Charming Shoppes, Inc. expands Partnership with Wipro and signs Strategic servicing agreement
Charming Shoppes, Inc. expands Partnership with Wipro and signs Strategic servicing agreement
Bangalore, India, August 04, 2009 - Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT), today announced that it has entered into a five-year strategic agreement to provide Charming Shoppes, Inc. (Nasdaq: CHRS), a leading multi-brand specialty apparel retailer primarily focused on plus-size women's apparel, with end-to-end information technology services that include application management, remote infrastructure management and mainframe hosting. This partnership will be an integral component of Charming Shoppes’ transformation journey to optimize IT spend and improve business agility.
Under the agreement, Wipro will be responsible for application management of the entire suite of applications encompassing stores, supply chain, merchandising, marketing and analytics, business intelligence and corporate systems. Wipro will provide hosting services from its state-of-the-art U.S.-based data centers and manage infrastructure using a robust ITIL-based service management framework including data center operations, network and security operations and performance management. These services will be delivered across stores, distribution centers and the corporate brand offices of Charming Shoppes.
During the term of the agreement, Wipro will work with Charming Shoppes to affect year-over-year improvements in performance and efficiency thereby providing stable, flexible and scalable IT platforms to help the retailer achieve business objectives, focus on core brands and increase cash flow. Charming Shoppes will maintain a viable ongoing IT operation in Bensalem and retain key retail business and technical expertise.
"As the leading provider of women’s specialty plus apparel, our focus is on strengthening our brands and providing a superior customer experience." said Denis Gingue, Senior Vice President and CIO of Charming Shoppes, Inc. "We rely on IT as a critical enabler for our businesses – and strategic partnerships are critical to our future success. We selected Wipro because of their retail and fashion experience, technical competency in infrastructure and applications and their process discipline in IT operations."
“We will leverage our depth and best practices in infrastructure and application management and our experience in transforming Retail enterprises, to add value to Charming Shoppes.” said Bhanu Murthy BM, Senior Vice President and Business Unit Global Head at Wipro. "Charming Shoppes is a strategic customer for us in the U.S and we are pleased to expand our relationship and assist them in business value creation and improving their operational effectiveness." said Manoj Punja, Wipro’s Chief Sales and Operations Officer – Americas.
About Charming Shoppes, Inc.
Charming Shoppes, Inc. is a leading multi-brand specialty apparel retailer specializing primarily in women's plus-size apparel. Headquartered in Bensalem, PA., it is the parent company of three distinct plus apparel brands - Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug and Catherines Plus Sizes. With over 2,200 stores in 48 states and $2.5 billion in Fiscal 2009 annual sales, Charming Shoppes is the third-largest women's specialty apparel retailer in the United States as measured by store units. For additional information about Charming Shoppes, Inc., please visit www.charmingshoppes.com.
About Wipro
Wipro Technologies, a division of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) is the first PCMM Level 5 and SEI CMM Level 5 certified global IT services organization. Wipro Technologies was recently assessed at Level 5 for CMMI V 1.2 across offshore and onsite development centers. Wipro is one of the largest product engineering and support service providers worldwide. Wipro provides comprehensive research and development services, IT solutions and services, including systems integration, information systems outsourcing, package implementation, software application management, and datacenter managed services to corporations globally.
In the Indian market, Wipro is a leader in providing IT solutions and services for the corporate segment in India, offering system integration, network integration, software solutions and IT services.
Wipro also has a profitable presence in niche market segments of consumer products and lighting. In the Asia-Pacific and Middle East markets, Wipro provides IT solutions and services for global corporations. Wipro's ADS' are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and its equity shares are listed in India on the Stock Exchange - Mumbai, and the National Stock Exchange.
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www.wipro.com