Vancouver, BC -- Apr 19, 2007 -- /prbuzz/ -- A study conducted by Zata and the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association has demonstrated that the Canucks being in the playoffs has had a significant impact on sales for restaurants in Vancouver.

Comparing restaurant sales during the 4 most recent playoff hockey games, against a 12 week aggregate of nights with no hockey, shows an increase of sales for both quick service and full service restaurants.

The Zata Market Sales Intelligence system (www.myzata.com) is used by operators to upload their sales information, and compare it with restaurants in their area. Zata has been able to take this data and expand it to measure the impact of a specific event, and for the first time, restaurant owners are able to see the collective impact of hockey on their business.
"The Vancouver Canucks not only drive our hearts, but they are also driving the wallet of the consumer, and that is great for our industry" says Ian Tostenson, President and CEO of the British Columbia Restaurant and Foodservices Association. "We thank the Canucks for their commitment, because their success is directly linked to the incremental success of the restaurant industry".

The Canucks are also pleased with the results of the study. "We're thrilled to see the positive impact Canucks playoff games are having on the restaurant industry. Clearly, the playoffs are a very special time throughout British Columbia when the province comes together to share its common passion for the Canucks." said Chris Zimmerman, President and CEO, Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment.

“There are some great takeaways for restaurant and bar owners in this study. By adding larger television sets and even specials that entice hockey fans to leave their couches and head for a local restaurant or pub, restaurant owners can drive their sales and give their customers a better experience," said Brad Brooks, Director of Zata, "I was personally surprised at the impact that quick service restaurants and cafés received from the playoffs. Every restaurant and bar owner in BC should be chanting "Go Canucks Go!"

About Vivonet and Zata:
Established in 1999, Vivonet (www.vivonet.com) is an on-demand solutions provider that enables, acquires and organizes millions of transactions every month for customers in the hospitality and retail sectors across Canada and the United States. Vivonet provides an on-demand enterprise management, POS, payment processing and performance benchmarking solutions for its customers. Vivonet’s brands, Halo (www.myhalo.com) and Zata (www.myzata.com), allow their customers to benchmark their performance against other users and the industry at large – leading to better performance and higher business success rates. Vivonet’s data and transaction processing platform is certified to the CISP Service Provider Level 1 security compliance standard.

For more information, please contact:
Brad Brooks
Director of Zata
Vivonet, Inc.
604-215-2033 ext. 152
Toll free: 1-866-512-2033 ext. 152

###