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April 8th, 2009

SPSS hammers home the importance of customer insight with Kingfisher Group plc

~ leading home improvement retail group using  SPSS Predictive Analytics to understand and meet the needs of  customers more effectively ~

Kingfisher Group plc, the third largest DIY retailer in the world, has selected and deployed market-leading Predictive Analytics data mining software  from SPSS Inc. (NASDAQ: SPSS), a leading worldwide provider of Predictive Analytics software and solutions, to understand and meet the needs of customers and potential customers more effectively.

SPSS was selected following successful live database trials in both B&Q UK and Castorama France (part of Kingfisher plc) and as part of wider initiatives in both countries to develop a single customer view of buying behaviour.

B&Q Proposition and Insight team are now using SPSS Predictive Analytics data mining software  as akey tool to better understand and meet the needs of its customers; a great example of this being the continual enhancement of B&Q trade customer proposition following the nationwide launch of the B&Q Trade Discount Card in April 2008. The additional data mining capability which SPSS  brings enables B&Q to gain a truly 360-degree view of the changing purchasing patterns of this crucial customer group at a time when responding quickly to changing customer needs is more crucial than ever.

Since the SPSS Predictive Analytics data mining software  was first introduced at B&Q, other areas of the business have been quick to identify the added value that this technology and predictive modelling can bring across a range of business processes. B&Q Profit Protection team is now using it to better understand and reduce fraud within the retail environment.

Both the Proposition & Insight and Profit Protection teams are also beginning to make use of the additional capabilities offered by the SPSS’ Predictive Enterprise Services  analytic platform. Predictive Enterprise Services enables analysis to be run overnight as soon as trading information from the previous day has been centrally compiled. This provides key decision makers around the business with timely information at a much more granular level than was previously possible.

Speaking about the difference which SPSS is making to the B&Q business, Director of Proposition & Insight, Rachel Osborne said “SPSS Predictive Analytics software  has really helped us start to better understand the dynamics underlying different customer buying behaviours and share this insight with the wider business. 2009 is about translating this insight into action across a number of different areas.”

“The software was quick to implement, is easy to use and offers us the flexibility to view our data very differently depending on what we need to know at the time,” said Jim O’Donnell, Data Intelligence Manager, Proposition and Insight at B&Q. “It will play a crucial role in helping to target trade and retail customers, as well as developing intelligence in other areas of the business.”

“The needs and wants of the home improvement customer are complex, ever-changing and more emotive than, for example, grocery shopping,” said Haydn Lewis, Vice President Sales, EMEA. “We were able to provide B&Q with an efficient, easy-to-use tool to better understand, and more importantly respond to, this complexity.”

(310 words)

NOTES TO EDITORS

About SPSS Inc.

SPSS Inc. is a leading global provider of predictive analytics software and solutions. The company’s predictive analytics technology improves business processes by giving organisations forward visibility for decisions made every day. By incorporating predictive analytics into their daily operations, organisations become Predictive Enterprises -- able to direct and automate decisions to meet business goals and achieve a measurable competitive advantage. More than 250,000 public sector, academic and commercial customers rely on SPSS technology to help increase revenue, reduce costs and detect and prevent fraud. Founded in 1968, SPSS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, please visit www.spss.com

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