Lillian Vernon Corporation Selects EasyAsk Search and Navigation to Complement IBM WebSphere Commerce Suite

Leading Catalog and Online Retailer Chooses Precision Search and Dynamic Navigation to Increase Site Revenues and Enhance Customer Satisfaction

LITTLETON, MASS. — 18 Jun 2003 — EasyAsk, a market leader in information access software, and the only provider of Synchronized Search and Navigation™, today announced that Lillian Vernon Corporation, one of America's leading catalog and online retailers, has chosen EasyAsk to increase revenues and enhance its customers' experience on its Web site, www.lillianvernon.com. By integrating EasyAsk's technology into its IBM WebSphere Commerce-powered retail site, Lillian Vernon will bolster its e-commerce strategy with precision search and dynamic navigation.

Since Lillian Vernon launched its new Web site in 2001, it has experienced double-digit growth in online revenues and a dramatic increase in visitors to the site. Search has emerged as Lillian Vernon's most popular feature on its site - as well as one of its most valuable sales resources, with the majority of all purchases originating from shoppers' searches. Realizing the tremendous value of search, to both customer satisfaction and online revenues, Lillian Vernon decided to implement EasyAsk after a thorough evaluation.

Lillian Vernon, founder and chief executive officer, said, "The Web has become the fastest growing channel of our multi-channel business. Search and navigation are extremely important to us, and EasyAsk will play a key role in helping us meet our goal of providing superior customer service."

As one of the first search and navigation providers to work with IBM WebSphere Commerce, EasyAsk has been optimized for IBM's popular e-commerce platform, ensuring Lillian Vernon customers immediate benefits from the new search and navigation functionality.

"We look forward to offering Lillian Vernon a combined WebSphere Commerce and EasyAsk solution to help convert site visitors into buying customers," said Bart Lautenbach, director of IBM WebSphere Commerce. "We are confident that Lillian Vernon and its customers will benefit from this integrated solution, which is designed to deliver immediate financial results and an exceptional customer experience."

EasyAsk allows shoppers to easily find exactly what they're looking for - using either one or two words or a longer, more descriptive phrase - among Lillian Vernon's thousands of products. Because it has sophisticated language-processing capability, EasyAsk supports synonyms, accommodates misspellings and returns only relevant, precise results. In addition, this same precision ensures that EasyAsk navigation allows shoppers to browse through only related sub-categories specific to their areas of interest.

"There's no other search and navigation company as well positioned to help a pioneering retailer take its e-commerce strategy to the next level," said Bob Alperin, chief executive officer and president of EasyAsk. "Lillian Vernon has a long-established history of providing excellent customer service and fulfillment, and we're proud that our search and navigation technology will play a prominent role in preserving that reputation through their online channel."

About Lillian Vernon

Lillian Vernon Corporation is a 52-year-old national catalog and online retailer that markets gift, housewares, gardening, Christmas and children's products. The company is one of the largest specialty catalogs in the United States. Lillian Vernon Corporation and its subsidiaries publish seven catalog titles: Lillian Vernon, Lilly's Kids, Personalized Gifts, Favorites, Rue de France, Christmas Memories and a sale catalog. Lillian Vernon's two Web sites are www.lillianvernon.com and www.ruedefrance.com. The company also sells its products in the business-to-business and outlet store markets.

About EasyAsk

EasyAsk delivers search and information retrieval solutions that help organizations requiring scaleable, secure, single point access to critical business information and insight, drive sustainable competitive advantage and rewarding customer experiences. Powered by a deep linguistic capability, EasyAsk’s Synchronized Search and Navigation™ platform accesses both structured and unstructured data, intelligently interpreting users' queries to find fast, accurate and complete results. Over 100 industry leading brands including retail, financial services, high technology and manufacturing companies such as Lands’ End, The Gap, E-Loan, Forbes.com and Warner Home Video rely on EasyAsk for increased effectiveness of their B2C or B2B cross-channel eCommerce efforts. Leading investors include Sigma Partners and Flagship Ventures. EasyAsk is headquartered near Boston with sales and support offices throughout the U.S., and Europe. For more information, please visit our website at www.easyask.com or contact us at 1-800-425-8200.

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