OMKT <news>
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BURLINGTON, Mass., April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Open Market, Inc.
(NASDAQ:OMKT), a leading provider of Internet commerce and information
publishing software, today announced that The Republic of Tea, purveyors of
fine tea, herbs, and related products, has licensed Open Market's Transact(TM)
and LiveCommerce(TM) products to manage the commerce part of its overall e-
Business initiative. The Republic of Tea's Web site will be launching at the
end of April; the commerce functionality will be added during the latter half
of 1999.
The Republic of Tea has been reaching customers through its catalogues
targeted to its "Citizens," or retail customers, and through "Embassies" that
buy the tea products wholesale and serve and sell the company's products at
their establishments. The company is experiencing exponential growth, and has
had many different entities express a strong interest in The Republic of Tea
making its entrance onto the Internet.
"The great success of our catalogue and wholesale partnerships made us
realize how many people were missing out on The Republic of Tea's Sip by Sip
experience because our printed catalogue simply can't reach everyone. Looking
ahead, we knew we would never be able to reach these new Citizens, unless we
embraced the Internet," said Robbin Harrison, Minister of e-Innovation at The
Republic of Tea. "Not only that, but we want to make it easier to visit The
Republic of Tea, improve customer service, internal communication, and be
technologically able to handle the challenges of our growth and that of the
21st century."
Now, The Republic of Tea's e-Business initiative will embrace both
Embassies and Citizens by offering two areas of their Web site. One of these
areas will be tailored specifically to Embassies ordering quantities of
product wholesale. The other arm will be specialized for Citizens and will
contain information, entertainment, and commerce. The company chose to work
with Open Market's Transact and LiveCommerce products to help them easily
handle that business and meet the demands of their customers online.
Open Market's commerce applications will help The Republic of Tea
customers to search for the products they need, place orders online, and track
order history. It will also tie into back end systems, a function that the
larger Embassies were demanding. This commerce initiative is one small part of
an overall technology plan to move the company from a mainly fax-based
business model to an entirely Web-based approach.
"Open Market has the history in the business, the technology, the
strategy, and the direction that melds perfectly with The Republic of Tea's e-
Business plan," Harrison continued. "We see ourselves as innovators in our
field so we wanted to partner with a kindred spirit in the e-Commerce arena.
We believe Open Market to be the right choice to help us build a creative and
strong online business presence."
"Open Market's best-in-class commerce software is the perfect solution for
companies, like The Republic of Tea, that need a robust Internet commerce
solution to handle their multiple business models," said Jeff Bussgang, vice
president of marketing, Open Market, Inc. "As The Republic of Tea develops
and grows its online business, Open Market's experience and cutting-edge
technology will help them to develop a powerful Web site that will integrate
seamlessly into the rest of their dynamic business."
More about Open Market's LiveCommerce and Transact
LiveCommerce is a complete enterprise application package that enables
companies to create intuitive, personalized online catalogs that serve the
unique and evolving requirements of their customers. LiveCommerce can stand
alone, or is the perfect complement to Transact, Open Market's enterprise
application that manages Internet commerce. Transact offers powerful
functionality, including complete order management, online customer service,
security, authentication, record-keeping, flexible purchasing and payment
models, secure transaction processing, and automatic calculation of worldwide
tax and shipping charges. Working together, LiveCommerce and Transact offer
companies a complete commerce solution.
More about The Republic of Tea
The Republic of Tea, is incorporated in the state of California, has
offices in Novato, California and Nashville Illinois. Ministers and
Ambassadors are also located throughout the country to serve its Embassies and
Citizens.
For more information about the company call 1-800-711-8768, pick up a copy
of the book "The Republic of Tea" by Doubleday or visit the web site at
republicoftea.com.
More about Open Market
Founded in 1994, Open Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMKT) is the market-share
leader in Internet commerce software. Open Market's high-performance
application software products and professional services allow its customers to
engage in business-to-consumer and business-to-business Internet commerce,
information commerce, and commercial publishing. Among Open Market's
distinguished roster of global customers are many of the most popular domains
on the Web, including Lycos.com, AOL.com, Time Warner's Pathfinder.com, major
industrials such as Ingram Micro, Milacron, and Acer, more than 700 publishers
using Folio Products, including the top 10 commercial publishers, and 10 of
the world's top 13 national telephone companies. The company, headquartered in
Burlington, Massachusetts, with offices in Japan, Canada, the UK, France,
Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, and Australia can be reached by calling
1.888.OPEN.MKT or by visiting openmarket.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve a
number of risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such
forward-looking statements are the company's limited operating history, delays
in product development, development of the Internet market, changes in product
pricing policies, competitive pressures, and the risk factors detailed from
time to time in the company's periodic reports and registration statements
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Open Market, Transact, LiveCommerce, and We ARE Internet Commerce are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Open Market, Inc. in the United States
and other countries.
SOURCE Open Market, Inc.
-0- 04/21/99
/CONTACT: Media: Beth Winkowski, 781-359-7411, winkowski@openmarket.com,
or Investor: Annmarie Russell, 781-359-7589, russell@openmarket.com, both of
Open Market/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 112653/
/Web site: republicoftea.com
/Web site: openmarket.com |
