Customer Profile
American Retail Group
Institution:
American Retail Group
Location:
New York, NY
Applications:
Enterprise financial,
merchandising, inventory,
human resources and email;
integrated point of sale
systems, instant credit
authorizations and trickle
polling.
Needs:
A high speed WAN to unite
five operating companies;
fast, scalable LANs for
stores and select corporate
offices; the ability to
consolidate policies and
strategies via networked
applications.
Key 3Com Products:
LANplex® 2500
High-Function Switches
LANplex® 6000
High-Function Switches
SuperStack™ Hub 10
stackable hubs
NETBuilder II routers
®
SuperStack™ II
NETBuilder® remote
office routers
EtherLink® III network
interface cards
R E TA I L
“Our goal was to harness untapped
synergies among our diverse businesses
using a scalable LAN/WAN architecture.
3Com gave us superior price/performance
and a breadth of products neither Cisco
nor Wellfleet could match.”
A high speed enterprise
solution from 3Com unites
diverse nationwide retail
chains
Leveraging business information to increase
profits and improve services is mission-critical
for most retailers. However, few face the
extraordinary challenge that American Retail
Group (ARG) encountered in accomplishing
these objectives. Privately held and based in
New York City, ARG owns five retail apparel
chains, including Eastern Mountain Sports,
Modern Woman, Maurice’s, Miller’s Outpost
and Uptons.
Until 1993, these autonomous chains had
virtually no connectivity between them or with
ARG. Policy, merchandising and point of sale
(POS) information in each operating company
was delivered to ARG corporate headquarters
via fax, modem or mail, and the firm had
difficulty consolidating best practices and
buying strategies. To rectify this and address
other systems issues, ARG created Business
Information Services (BIS), an Atlanta-based
information technology services group. One of
BIS’s initial tasks was to establish an enterprise
wide area network (WAN) encompassing the
corporate headquarters of all five operating
companies. As part of this assignment, the unit
also was asked to create an integrated in-store
network in each Uptons store as well as LANs
in the firm’s National Credit Center in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, at BIS.
“Our goal was to harness untapped synergies
among our diverse businesses using a scalable
LAN/WAN architecture,” said Charlie Weston,
—Charlie Weston
BIS director of network services. “Cisco,
Wellfleet and 3Com each offered solutions, but
3Com gave us superior price/performance and a
breadth of products neither Cisco nor Wellfleet
could match.”
“We also needed to flexibly integrate IBM,
NCR and other previously installed POS
systems at Uptons, and 3Com enabled us to
easily link them all to new POS processors in
all pre-existing and new Uptons stores.”
Scalable, high speed interoperability
Now uniting the company’s five businesses,
ARG’s enterprise-wide Frame Relay WAN and
3Com-based LANs provide fast, interoperable
connectivity. Relying on 3Com’s NETBuilder
II® routers at corporate headquarters together
with SuperStack™ II NETBuilder® store
routers—which support TCP/IP, LLC2 and
IPX—the WAN links heterogeneous platforms,
ranging from UNIX and Novell servers to
AS/400 systems. “We’re able to rapidly move
information across ARG as if every node and
system we used was identical,” noted Weston.
The 3Com solution provides each ARG
installation with the speed and scalability its
LAN needs. The BIS network is driven by a
modular 3Com LANplex® 6000 High-Function
Switch, which delivers dedicated 10 Mbps links
to SuperStack™ II Hub 10 shared Ethernet hubs.
ARG’s National Credit Center and corporate
sites utilize single engine LANplex® 2500
switches, also with dedicated 10 Mbps
connections to 3Com stackable hubs. Uptons
department stores and the remote offices
maintain SuperStack II Hub 10 systems with
shared 10 Mbps Ethernet connections to
SuperStack II NETBuilder store routers, which
support 1.54 Mbps links to other 3Com routers
 across the WAN. All ARG sites are using 3Com’s Uptons’ business is also benefiting from a number
robust EtherLink III® network interface cards of other networked services. For example, the
(NICs) in their PCs. stores’ customers now enjoy a vastly improved
credit authorization system that processes
“3Com’s scalable infrastructure lets us allocate transactions in two seconds, compared to 10
bandwidth to each location as needed,” said seconds in the past. This speed is particularly
3Com Corporation
Weston. “We’re better able to identify and build important during heavy shopping periods, when
P.O. Box 58145 best practices between operating companies. We’re faster credit authorizations translate into less
5400 Bayfront Plaza making better buying decisions based on current
Santa Clara, CA 95052-8145 waiting times and shorter lines. The 3Com
Phone: 800-NET-3Com sales and inventory levels and introducing new enterprise network additionally delivers “instant”
or 408-764-5000 customer services that make us more competitive.”
Fax: 408-764-5001 credit application processing via connections
World Wide Web:
http://www.3com.com Driving advanced store applications and to Equifax, Transunion and TRW, enabling new
Uptons’ customers to receive and use their new
3Com ANZA
ANZA East: 61 2 9937 5000
customer services Uptons charge accounts on the spot. It supports
ANZA West: 61 3 9866 8022 On the corporate side, the 3Com WAN broadcasts an automated time management system, providing
3Com Asia Limited enterprise-wide email, enabling each chain to more cost-effective labor management. The
Beijing, China: 86 10 68492 568 network also facilitates trickle polling, which lets
Shanghai, China: 86 21 6374 0220
exchange financial, merchandising, inventory,
Ext. 6115 human resources and policy information with the Uptons’ AS/400 continuously poll in-store POS
Hong Kong: 852 2501 1111 other stores, ARG corporate headquarters, BIS, etc. systems throughout the day for the latest sales and
India: 91 11 644 3974 inventory information. This is a major advance over
Indonesia: 62 21 523 9181
At Uptons, the network is enabling new PC-based
Korea: 82 2 319 4711 applications that are dramatically improving the the chains’ previous batch process polling.
Malaysia: 60 3 732 7910 stores’ business and service. Chief among these
Singapore: 65 538 9368 According to Weston, the 3Com infrastructure is
is the rollout of new UNIX-based in-store POS
Taiwan: 886 2 377 5850 ideally suited for ARG’s communication
Thailand: 662 231 8151 4 processors in all 75 Uptons department stores.
requirements and will able support the retailer’s
3Com Benelux B.V. The processors are linked to Uptons’ corporate
long term business needs. “It’s a highly scalable
Belgium: 32 725 0202 office AS/400 via a Frame Relay WAN. “The
Netherlands: 31 30 6029700 architecture that ARG can continue to count on for
multiprotocol network’s timely exchange of sales
3Com Canada many years to come,” said Weston. “That’s why we
Calgary: 403 265 3266
and pricing information between disparate UNIX
chose 3Com to start with, and why the network is
Montreal: 514 683 3266 processors and AS/400 systems is helping us
so critical to our future success.”
Ottawa: 613 566 7055 make better buying decisions and is having a big
Toronto: 416 498 3266 impact on the way Uptons operates its stores,”
Vancouver: 604 434 3266
3Com European HQ
said Weston. rd Part
y
3
Credit orization
49 89 627 32 0 Auth
3Com France
33 1 69 86 68 00 Comple
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AS400
3Com GmbH
Austria: 43 1 5134323 0
AS/40
Czech and Slovak Republics:
42 2 21845 800
Berlin, Germany: 49 30 3498790
er Farm
Munich, Germany: 49 89 627320 re Serv
Netwa
Hungary: 36 1 250 83 41
Poland: 48 22 6451351
Switzerland: 41 31 996 14 14
ing
3Com Ireland ub FDDI R
Ring H
Token
353 1 820 7077
3Com Japan
81 3 3345 7251 x 6000 rk
Netwo gement
LANplernet/FDDI Serv er
3Com Latin America Ethe Mana enter
POS CP & SNA
ystem TCP/I
U.S. Headquarters: 408-764-6075 Mail S
PC
Argentina: 54 1 312 3266 y
atewa
Brazil: 55 11 546 0869 MHS G
tack II ilder II
Chile: 56 2 633 9242 SuperS10 Stack NETBu
Mexico: 52 5 520 7841 Hub der II emote
NETBuil ote R Office
Remic
3Com Northern Latin America der II Off e
ETBuil Relay
Miami, Florida: 305-261-3266 PC N Frame
Colombia: 57 1 616 2884 il der II Re lay
NETBu Frame
Peru: 51 1 221 5399
Venezuela: 58 2 953 8122 ilder II
NETBu Relay
Frame
3Com Mediterraneo
Relay
Milan, Italy: 39 2 253011 Frame Hub 10 cesso
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Rome, Italy: 39 6 5279941 RV
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SuperS In-sto erver
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3Com Middle East BIS

971 4 349049
3Com Nordic AB
Denmark: 45 39 27 85 00
Finland: 358 0 435 420 67
Norway: 47 22 18 40 03
Sweden: 46 8 632 56 00
3Com Russia
007 095 2580940
3Com South Africa
27 11 807 4397
3Com UK Ltd.
Edinburgh: 44 1312 208228
Manchester: 44 1618 737717
Marlow: 44 1628 897000
POS S
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3Com Boundary Routing® and High-Function Switching solutions integrate diverse corporate entities into a harmonious whole.
Robust NETBuilder II routers support Frame Relay and provide access to stores and corporate sites via plug-and-play SuperStack II
NETBuilder remote access routers. The modular LANplex 6000 High-Function Switch and its compact counterpart, the LANplex 2500
switch, provide dedicated switched 10 Mbps links to SuperStack II Hub 10 workgroup hubs.
To learn more about 3Com products, visit our World Wide Web site at http://www.3com.com.
© 3Com Corporation 1996. All rights reserved. 3Com is a publicly owned corporation (NASDAQ:COMS). 3Com, LANplex, NETBuilder, NETBuilder II and EtherLink are registered trademarks and
SuperStack II is a trademark of 3Com Corporation. Unless otherwise indicated, 3Com registered trademarks are registered in the United States and may or may not be registered in other
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