Amazon.com Enters European Book Market
Sites in Germany, United Kingdom Increase the Convenience and Service
Of Online Shopping
SEATTLE, Oct. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading online retailer Amazon.com (Nasdaq:
AMZN) formally entered the European market today with the launch of new Web
sites in Germany and the United Kingdom.
Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk opened their virtual "doors" on the World Wide Web
early this morning, replacing sites once operated by ABC Bucherdienst in
Germany and Bookpages, Ltd., in the U.K. Amazon.com purchased both companies
in April.
For the first time on a local basis, the sites make available to Europeans a
vast selection, guaranteed safety of transactions, unparalleled convenience,
and electronic gift certificates for worry-free gift giving.
In addition, the two sites will significantly reduce the cost of and shipping
time for thousands of U.S. titles, thanks to a large supply of the most
popular U.S. titles ready for immediate shipment from the U.K. and Germany. In
addition, thousands of other U.S. titles will be delivered much sooner from
Amazon.com facilities in the United States.
Both sites will feature many of the customer features developed by Amazon.com:
personalized recommendations, the ability to search for and locate books in a
variety of ways, hundreds of browsing lists compiled by specific categories of
bestselling books, reviews by experts and customers, easy and secure
1-Click(TM) ordering, and Amazon.com's attention to customer service.
"'Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de will provide a whole new level of convenience and
customer service for book buyers," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com's founder and
CEO. "These are stores that are open around the clock where people can find
the specific books they want and discover others they may also like to buy. It
combines the power of the Internet with' a very personalized experience."
As at Amazon.com, ordering is secure at Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk. Personal
information and credit card numbers are encrypted for transmission over the
Internet, and all transactions are backed by a security guarantee protecting
shoppers from unauthorized use. Full details are available at www.amazon.de
and www.amazon.co.uk.
Amazon.de is headquartered in and has a distribution center in Regensburg and
editorial and marketing offices in Munich. The store will initially feature
335,000 titles from German publishers, fast and easy access to 374,000 U.S.
titles, swift delivery, and, soon, an array of recommendation features to
better serve book buyers, including instant recommendations. A Munich-based
staff of expert German editors will develop reviews and recommendations of
German-title books.
Amazon.co.uk is headquartered in and has a distribution center in Slough,
England. The store carries a complete catalog of 1.2 million U.K. titles in
print, fast and easy access to 200,000 U.S. titles, and speedy delivery. A
staff of expert U.K. editors will provide recommendations and reviews.
About Amazon.com, Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc., Earth's biggest book and music store, opened its virtual
doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 with a mission to offer products that
educate, inform, and inspire. Today, the Amazon.com store offers more than 3
million books, CDs, audiobooks, DVDs, computer games, and other titles, plus
easy-to-use search-and-locate features, secure credit card payment,
personalized recommendations, streamlined ordering through 1-Click(SM)
technology, and direct shipping. Amazon.com operates two international
bookstore Web sites: www.amazon.co.uk in the United Kingdom and www.amazon.de
in Germany. Amazon.com also operates PlanetAll (www.planetall.com), a Web-
based address book, calendar and reminder service, and the Internet Movie
Database (www.imdb.com), the Web's comprehensive and authoritative source of
information on more than 150,000 movies and entertainment programs and 500,000
cast and crew members dating from the birth of film in 1892 to the present.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties that include, among others, Amazon.com's limited operating
history, the unpredictability of its future revenues, and risks associated
with capacity constraints, management of growth, and new business
opportunities. More information about factors that potentially could affect
Amazon.com's financial results is included in the company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1997, and quarterly report on Form
10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 1998, both filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Amazon.com, Earth's Biggest Bookstore, and 1-Click are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. All other names mentioned herein
may be trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE Amazon.com
CO: Amazon.com
ST: Washington, Germany
IN: PUB MLM
SU: PDT
10/15/98 05:00 EDT prnewswire.com
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