From the Yahoo board.
It is probably a rumor, but read Business Week Dec 14, 98
by: MRKTSEEKER
16469 of 16489
article on Amazon. " Last month, Bertelsmann, the German media giant and owner of several publishers,
including top Random House Inc. paid $200 million for a 50 % stake in the online arm of Barnes &
Noble, giving it a considerable war chest for its battle with Amazon. And on Nov. 6 Barnes & Noble
jolted Amazon and the entire publishing world by announcing a $600 million deal to buy the leading book
DISTRIBUTOR Ingram Bood Group-which supplies 60% of Amazon's books". (It sure was smart on
Barnes and Nobles part to buy the distributor--wonder if Amazon learned anything from that move)
Interestingly enough, on Nov.23 CDnow-which had announced a deal to merge with rival N2K nearly
doubling its sales-joined with movie seller Reel.com computer merchant Cyberian Outpost, eToys, and
others to form a virtual mall called Shoppers Connection to fight off Amazon. (Looks like some serious
competitors in the music business.)
(NAVR is a major distributor of music, software and interactive CD-ROM and digital versatiles disc
(DVD) products. NAVR operates throught two principal divisions, its Computer Products Division and
its Music Products Division. NAVR is the only major distributor to distribute both music and softeware
and is recognized as an industry leader in the distribution of comsumer software in addition to being
recognized as a leader in the distribution of independent music labels and their artists Would NAVR be
an asset for AMAZON? Did Amazon learn anything from Barnes and Noble when B&N purchased a
distributor?)
According to Business Weekly, Bezos, Amazon's CEO, will likely branch out beyond retail.
Maybe if Amazon hasn't thought about aquiring NAVR, they should. |
