To: Buckey who wrote (3340 ) 7/15/1999 9:08:00 AM From: bigbuk Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 36688
SKG news!!!! globetechnology.com SIKAMAN GOLD RESOURCES LTD., PORT PERRY, ONT. norstarmall.com All-Canadian Internet shopping mall. Founded: June, 1999 Revenue: Too early to tell Sikaman Gold Resources is a mining company that decided to listen to its shareholders and get into the Internet business. After shopping around, executives at the company decided that Norstarmall was "head and shoulders ahead of the pack," according to Sikaman chief executive officer Paul Romanchuk. Sikaman bought Norstarmall for about $1-million in stock, an investment Mr. Romanchuk says will start generating a profit by December. The site is clearly geared toward Canadian shoppers, offering prices in Canadian dollars (Mr. Romanchuk says there are no "hidden costs") and presenting a large list of homegrown Web merchants. In all, about 140 vendors lease space in the on-line mall, ranging from Dell Computer Corp. to Chapters Inc. One of the key attractions is the site's design. When Web users click on the main browser, they are brought into the mall through the opening of another browser. From there they can select different shopping areas, such as automotive or computer, or search for a particular product. When users want to enter a store, they click on the store and open a new browser window. The design allows users to enter and leave stores by simply opening and closing windows. Another feature is the site's search engine. Type in a product, such as "teddy bear," and a list of stores carrying teddy bears comes up. Click on a particular store and you don't simply go to that store's home page, you go directly to where you can buy the product. Norstarmall makes money by leasing space in the virtual mall, getting sales commissions and selling banner ads. Sikaman has begun advertising on several Internet service provider sites and the sports site TSN.ca. A radio and television ad campaign is scheduled in late August to catch the back-to-school and return-to-work shopping crowd.