To: Gary Stern who wrote (79 ) 5/9/2000 3:52:00 PM From: Justin Franks Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 94
TSA named #2 shopping site on Internet. Tuesday May 9, 8:15 am Eastern Time TheSportsAuthority.com Named #2 Shopping Site on Internet In Shelley Taylor & Associates Study FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 9 /PRNewswire/ -- THE SPORTS AUTHORITY (NYSE: TSA - news) announced today that Shelley Taylor & Associates, a management consulting and research publishing firm, rated TheSportsAuthority.com #2 overall in their most recent study, Return to Sender, an international study of the success factors in online order fulfillment and post-transaction communication. The sporting goods e-commerce Web site was bested only by Amazon.com, which according to the study, ``only squeaked to the top of the list.'' In Return to Sender, Shelley Taylor & Associates purchased items from over 100 retail Web sites in the United States and the United Kingdom. The firm used over 200 parameters to rate the Web sites, including checkout process, order fulfillment, and ease of returns. The study was conducted in January 2000 and the preliminary findings were released in May 2000. ``I am thrilled that our Web site has been ranked #2 in this study, especially because it has only been fully operational for approximately six months,'' stated Henry Flieck, Executive Vice President of Growth and Development for The Sports Authority. ``This kind of recognition demonstrates that The Sports Authority is clearly giving online consumers what they want. I am also excited to share this honor with our joint venture partner, Global Sports, which develops and operates our Web site.'' The Sports Authority, Inc. directly operates 196 full-line sporting goods superstores in 32 states across the United States. Mega Sports Co., Ltd. operates another 19 stores in Japan under a license agreement with The Sports Authority. TheSportsAuthority.com, Inc., which operates www.thesportsauthority.com, is a joint venture between Global Sports, Inc. (Nasdaq: GSPT - news) and The Sports Authority. SOURCE: The Sports Authority, Inc.