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                                                        The Florida SunFlash

                         Fingerhut Selects Sun

SunFLASH Vol 52 #x					          April 1993
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Press contact: Wendy Moro
Org:	       Hi Tech
Phone:	       (415) 904-7000 
Contact:       Gayle Jennings
Org:	       SMCC PR 
Phone:	       (415) 336-0787


              ONE OF NATION'S LARGEST MAIL ORDER COMPANIES
              SELECTS SUN(TM) SYSTEMS TO SERVICE CUSTOMERS

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- April 12, 1993 -- Sun Microsystems Computer
Corporation (SMCC) today announced that Fingerhut Corporation, one of
the nation's largest catalog-marketing companies, has agreed to
purchase Sun(TM) SPARC(R) workstation and server systems for inbound
telemarketing, customer service and credit authorization.  It is the
first major mail-order operation to make this transition from a
mainframe to a client-server environment.

Fingerhut is the principal catalog subsidiary of Fingerhut Companies,
Inc., a $1.6 billion mail-order operation with an active customer base
of 13 million people. It will initially use hundreds of Sun
SPARCclassic(TM) workstations and several SPARCcenter(TM) 2000 servers,
using the Solaris(R) distributed operating environment, to handle phone
orders from customers as well as on-line customer service. The value of
the initial order exceeds $4 million for equipment and services.

"The network of Sun workstations and servers will connect to
Fingerhut's existing mainframes but will handle most of the processing
within the workstation network, thereby reducing the number of
mainframe cycles," said Charles Salmon, a director of applications
development for Fingerhut.

Salmon said the system's graphical user interface will make it easier
for the telemarketing representatives to complete customer orders more
efficiently, requiring less manual data entry. Salmon also described
the graphical interface as intuitive, reducing training time,
especially for hundreds of new representatives hired for the busy
fourth quarter selling season.

Fingerhut will also use the Sun client-server environment to provide
on-line credit approval and eventually to give telemarketers on-screen
images of the products that customers order, showing color and style.

"These high-performance systems will provide computing power in the
phone centers and on the desktops of Fingerhut's service agents," said
Bob DeLaney, Sun's retail marketing manager.  "We're pleased to supply
them with state-of-the art equipment that will allow them to provide
quality customer service."

Salmon said two overriding reasons compelled Fingerhut to go with
SMCC.  "First, we believe they have more experience with implementing
UNIX(R) systems than anyone in the business. Second, Sun is absolutely
committed to making this project a success."

Fingerhut Companies, Inc., headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota,
sells brand-name and private-label merchandise, filling 23 million
orders in 1992. The direct-marketing company maintains an active
database with hundreds of facts and figures on its customers, allowing
it to tailor offers and personalize catalog messages. It trades on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FHT.

Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation (SMCC) is the world's leadings
supplier of open client-server computing solutions. With headquarters
in Mountain View, Calif., SMCC is an operating company of Sun
Microsystems, Inc.

		###

Sun Microsystems, Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation, the Sun
Microsystems Computer Corporation logo, Solaris, Sun, and the Sun logo
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All
SPARC trademarks, including the SCD Compliant logo, are trademarks or
registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc., SPARCclassic and
SPARCserver are licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. Products
bearing SPARC trademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun
Microsystems, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of Unix System
Laboratories, Inc. All other products are referred to here in by the
trademarks as designated by the companies who market those products.
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John McLaughlin, SunFlash editor, flash@Sun.COM. +1 305 351 4909