Year IT Outsourcing Contract With IBM

IBM to Operate and Manage IT Infrastructure and Business Applications Including ERP, New POS System, and Lotus Notes

IBM Provides End-to-End Integrated Services to Assist Esquire's Transformation of Its Core Business Processes

Esquire, Korea's leading fashion marketing company, and IBM Korea announced today that they signed a seven-year information technology outsourcing agreement.

According to the agreement, IBM Korea will operate and manage Esquire's IT infrastructure including server, storage, network, and security as well as its core business applications including ERP, new POS system, and Lotus Notes groupware for the next seven years.

Through this strategic partnership with IBM Korea, Esquire can apply advanced information technology to its core business areas more promptly, while being provided with services on information system management by a specialized service provider. The outsourcing agreement will enable Esquire to move some fixed cost to variable costs and thus free capital for other strategic investment.

With a new IT foundation, the company can apply new business processes quickly which will give the company great flexibility in managing its market portfolio and responding faster to new market opportunities.

Meanwhile, the ERP system that Esquire plans to outsource to IBM Korea is the first of its kind in domestic fashion industry. The system will run SAP ERP R/3 on IBM eServer iSeries servers.

"The strategic partnership with IBM Korea will help Esquire achieve its vision of becoming Asia's top fashion marketing leader through continuous transformation and enhancement of core capabilities," said ChulJoon Chang, CEO, Esquire.

"As Esquire strives to become the market leader in Asia Pacific, IBM Korea is looking forward to partnering with Esquire and providing business value through our IT services capability and consulting experience," said Tony Romero, CEO, IBM Korea.

About IBM Global Services

IBM Global Services is the world's largest information technology services and consulting provider, generating record revenue and signings in 2003 of $42.6 billion and $55.5 billion, respectively. Some 180,000 professionals in more than 160 countries help clients integrate information technology with business value -- from the business transformation and industry expertise of IBM Business Consulting Services to hosting, infrastructure, technology design and training services. Leveraging IBM's unequalled scope and scale, IBM Global Services delivers integrated, flexible and resilient processes -- across companies and through business partners -- that enable clients to benefit from the on demand business model by saving money and transforming their businesses to be more competitive. For more information, visit www.ibm.com/services.

About Esquire

Esquire, established in 1961, is one of the Korea's leading companies in the fashion and leather industry. Additional information can be found at http://www.esquire.co.kr.