News
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June 19, 2006
Jennifer Davis, Dell; Michael E. Diegel, NFIB
(512) 723-3091; (202) 314-2004
jennifer_j_davis@dell.com
Michael.Diegel@NFIB.ORG
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 19, 2006 – From backdrops for Sting, Elton John and Madonna to red velvet curtains for the cover of Rolling Stone, custom theatrical drape maker Sew What? marries new technology with a centuries-old craft.
It's the use of technology that has earned Sew What?, Inc. the 2006 Dell/National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Excellence Award.
"I never dreamed that the tiny business I started on my kitchen table in 1992 would grow into the global business we have today," said Sew What? owner Megan Duckett, who came to the United States at the age of 19 from Australia to pursue a career as a theater technician. "It took establishing a creative, information-driven Web presence to help us reach customers beyond our local community and provide customer service that wouldn't have been possible otherwise."
Established in 2004, the Dell/NFIB Small Business Excellence Award honors small businesses that represent a spirit of innovation in applying information technology to improve the customer experience. For more information on the program, visit www.dell.com/ceaward.
- Sew What?’s newly optimized Website – www.sewwhatinc.com – is highly interactive and allows visitors to browse the company’s extensive fabric and drapery selections prior to purchase, provides electronic previews of work in progress and stores flame certifications for completed drapery. Through its broadened ability to reach customers over the Internet, Sew What? has grown 45 percent in the last 18 months alone and now boasts clientele from New York to Athens to Sydney.
“Use of technology has allowed entrepreneurs like Megan to not only survive but thrive,” said Frank Muehleman, vice president of Dell U.S. Home and Small Business. “With 25 million small businesses supplying two-thirds of our net new jobs, technology is helping these companies grow beyond their local communities to serve customers nationwide and even globally. Effective use of technology is good for companies like Sew What?, their customers and our nation’s economy, and we want to reward that.”
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“Our partnership with Dell allows us to celebrate and reward entrepreneurs who are aggressively implementing technological changes to their businesses to compete globally,” said Todd Stottlemyer, president and CEO of NFIB. “Technology is more accessible and affordable than ever, and we encourage all our members to continually evaluate their business models and see how technology can improve their customer service and competitive advantage.”
- As the 2006 winner, Sew What? will receive $30,000 in Dell technology and services, a lifetime NFIB membership, and will spend a day at Dell’s headquarters to learn best practices from Michael Dell and other senior Dell executives.
About NFIB
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is one of the nation’s largest small-business advocacy groups. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of its 600,000 members in Washington and all 50 state capitals. For more information, visit www.NFIB.com. Read the NFIB Announcement
About Dell
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell sells more systems globally than any computer company, placing it No. 25 on the Fortune 500. Company revenue for the past four quarters was $56.7 billion. For more information, visit www.dell.com. To get Dell news direct, visit www.dell.com/RSS.
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