Jacksonville, Fla., 29 April 2009 - Next Monday a U.S. discount fashion retailer begins overhauling its nationwide distribution system. Supply chain services leader APL Logistics will help lead the transformation.

Jacksonville-based Stein Mart, Inc. said today it will open the first of six new warehouse locations May 4 in Dallas. APL Logistics will manage the 32,000-square foot operation – along with an Atlanta location that will open this summer – as Stein Mart revolutionizes the way it supplies 280 stores in 30 states.

Under an agreement reached in January, APL Logistics will manage nearly 125,000-square feet of warehouse space for Stein Mart and handle approximately 7 million cases of fashion and accessories annually. In addition, it will be on the front lines of the biggest supply chain redesign in century-old Stein Mart's history.

"We're pleased to capture significant new business with a leading name in U.S. retailing," said Peter Knapp, Vice President of Contract Logistics at APL Logistics. "What's more, we're very excited to be part of Stein Mart's supply chain innovation."

Stein Mart sells women's, men's, and children's brand-name clothing along with jewelry, bed and bath linens and gifts at prices competitive with off-price retail chains. Unlike much of its competition, however, Stein Mart emphasizes an upscale specialty store approach to customer service, merchandise presentation and store design.

To supply its locations, vendors have traditionally delivered product directly to each Stein Mart store. Until now.

But with APL Logistics' help, the fashion discounter is scrapping that system in favor of an approach labeled "multi-layered sortation." Here's how it will work:

• Vendors will deliver product to Stein Mart consolidation centers being established in Atlanta, Compton, Calif., and Secaucus, NJ.
• The consolidation centers will resort shipments for delivery to distribution centers in Atlanta, Dallas and Compton.
• At distribution centers, merchandise will be checked to ensure it's floor ready and if not, problems will be corrected.
• Merchandise will then be sorted for delivery to Stein Mart stores which will be able to flow the merchandise directly to their sales floors.

"We are re-engineering our supply chain from vendor to store floor to improve efficiency and to streamline the flow of products to our customers," said Rick Schart, VP of Supply Chain at Stein Mart. "We're pleased to be working with APL Logistics on these changes because they have been able to utilize their logistics engineering capability to help us refine our network and processes."

APL Logistics will manage the two largest warehouse centers for Stein Mart. It will manage a consolidation and store distribution operation in the Atlanta facility as well as the Dallas store distribution center which opens next Monday.

The Atlanta distribution center, serving approximately 185 Stein Mart retail locations, will be automated. Dallas, which serves 55 stores, will be a manual operation.

Media Enquiries:
Mike Zampa
Telephone: (1) 510 272 7380
michael_zampa@apl.com

About APL Logistics
APL Logistics provides international, end-to-end logistics services for global customers employing the latest IT and data connectivity for maximum supply-chain visibility and control. APL Logistics is a unit of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines, a global shipping, terminals and logistics company. APL Logistics Web site: www.apllogistics.com