Vancouver, (June 13, 2006) – Today marks the official launch of ZATA™, a first-of-its-kind market sales intelligence and benchmarking tool for BC’s retail and restaurant industries. Over 500 BC retail outlets and restaurants have already signed up for the new service and more businesses are signing up every week. The BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association (BCRFA) and Retail BC have developed ZATA’s online data network in partnership with BC-based technology firm Vivonet.

"ZATA is a valuable tool for restaurateurs to track business performance against the competition," said Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the BCRFA. "It’s a fast, easy and secure way to know exactly how your restaurant is performing in your market."

"ZATA will forever change the way BC-owned and managed retailers do business," said Mark Startup, president and CEO of Retail BC. "Independent retailers can now operate with the same market-tracking information as their big-box competitors."

Here’s how it works. Participating businesses simply enter their sales data for the week in order to get an accurate market ranking known as a ZATA score, an easy to understand number that lets them know exactly how they compare with other similar participating businesses within their market area.

ZATA is offered free of charge to members of the BCRFA and Retail BC. The BCRFA ZATA is available now and the Retail BC ZATA will go live later this summer. Participating restaurateurs can access real-time data to make informed business decisions powered by ZATA’s market sales intelligence.

"Before ZATA, it was difficult to measure business performance with other restaurants," said Leonard Nakonechny, general manager of C Restaurant & nu restaurant in Vancouver. "Now I can spot trends early and adapt my business by comparing my sales data, marketing and input costs against the local competition."

For more information on ZATA, visit: www.myzata.com

Retail BC is the voice of over 3,000 retail businesses within British Columbia. BC’s retail industry generates over $50 billion in sales and employs over 250,000 British Columbians.

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