GIBG $8 3/16 going up now! egreetings.com going IPO soon, GIBG holds a stake in this upstart company + 3 other HOT Internet sites...
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Gibson intends to explore opportunities to expand its Internet presence through the Company's minority stake in the privately held
E-greetings Network, a pioneer in digital greetings that is adding up to 30,000 registered customers to its database every day. In
1998, Gibson provided more than 500 designs for the E-greetings Network web site (www.egreetings.com), which was ranked
among the 15 fastest-growing shopping sites on the Internet during the Christmas holiday season. More than 10 million people sent
or received E- greetings® last year, and more than 3.5 million E-greetings were sent in December alone. The designs available on
the E-greetings Network feature premier Gibson paper brands, as well as such popular licensed properties as Star Trek(TM),
Austin Powers and King of The Hill(TM). Gibson launched its first animated greetings on the E-greetings Network in the fourth
quarter.
''We've spent the past two years making the necessary investments in our business so that we can position Gibson for future
growth,'' he said. ''We've shifted the Company to a demand-driven inventory system, outsourced production to take advantage of
new technologies, significantly cut product development time, and we're overhauling our information systems. We also paid off all
of our senior debt and bought back nearly 800,000 shares of stock.''
''But there's still work to be done. As part of our disciplined approach to acquisitions, we continue to search for strategic partners
that will leverage our strong product development, innovative merchandising approach and targeted distribution channels, while also
providing attractive growth prospects,'' Mr. O'Connell said.
Gibson Greetings, Inc., an industry innovator in the greeting card business, is pursuing a growth strategy of marketing
relationship-fostering products that provide strong entertainment value. This is being achieved by developing proprietary new
products, negotiating major licensing agreements and deploying high-energy shopping environments in a wide spectrum of major
retail stores. Gibson distributes more than 24,000 individual relationship communication products (over 5,000 new products last
year), including greeting cards, gift wrap, party goods, licensed products and Silly Slammers®, America's favorite ''beanbags with
an attitude.'' E-mail greetings featuring Gibson content are available through the privately held E-greetings Network
egreetings.com, in which Gibson holds a minority equity interest.
For more information on Gibson Greetings, please visit their web site at gibsongreetings.com or the Silly Slammers site at
sillyslammers.com |
