SEATTLE, May 18, 1999-/PRNewswire/-Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN), the leading online retailer, has acquired a significant minority interest in HomeGrocer.com, the first fully integrated Internet grocery shopping and home delivery service, the companies announced today.
"The HomeGrocer.com team is literally changing the lives of customers by taking the drudgery out of grocery shopping," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "They have a fanatical eye for the customer experience. Their shoppers pick out better produce than I could for myself. The delivery people refuse to be tipped. The company really has an unusual attention to detail."
"HomeGrocer.com is passionate about customer service, and the involvement of Amazon.com underscores our high standards," said Terry Drayton, cofounder and CEO of HomeGrocer.com (www.homegrocer.com). "Amazon.com is the most respected and customer-focused e-commerce company and has set new standards for customer service, privacy, and the integrity of the shopping experience. We are excited to gain valuable knowledge and insight from them."
As a result of the investment, David Risher, Amazon.com's senior vice president for product development, will serve on the HomeGrocer.com board of directors.
Amazon.com's $42.5 million investment gives it a 35 percent stake in HomeGrocer.com and allows the online grocer, which serves customers in the Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, areas, to accelerate its national rollout. The 35 percent stake is based on shares issued and outstanding as of April 30, 1999, and is accounted for under the equity method of accounting.
Bellevue, Washington-based HomeGrocer.com was established in March 1998 and offers more than 11,000 grocery items to meet weekly shopping needs, including name brands, fresh produce, meat, seafood, dairy products, and specialty foods, such as ethnic, natural, and organic. The company stocks its own private facilities and delivers directly to customers' homes with a fleet of temperature-controlled vehicles and friendly, professional drivers. HomeGrocer.com offers free deliveries for orders of more than $75 and a 100-percent-satisfaction guarantee.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc., the Internet's No. 1 music, No. 1 video, and No. 1 book retailer with Earth's Biggest Selection, opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995. Today, the Amazon.com store has expanded to offer free electronic greeting cards, online auctions, and more than 4.7 million book, music-CD, video, DVD, computer-game, and other titles, plus secure credit-card payment, personalized recommendations, streamlined ordering through 1-ClickSM technology, and hassle-free auction bidding with Bid-ClickSM.
Amazon.com operates two international Web sites: www.amazon.co.uk in the United Kingdom and www.amazon.de in Germany. Amazon.com also operates PlanetAll (www.planetall.com), a Web-based address book, calendar, and reminder service. It also operates the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), the Web's comprehensive and authoritative source of information on more than 150,000 movies and entertainment programs and 500,000 cast and crew members dating from the birth of film in 1892 to the present.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, Amazon.com's limited operating history, anticipated losses, unpredictability of future revenues, potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results, seasonality, consumer trends, competition, risks of system interruption, management of potential growth, risks related to auction services, and risks of new business areas, international expansion, business combinations, and strategic alliances. 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, 1998 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 1999.
Amazon.com, Amazon.com Auctions, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Internet Movie Database, PlanetAll, and 1-Click are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. All other names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.