Retailexchange.Com Chooses Cit To Provide Financial Services

Furniture World Magazine

RetailExchange.com, a leading online business-to-business exchange for excess consumer products, and CIT Commercial Services, a division of The CIT Group (NYSE: CIT; TSE: CIT.U), the nation's largest factoring company, announced an agreement that will integrate CIT's financial offerings into the RetailExchange.com excess goods exchange after a buyer's acceptance of goods. The alliance with CIT will provide sellers in the RetailExchange.com marketplace the option of credit protection. Under the credit protection agreement with the seller, CIT will assume their buyer's financial ability to pay its debts on all approved orders through the exchange. Sellers may also finance the sale of goods through RetailExchange.com for immediate invoice payment. Kenneth S. Frieze, CEO and President of RetailExchange.com, said the addition of CIT's services, which will be integrated into the RetailExchange.com site by the fall, represents the kick-off of RetailExchange.com's drive to provide a full array of transaction support services to its members. "By fully integrating one of the world's premier financial services companies into our transaction process, we have added a key building block towards providing a full-service merchandising tool for our members," Frieze said. "Because our exchange brings together new and infrequent trading partners, this partnership will provide our members greater confidence to consummate deals." For CIT, the agreement opens the door to expand its client base by providing services to RetailExchange.com's growing membership of consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, and related companies. In addition to benefiting sellers, RetailExchange.com buyers will be eligible to establish a credit line with CIT free of charge, thereby increasing their attractiveness to potential sellers. "The depth of the integration we will provide to RetailExchange.com reflects CIT's commitment to become the leading provider of financial services for business-to-business e-commerce exchanges," said John Daly, President of CIT Commercial Services. "This agreement brings value to all RetailExchange.com users by providing sellers with additional financial security and buyers with increased sourcing and purchasing power."