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Three iTurf Sites Become Anchor Tenants in AOL Shopping
Channel;Co-Branded AO-girL/gURL.com Area to Be Created on AOL
Incorporating iTurf Features and Content
DULLES, Va. and NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 1999--
America Online, Inc.(NYSE:AOL), the world's leading interactive services
company, and iTurf Inc. (Nasdaq:TURF), a leading provider of Internet
community, content and commerce for Generation Y, today announced a
two-year strategic marketing alliance that will give iTurf's e-commerce
and community brands prominent presence on several key AOL brands,
including AOL, AOL.COM, ICQ and Netscape Netcenter.
Under the two-year agreement, iTurf will provide payments to AOL
totaling $8 million. In exchange, four iTurf properties will have anchor
tenancies on AOL and three other iTurf properties will have prominent
positioning throughout the AOL brands included in the agreement.
Positioning for iTurf brands will include: Anchor tenant positions in
the Teens Products area of the AOL Shopping Channel for dELiAs.com and
droog.com, iTurf's two popular on-line stores offering apparel and
accessories for teens; Anchor tenant position in the Sports and Health
area of the Shopping Channel for TSISoccer.com, iTurf's online store
offering soccer apparel and equipment; Prominent positioning in the
Kids' Products area of the AOL Shopping Channel for DotDotDash.com and
StorybookHeirlooms.com, iTurf's on-line stores offering kid's apparel
and accessories; Prominent positioning in AOL's home furnishings
Shopping area for ContentsOnline.com, iTurf's on-line home furnishings
store; and Anchor tenant position in AOL's new AO-girL area for iTurf's
gURL.com, which features content and community for teenage girls.
Stephen Kahn, President and Chief Executive Officer of iTurf, said,
"This alliance will give iTurf the opportunity to reach the largest
consumer audience in cyberspace. AOL is the leader in creating and
managing online communities and providing online shopping opportunities,
which positions us well as we look to offer six of our e-commerce sites
to AOL's members and Web- based users. In addition, the creation of a
gURL area on AOL will enable iTurf to rapidly expand awareness and
increase membership of our gURL community sites. This alliance not only
provides us significant customer acquisition opportunities, but also
serves as an important brand investment as we continue to set the
standard as a leading online destination for Generation Y."
Jonathan Sacks, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the AOL
service, said, "This agreement is great for AOL members and users of our
Web-based brands because it further expands their already dynamic online
community, giving them easier access to leading Generation Y-focused
offerings. In addition, this alliance makes a selection of content from
gURL.com, a leading online community for Generation Y teenage girls,
even more accessible to AOL members." "Recent surveys show that 36% of
all AOL member-households in the U.S. have at least one child between
the ages of 6 and 17, and that among those households, 81% have at least
one child using AOL," continued Sacks. "This agreement will offer iTurf
a great opportunity to serve one of the largest teenage audiences in
cyberspace."
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the
world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet
technologies, and e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates:
two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 17
million members, and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members;
several leading Internet brands including ICQ and Digital City, Inc.;
the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; and the Netscape Navigator
and Communicator browsers. Through its strategic alliance with Sun
Microsystems, the Company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end
e- commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net
Economy.
iTurf Inc., a subsidiary of dELiA*s Inc. (Nasdaq: DLIA), is a leading
provider of Internet community, content and commerce services focused
primarily on Generation Y. iTurf is an online destination, or network of
web-sites, offering interactive magazines, proprietary content, chat
rooms, posting boards, personal homepages, e-mail, and online shopping
consisting of a wide range of apparel, footwear, athletic gear and home
furnishings.
With the exception of the historical information contained in this press
release, the matters described herein contain forward- looking
statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors
beyond the Company's control, which may cause material differences in
actual results, performance or other expectations. These factors are
detailed in the Company's registration statement and periodic reports
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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