SAN CARLOS, Calif., Oct. 26, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DemandTec, Inc. (Nasdaq:DMAN), a leading provider of on-demand optimization solutions for retailers and consumer products manufacturers, today announced the kickoff of the 4th Annual DemandTec Retail Challenge, a flagship component of the company's Corporate Citizenship initiative. This two week, online competition for high school seniors simulates the real-life responsibilities of retail marketers and merchandisers. Thirteen high schools and approximately 120 students will take part in this year's challenge, and members of winning teams will be awarded scholarships to be applied towards college education expenses. The winning teams will also have the opportunity to ring the NASDAQ OMX Stock Market closing bell on January 11, 2010 in New York City.
Students participating in the DemandTec Retail Challenge will be presented with common retail business challenges including ordering product, managing inventory, and pricing assortments, and will be asked to use their business instincts and math skills while implementing basic category management principles. Teams will be provided relevant data, apply statistical modeling and other analytic techniques, and be asked to develop and present their merchandising recommendations to a team of retail-savvy judges.
"Our vision for this program was to give high school seniors the opportunity to exercise their interest in math and see first-hand how it's applied in a real-world business environment that they as shoppers participate in everyday," said Dan Fishback, CEO of DemandTec. "Thanks to our generous sponsors, these high school seniors are not only receiving an exciting experience in the world of retail problem-solving, but are being given the opportunity to further their education through the scholarships offered to the winners."
The DemandTec Retail Challenge began as a local San Francisco Bay Area program in 2005. Due to its early success, DemandTec expanded the program to include high schools from across the country in the hope of reaching as many students as possible. The 2009 competition is co-sponsored by DemandTec customers BI-LO, Giant Eagle, Safeway and Target as part of a community outreach program designed to foster awareness of the practical applications of math in a business environment.
This year the first individual sponsor has joined the program, sponsoring Osceola High School in Osceola, Wisconsin. The DemandTec Retail Challenge is a flagship component of DemandTec's Corporate Citizenship program, which integrates social responsibility into all business practices and engages a cross-functional and geographically diverse set of employees to identify specific initiatives where DemandTec employees can play a unique role, particularly in the areas of math and science education, as well as youth development.
More than $50,000 in scholarship money has been awarded since the inception of the DemandTec Retail Challenge in 2005.
For more information on the DemandTec Retail Challenge, please visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/DemandTec-Retail-Challenge/155022027354?v=wall&ref=ts, or http://www.demandtec.com/company/corporate-citizenship/retail-challenge.php
About DemandTec
DemandTec (Nasdaq:DMAN) enables retailers and consumer products companies to optimise merchandising and marketing decisions, individually or collaboratively, to achieve their sales volume, revenue, and profitability objectives. DemandTec software services utilize DemandTec's science-based software platform to model and understand consumer behavior. DemandTec customers include more than 195 leading retail and consumer products manufacturers such as Ahold USA, Best Buy, ConAgra Foods, Delhaize America, General Mills, Giant-Carlisle, H-E-B Grocery Co., Hormel Foods, Monoprix, PETCO, Safeway, Sara Lee, The Home Depot, and WH Smith. Connected via the DemandTec TradePoint Network(TM), DemandTec customers have collaborated online with nearly 2.5 million trade deals. For more information, please visit www.demandtec.com.
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