.: Texas Instruments Joins METRO Group's Future Store Initiative :.

June 13, 2005 - Move further demonstrates company's commitment to EPC Gen 2 standard for retail supply chain

Tony Sabetti, UHF/Retail Supply Chain Director for Texas Instruments RFid Systems, signs the Future Store Initiative agreement with Dr. Gerd Wolfram, MD of METRO Group Information Technology.

Texas Instruments, (distributed in Australia through Electro-Com) a worldwide leader in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, today announced it has joined with the world's third largest retailer, the METRO Group, in its Future Store Initiative as part of a move to develop and implement new RFID solutions based on the EPCglobal Inc™ EPC Generation 2 standard for the retail industry. TI will pilot its RFID products in Metro's Innovation Centre which provides world-class RFID development and demonstration facilities for the retail industry.

The METRO Group Future Store Initiative is a cooperation project between METRO Group and other leaders in the information technology, services and consumer goods industries. Its goal is to promote innovations in retailing on a national and international level, while also providing a platform for technical and process-related developments. Within the METRO Group Future Store Initiative, technologies and technical systems are tested and further refined in practice. In the long run the initiative is aimed at setting standards for retailing that can be implemented on an international scale.

According to Tony Sabetti, UHF/Retail Supply Chain director, Texas Instruments RFid Systems "Both TI and the METRO Group are committed to building RFID technology solutions based on the latest EPC Gen 2 standard for mass adoption throughout the supply chain. The ultimate benefits of improved supply chain management can only be realized through global adoption of the technology. TI is working with many major retailers and channel partners worldwide to provide the necessary interoperability of tags, readers and infrastructure. Joining METRO Group's RFID initiative is another major step in this direction."

"We are delighted to welcome TI into the METRO Group Future Store Initiative," said Dr Gerd Wolfram, MD of METRO Group Information Technology. "As a leading global technology and RFID supplier, TI 's products and expertise will be invaluable in helping us accelerate the development and deployment of new RFID solutions for next generation retailing," he added.

The EPC Gen 2 standard is widely supported by users and manufacturers within the RFID industry and is expected to facilitate the widespread deployment of EPC RFID technology in the retail supply chain. EPC Gen 2 has several benefits including global interoperability, the ability to optimize performance in different global regulatory environments, read/write field programmability, faster tag read/write rates, the ability to operate in dense reader environments, and migration to future EPC classes.

The METRO Group is the world's third largest retailer and a world leader in implementing technology solutions for retail applications. Based in Dusseldorf , Germany , the group has operations across Europe and Asia . Texas Instruments RFid Systems is part of one of the world's leading semiconductor companies, has more than 15 years of leadership in RFID technology, and is developing EPC Gen 2 tags that meet the latest international standards for the retail industry.

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