SEATTLE, Jun 13, 2001 -- Amazon.co.jp (http://www.amazon.co.jp), the Japanese-language site of global online retailer Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN), launched its Music, Video, and DVD stores today, with hundreds of thousands of Japanese and imported products.
Launched last November as an online bookstore, Amazon.co.jp is the No. 1 online bookseller for Japanese consumers.
The Japanese site's new Music, Video, and DVD stores offer many of the features for which Amazon.com is known, including customer reviews, advanced search capability, and similarities as well as extensive editorial content from Amazon.co.jp editors and film and music critics.
"I know our customers are going to appreciate the fantastic selection of both foreign and Japanese music and movies available on Amazon.co.jp," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "Whether you're looking for the latest J-pop CD from The Yellow Monkey or a DVD biography of our favorite Seattle Mariners' player Ichiro Suzuki or a video of a famous Japanese animation series, you'll find it along with great customer service and fast delivery."
"The continuing addition of new products to all four of our international sites is an important part of Amazon.com's drive to profitability," said Diego Piacentini, Amazon.com senior vice president and general manager of International.
To that end, Amazon.co.uk launched its Electronics store in May and Amazon.fr launched Software and Video Games in April. Amazon has also announced that Amazon.de will add Electronics and that further initiatives will be launched at all four international sites in the coming year.
Since launching Amazon.co.jp, Amazon has more than doubled its customer base in Japan to over 400,000 customers. Amazon.co.jp is offering (Y)500 off any CD, DVD, or Video purchase of (Y)5,000 or more through June 30, 2001, and continuing its free shipping within Japan for orders of (Y)5,000 or more placed via any Amazon.co.jp store. To go directly to Amazon.co.jp's new stores, visit: www.amazon.co.jp/music, www.amazon.co.jp/video, or www.amazon.co.jp/dvd.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN) opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection, along with online auctions and free electronic greeting cards. Amazon.com seeks to be the world's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Amazon.com lists millions of unique items in areas such as Electronics, Kitchen & Housewares, Books, Music, DVD, Video, Camera & Photo, Toys & Games, Software, Computer & Video Games, Tools & Hardware, Outdoor Living, and Cell Phones & Service. Through Amazon.com zShops, any business or individual can sell virtually anything to Amazon.com's more than 32 million cumulative customers, and with Amazon.com Payments, sellers can accept credit card transactions, avoiding the hassles of offline payments.
Amazon.com operates four international Web sites: www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, and www.amazon.co.jp. It also operates the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), the Web's comprehensive and authoritative source of information on more than 275,000 movies and entertainment titles and 1 million cast and crewmembers dating from the birth of film in 1891 to 2003.
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, Amazon.com's anticipated losses, significant amount of indebtedness, competition, seasonality, potential fluctuations in operating results, management of potential growth, risks of system interruption, consumer trends, risk of fulfillment-center optimization, inventory risks, limited operating history, risks related to fraud and Amazon.com Payments, and risks of new business areas, international expansion, business combinations, strategic alliances, and strategic partnerships. 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 ending December 31, 2000, and all subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.