DemandTec

High school seniors invited to compete for scholarship money

HowieBlog.com

September 27, 2011 – The Labovitz School of Business and Economics at UMD and maurices have joined forces to bring the DemandTec Retail Challenge to the Northland.

The DemandTec Retail Challenge is a nationwide math scholarship competition for high school seniors. Created in 2005, the goal is to present math, science and business concepts creatively through an online simulation. The competition gives students a taste of how retailers and consumer products manufacturers make pricing, promotion and inventory decisions.

The competition will take place over 10 business days at the end of October. Participants will access information each day via the competition portal. After reviewing the updates, students will submit new pricing and inventory decisions by the end of each day. The top three regional teams will be selected based on the profits achieved during the competition period.

“This opportunity is so exciting for our local students. Those participating in the competition not only have a chance to win college scholarships and a trip to New York City, but they also learn how math is being used in businesses like maurices every day,” said George Goldfarb, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of maurices.

“Participants in this competition are placed in the roles of pricing analysts and brand managers. They will make pricing and inventory decisions and witness firsthand the impact of these decisions on profits. By providing this scholarship, we hope to encourage local students who have good quantitative skills to go on to college and enhance those skills; skills that are critical to their success in today’s dynamic marketplace.”

The winning team from the Northland will receive a $5,000 scholarship from maurices and move on to compete in the semifinals for additional scholarships. The top 5 teams in the semifinals advance to the Grand Championships in New York City, where they will compete and also ring the NASDAQ OMX Stock Market closing bell on January 17, 2012.

“DemandTec was a key player in creating LSBE’s new Retail Marketing Analytics Program, launching this fall,” said ReMAP Director Sara Pitterle. “We’re excited we can also bring the competition they have created for high schoolers to our region. The need for professionals in retail marketing is growing quickly, and hopefully we can inspire young people to consider it for a career.”

The UMD Labovitz School of Business and Economics (LSBE) is accredited by AACSB International, The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. LSBE offers Bachelor of Business Administration, Bachelor of Accounting, and a Master of Business Administration. The award-winning faculty who engage, inspire, and challenge students, along with rich extracurricular activities, help students build a foundation that leads to a lifetime of success.