News

7/10/2003

Home Director Announces Initial Results of the Sears Connected Home Program

Home Director's structured wiring solutions will be used by Sears' authorized integrators who have the opportunity to service over 8,000 homes through 2004.

Sears Connected Home, a joint venture between Home Director, Inc. (OTCBB: HMDR) and Sears, Roebuck, & Co., (NYSE: S) has certified eight (8) integrators with a combined opportunity to install new lifestyle solutions in over 8,000 homes. Over the next 18 months, Home Director will match their builder partners with authorized integrators, and integrators will convert some of their existing builders to the Home Director structured wiring solution. The idea of using Sears Connected Home, which has certified integrators installing industry-leading equipment, is to create a new business model. Now, new homebuilders and homeowners can modify their properties with technology lifestyles options, including home networking, automation, video and audio distribution. These options have the potential to help increase profits for builders and are backed by Home Director's limited lifetime warranty, and the benefit of Sears' satisfaction guarantee or your money back policy. Preliminary results show an average profit increase to the builder of $1000 in a 2,700 sq. foot home.

The home technology installation market is highly fractured. Home Builders and consumers have difficulty-identifying installers who are reliable and technically certified. Home Director and Sears recognized the problem and created The Sears Connected Home with the goal of becoming the largest network of certified installers servicing the homebuilding industry. Since its introduction, over 330 installation companies have applied for the program.

"The Sears Connected Home Program is well on its way to becoming the largest network of certified structured wiring installers servicing the homebuilding industry", said Don Witmer, Chairman and CEO of Home Director. "We expect to see an impact on revenues from the Connected Home Program efforts beginning in the fourth quarter of this year with increasing impact throughout 2004."

After a vigorous application process, which includes certification guidelines set by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) for structured wiring technology, Sears Connected Home has been able to add eight elite integrators.

"We are planning to add 15 additional installers, trucks, and support staff to handle the 1,800 homes that we will be servicing as a result of this program", said Dale Pelz, president of Ackerman Technology Group. The program has enabled Ackerman Technology Group to rapidly expand into the production home market.

"We are very pleased with the response to the program," says Paul Carter, vice president and general manager of the contractor services group for Sears Product and Repair Services. "Ultimately the strength of Sears Connected Home is the ability to offer certified installation partners that will give new homebuilders a compelling and profitable opportunity to provide solutions for meeting the demands of today's tech savvy homeowners anywhere in the United States."

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