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10/27/04: The Bombay Company Saves Over 27% Using Sorcity Reverse-Auction Service

Purchasing department helps improve company profitability

DALLAS, TX - October 27, 2004... Bombay Company, designer and marketer of furniture and home accessories through catalogs, the Internet, and more than 400 stores worldwide, has saved over 27% on expense-item purchases by using the Sorcity.com Reverse-Auction Internet service.

Recognized for the past six years as a leading provider of Reverse-Auction services, Sorcity helps Supply Managers accelerate many purchasing steps and virtually eliminates the time spent on negotiating a lower price, by allowing suppliers to compete for this lower cost business in a downward auction.

Kay McCarthy, C.P.M. and Director of Purchasing for The Bombay Company ,who led the charge with this new sourcing method says, "We have been using Sorcity for several years because it doesn't come with the baggage of software or consulting solutions. It is a very easy service that includes a number of professional services to ensure we get the lowest price for the goods and services we buy, without disrupting our internal processes. And there's no cost to us."

"Another unexpected advantage we discovered is that Sorcity can save us several days on each purchase sourced. It also solved a major concern in that we were able to maintain several of our current supplier relationships but with a lower price," says McCarthy.

From a financial standpoint, Reverse-Auctions cut the price a company pays for many goods and services, which can translate into millions of dollars. If that company can realize a large enough savings, it could have a direct impact on the prices they ultimately charge their customers. In the case of Bombay, this could reflect even better prices to consumers, which could increase Christmas sales.

"Bombay has used Reverse-Auctions to source diverse products like air mattresses, adhesive labels, warehouse strapping tape and carton tape." McCarthy continues, "The most impressive savings thus far have resulted from POS journal tape and Stretch film but we now have larger, multi-year purchases planned for Reverse-Actions to target savings on corrugated cartons, office supplies, light bulbs, store fixtures, visual props, mill work and possibly even signage printing.

Wes Guillemaud, CEO of Sorcity.com says, "Our goal is to deliver 10-20% savings across our clients entire spend without asking them to invest any time or money. Our philosophy is pretty simple: Make it easy and highly rewarding for Supply Managers to use our service, and we will commit to making them more successful and valuable. It's an easy way for purchasing directors and CFOs to shine."

Web Sites: Bombay: www.bombaycompany.com Sorcity: www.sorcity.com