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Spring 1999
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General Automation has announced that Elizabeth Arden Salons, a leading operator of beauty salons and day spas, has launched a new electronic commerce site using its Liberty Web Publisher software as the middleware.
The new Internet site (http://www.elizabethardensalons.com) provides an easy and secure way for customers to purchase gift certificates at six signature Elizabeth Arden “Red Door” day spas in the United States. “Our customers are generally affluent and sophisticated, and they have ready access to the Internet,” said Robert L Broadhead, chief financial officer for Elizabeth Arden Salons. “Our new e-commerce site, though launched only in November, has already significantly boosted our gift certificate sales.”
“The successful Elizabeth Arden Salons project demonstrates our commitment to provide clients with innovative solutions in the rapidly evolving and highly strategic area of electronic commerce,” noted Jane Christie, president and chief executive officer of General Automation. “With our powerful Liberty Web integration tools and our extensive experience in working with an open system environment, we are uniquely positioned to help businessses utilize the Internet to develop new channels of distribution and lower their costs.”
Phoenix-based Elizabeth Arden Salons operates some 200 salons and spas in North America, most of them within large department stores. The gift certificate program targets the standalone “Red Door” day spas the company operates in six major US metropolitan areas, including the largest day spa in the world on Fifth Avenue in New York City. On the new Web site, customers can purchase gift certificates for any one of four specially priced spa packages, or purchase certificates in dollar amounts of $50 - $300 that allow the recipient to select the hair, nail, body treatment and skincare services they prefer.
In making the Web site a reality, Liberty Web Publisher provided the critical link between Elizabeth Arden Salons’ existing mvBASE database and the Microsoft Internet Information Server chosen to power the Web site. Liberty Web Publisher is a toolkit for Windows 95 and Windows NT environments that allows Internet servers to talk directly to all MultiValue databases. mvBASE is General Automation’s leading Windows NT-based operating evironment for MultiValue applications.
“Time was a crucial factor in developing and launching the site, since we wanted to be operational during the lucrative Christmas season,” said Steve Raimo, information systems director for Elizabeth Arden Salons. “With Liberty Web Publisher, we were able to utilize all of our point-of-sale and gift certificate programming that already resided on our mvBASE system. It really simplified things and enabled us to launch the site ahead of schedule.”
“Companies have made substantial investments in their legacy systems, and Liberty Web Publisher enables them to cost-effectively extend that investment to fast-growing Internet solutions,” commented Janet Bond, general manager of Liberty Integration Software. “The successful launch of Elizabeth Arden’s web site in such short time demonstrates the value of Liberty Web Publisher as a middleware solution for MultiValue databases.”
GA Mentor LimitedLast Updated: 30 June 1999