Tight competition for top Harry-est Town ranking; Online retailer announces Release-Date Delivery pre-order deadline for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"
SEATTLE, WA - July 10, 2007 - With just twelve days remaining until the highly anticipated release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," towns across Canada are jockeying for position to become the "Harry-est Town" in Canada. Launched by Amazon.ca in April of this year, the honour will be given to the town that pre-orders the most copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" from Amazon.ca, on a per-capita basis. The company is using the 2006 Canada Census data and including all Canadian towns and cities with a population of more than 5,000 people. The winning town will be announced shortly after 11:59 p.m. PDT on July 15, 2007. A $5,000 Amazon.ca gift certificate will be donated by the company to a charitable organization of Amazon.ca's choice that serves the winning town.
The current "Harry-est Towns" in Canada are:
(As of 2:00 p.m. P.D.T, July 9, 2007)
- Banff, Alberta
- Kincardine, Ontario
- Sooke, British Columbia
- Drumheller, Alberta
- Port Elgin, Ontario
- Whistler, British Columbia
- Huntsville, Ontario
- Canmore, Alberta
- Sechelt, British Columbia
- Drayton Valley, Alberta
Previous "Harry-est Towns" in Canada were:
(April 4, 2007)
- Gibsons, British Columbia
- Banff, Alberta
- Sooke, British Columbia
- Bonnyville, Alberta
- Port Elgin, Ontario
- Drayton Valley, Alberta
- Peace River, Alberta
- Kincardine, Ontario
- Sechelt, British Columbia
- Canmore, Alberta
Amazon.ca today also announced the deadline for Release-Date Delivery of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in Canada. For all qualifying pre-orders placed by Saturday, July 14, 2007, at 12:00 p.m. EDT using Express Shipping, Amazon.ca will guarantee delivery of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" on its release date of Saturday, July 21, or the cost of the book will be refunded.
"Our search for the 'Harry-est Town' is really heating up," said Julie Todaro, director of Amazon.ca. "It's exciting to see new towns and cities inch up on the list each day. As both a celebration of our five years in Canada and a show of gratitude to our customers for helping us break our pre-order record, we are offering every customer who pre-orders 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' before July 21 a $5 Amazon.ca promotional certificate to use on a future purchase in the month of August."
The seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series has been very popular with Amazon.ca customers, and has already become the bestselling book ever on the site. The online retailer sold more copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" in the first 30 hours than the company did of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (book six) in the first 30 days of its pre-order period. Additionally in the first 24 hours, sales of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at Amazon.ca were nine times greater than first-day pre-orders for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."
To place an order for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and to explore Amazon.ca's entire selection of Harry Potter products - including books, DVDs, computer and video games, journals and stationery, and more - visit www.amazon.ca/harrypotter.
About Amazon.ca
Amazon.ca (www.amazon.ca) is part of the global family of Amazon Web sites that have become known for great prices, selection, and convenience. Amazon.ca customers can find and discover millions of English and French books, CDs, videos, and DVDs as well as a vast array of software, video games, and consoles--all at everyday low prices. Amazon.ca also offers FREE Super Saver Shipping, available on orders of $39 or more delivered to a single Canadian address. Amazon.ca sources products directly from Canadian publishers and distributors, ensuring a rich offering of Canadian titles and content. Features such as original editorial reviews in English and French and product recommendations help Amazon.ca customers find the right products for them among the site's broad selection. Through Amazon Marketplace, Amazon.ca customers can conveniently buy and sell used, new, and collectible merchandise on the same pages where Amazon.ca sells those items new.
To ensure all orders are delivered to customers quickly and efficiently, Amazon.ca works with Canada Post, one of the world's most progressive postal companies. Orders placed at Amazon.ca are fulfilled and shipped from within Canada by Assured Logistics, a part of the Canada Post Group of Companies.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, significant amount of indebtedness, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and all subsequent filings.
For more information contact:
Margaret Antkowski/Mark Van Tol
NATIONAL Public Relations
(416) 586-0180
mantkowski@national.ca/mvantol@national.ca