SEATTLE and MINNEAPOLIS (September 11, 2001) —Target Corporation and Amazon.com (www.amazon.com) today announced plans to open a Target store at www.amazon.com beginning later this fall, which will expand product offerings available at Amazon.com to include thousands of apparel, home, electronics and jewelry products.
The companies also announced that Target has chosen Amazon.com’s complete solution of e-commerce technology services, order fulfillment, and customer care services for its current online properties, including target.com, MarshallFields.com, Mervyns.com and GiftCatalog.com, beginning in summer 2002. All of these online properties will continue to be owned by Target Corporation.
“Target.com has experienced tremendous growth in the past twelve months and we believe this new Target store at Amazon.com provides another opportunity to expand our business,” said Jerry Storch, vice chairman of Target Corporation. “We are excited to be working with Amazon.com and believe this alliance will further strengthen our brand and deepen our relationships with our guests.”
“We’re always looking to expand selection for our customers, and this strategic partnership with a leading retailer like Target hits the bulls-eye,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. “In time for the holiday shopping season, and then continuing in 2002, Amazon.com will have jewelry, apparel, and more home living and electronics products available for our customers, thanks to the new Target store at Amazon.com and a great Target gift line-up.”
Under the five-year strategic alliance, Amazon.com will receive per unit fees and annual fixed fees. Target will receive the benefits of the Amazon.com e-commerce platform and vast customer base to accelerate its already rapid growth online.
About target.com
Minneapolis-based target.com is the largest online business of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT). Delivering today’s best retail trends at affordable prices, target.com boasts thousands of unique and highly differentiated items, many of which are also available from Target Stores, the upscale discount retail division of Target Corporation. The target.com site has a broad assortment of gift ideas and products in a wide range of categories, including apparel, children’s items, electronics, home décor, housewares, seasonal merchandise, sporting goods, and toys. In addition to online shopping, target.com offers guests the opportunity to purchase products from Target’s highly successful registry programs (Club Wedd and Lullaby Club), apply for a Target Guest Card, access information on programs such as Take Charge of Education, find out what’s new at Target Stores, locate the nearest Target store, and browse Target Stores’ weekly circular. Target Corporation’s other online properties include Mervyns.com, MarshallFields.com and GiftCatalog.com.
Target Corporation news releases are available at http://www.target.com or http://prnewswire.com.
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 and sellers list millions of unique new and used items in categories such as electronics, kitchen and housewares, books, music, DVDs, videos, camera and photo items, toys, software, computer and video games, cell phones and service, tools and hardware, and outdoor living products. Through Amazon Marketplace, zShops and Auctions, any business or individual can sell virtually anything to Amazon.com’s more than 35 million customers (cumulative customer accounts), and with Amazon Payments, sellers can accept credit card transactions, avoiding the hassles of offline payments.
Amazon.com operates four international Web sites: www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr 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 crew members dating from the birth of film through 2005.
Amazon Anywhere is the leader in mobile e-commerce, providing access from anywhere in the world to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de on personal digital assistants (PDAs) and through handheld wireless Internet devices that use HDML or the Wireless Application Protocol.
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, strategic alliances, strategic partnerships and business combinations, seasonality, potential fluctuations in operating results and rate of growth, management of potential growth, risks of system interruption, international expansion, 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. 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, 2000, and all subsequent filings, including Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.