BORDERS GROUP UNVEILS PUBLIC PREVIEW OF BORDERS.COM
Book, music and video retailer solicits customer feedback for its new
e-commerce site
ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE:
BGP) today announced Borders.com, a new e-commerce site that gives
Borders customers access to nearly three million book, music and video
titles from their desktops. The company is inviting customers to begin
browsing and shopping at Borders.com by participating in a public
preview of the site, located at borders.com, which has been
live since Thursday, May 7. Borders also announced that its new
fulfillment center, dedicated to serving Borders.com customers, is open
for business. The center houses 54 miles of inventory offering over 10
million books, CDs and videos in stock, competitively priced and
available for immediate shipping.
"The Internet gives us the opportunity to bring the traditional Borders
advantages -- a diverse selection, a dedication to customer service and
an ability to foster community -- to customers around the world," noted
Rick Vanzura, senior vice president of e-commerce and fulfillment,
Borders Group, Inc. "We think our customers will benefit from the
ability to purchase books, music and videos from one integrated site
with a tremendous in-stock selection."
Borders.com's three core offerings are organized into six departments:
Books (hardcover, paperback, bargain and audio); Music (CDs, cassettes
and minidiscs); Video (VHS, laserdiscs and DVD); Children's (books,
music and video); Computer Books; and the Borders NetCafe (chat,
bulletin board discussions and interview transcripts). The six
departments include nearly 60 subject sections and 400 subsections,
with 3,000 features rotated regularly throughout the site and thousands
of targeted recommendation lists integrated into the department,
section and subsection levels.
Commitment to Customers
True to the Borders tradition, Borders.com is committed to giving
customers a voice in its direction via "Tell us what you think" buttons
located throughout the site.
"The Borders culture places a premium on customer values," continued
Vanzura. "Our retail stores are customer-driven. Each store adapts
and evolves its selection based on the feedback of the community that
shops there. The Web is perfectly suited to this approach. We are
using this preview period to let customers tell us what they want
Borders.com to be and to incorporate many of those requests prior to
our Grand Opening later this summer."
Strategic Relationships
Borders.com has entered into several strategic relationships that
complement the company's online offering, including CNET, The Computer
Network, which is comprised of CNET's authoritative network of
technology-oriented sites, and Snap!, a leading search and navigation
service of CNET; Infoseek, a prominent Internet navigation service;
Harvest Booksearch, a leading out-of-print book search service; Jazz
Times, renowned for its uncompromising coverage of the international
jazz scene; Rough Guides, the publisher of a diverse music reference
series, including the acclaimed Rough Guides to World Music, Rock,
Classical, Opera, Jazz and Reggae; Salon Magazine
(http://www.salonmagazine.com), the premiere online literary magazine;
and Talk City, the Internet's leading Community service. IBM,
Borders.com's primary technology partner, has developed a scalable and
secure technology infrastructure that makes shopping convenient and
safe.
Additional Online Resources for Borders Customers
Borders Group also announced today two separate online resources
for customers and shareholders. Borders customers looking for
information about store locations, directions, national and
store-specific events and job opportunities can now access
bordersstores.com. Bordersstores.com has launched with 10
pilot store sites; eventually, each Borders retail store will have its
own dedicated site. Financial and general company information about
Borders Group is now available at bordersgroupinc.com.
About Borders Group, Inc.
Borders Group, Inc. is the world's second largest retailer of
books, music and other informational, educational and entertainment
products. Borders Group includes Borders, Inc., over 200 superstores
offering what is widely regarded as the broadest books and media
assortment in the industry; Waldenbooks, the United States' leading
mall book retailer, which operates nearly 900 stores serving all 50
states; Borders Online, Inc., the company's e-commerce service
operating under the domain name Borders.com; and, Books etc., Ltd., a
leading retailer of books in the United Kingdom operating 23 stores.
Borders Group operates in the United States, the United Kingdom and
Singapore and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol of
BGP.
Borders.com Fact Sheet
In May, 1998, Borders Group, Inc. launched a public preview of its
multimedia e-commerce site: borders.com. The site gives
Borders the opportunity to bring the traditional Borders advantages --
a diverse selection, a dedication to customer service and an ability to
foster community -- to customers around the world. Borders.com offers
the following features:
Selection
-- Only online retailer with a comprehensive in-stock selection of three
media categories: books, music and video
-- Largest multimedia database on the Web, with nearly three million
book,
video and music titles
-- Largest in-stock multimedia selection of any online retailer, with
more
than 10 million books, CDs and videos available for immediate shipping
Service
-- Largest in-stock multimedia selection means fast delivery to customers'
doorsteps and fewer split orders
-- Simple, accessible and effective search tools allow visitors to sort
their results by title or author/artist and easily conduct the same
search in a different media
-- Several convenient ways to contact Borders.com for support:
-- Dedicated information desk lets visitors personally interact via
e-mail with Borders.com staff
-- Live telephone support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
-- E-mail customer service support
-- Out-of-print book search available through Borders.com's exclusive
partnership with Harvest Booksearch
Content
-- Nearly 60 book, music and video department sections, with 400
subsections, including:
-- Twenty sections devoted to computer books
-- Streaming audio samples available from more than 380,000 songs
on
42,000 albums
-- Children's features includes 31 book, music and video sections
and
Kidz Korner, an area of the NetCafe dedicated to chats and
educational programs
-- Premium original and exclusive content, including:
-- Thousands of Borders.com recommendation lists integrated throughout
departments, sections and subsections
-- Exclusive content from Jazz Times, Rough Guides and Salon Magazine
(http://www.salonmagazine.com)
-- Thousands of exclusive reviews from Borders book, music and video
experts
-- More than 3,000 features regularly rotated throughout the site
-- Hundreds of bargain titles hand-selected by Borders.com
Community
-- Fully integrated chat schedule through Borders.com's exclusive
relationship with Talk City
-- Co-branded threaded discussions through Salon Magazine's Table Talk
forum
-- Extensive interviews with well-known and up-and-coming authors and
artists featured in the NetCafe
SOURCE Borders Group, Inc.
-0- 05/11/98 /CONTACT: Scott K. Wilder of
Borders.com, 734-913-1136, or swilder@borders.com, or Jody Kohn of
Borders Group, 734-913-1566, or jkohn@borders.com/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804,
ext. 106169/
/Web site: bordersstores.com /Web site:
bordersgroupinc.com
/Web site: borders.com (BGP)
CO: Borders Group, Inc. ST: Michigan IN: PUB SU: PDT
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