Dear Mr. Hines:
I am on the list to receive your Newsbyte Article and received the one below. Please see the paragrah in double brackets in my reply. You stated the Amazon.com was profitable. I know mistakes can happen but as a Journalist, you wshould do your research much better than this. Amazon.com had never been profitable, they have a negative tangible book value and analysts are projecting losses to increase with expectations of profitability.
>>Microsoft's Web network should also benefit from the presence of
>>Amazon.com as well. The site has been pointed to by many as a rare
>>example of a profitable Web-based retail operation. Its site
>>opened in July 1995 and is now considered to be the world's
>>largest book store. Amazon.com claims to inventory over 3 million
>>books, music CDs, audio books, videos, DVDs and computer games at
>>present.
Your credentials are shown as the following on the Newsbyte site:
"Matt Hines joined TechNews, the predecessor of Newsbytes parent
Post-Newsweek Business Information, in October 1996 as an editorial assistant
with Washington Technology magazine. He became a staff writer in April 1997 with
the launch of Integration Management magazine. Prior to joining PNBI, Matt earned a
BA in English at St. Michael's College in Burlington, VT.
While at Integration Management, Hines covered the corporate IT channel, focusing
on the solutions procurement process among the Big Six consulting firms,
integrators, distributors and their Fortune 1000 enterprise customers. "
This is from the Amazon 10Q for quarter 3 of 1998:
"Since inception, the Company has incurred significant losses and as of September 30, 1998, had an accumulated deficit of $115.6 million. The Company believes that its success will depend in large part on its ability to (i) extend its brand position, (ii) provide its customers with outstanding value and a superior shopping experience, and (iii) achieve sufficient sales volume
Page 9
to realize economies of scale. Accordingly, the Company intends to continue to invest heavily in marketing and promotion, product development and technology, and operating infrastructure development. The Company also offers attractive pricing programs, which have resulted in relatively low product gross margins. As a result, achieving profitability given planned investment levels depends on the Company's ability to generate and sustain substantially increased revenue levels. In addition, amounts associated with the Company's recent acquisitions, including amortization of goodwill and other purchased intangibles and ongoing operating expenses of those companies, as well as interest expense related to the Senior Discount Notes (as defined below) will further affect the Company's operating results. As a result of the foregoing factors, the Company believes that it will continue to incur substantial consolidated operating losses for the foreseeable future and that the rate at which such losses will be incurred may increase significantly from current levels. Although the Company has experienced significant revenue growth in recent periods, such growth rates are not sustainable and will decrease in the future. In view of the rapidly evolving nature of the Company's business and its limited operating history, the Company believes that period-to-period comparisons of its operating results, including the Company's gross profit and operating expenses as a percentage of net sales, are not necessarily meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance. "
Please to the proper work from as a journalist. Write an artile that you errored and explain to your reads the real facts as they.
Thank you in advance.
Very truly yours,
Glenn D. Rudolph
FAX 814 337-0754
cc On Silicon Investor post
exchange2000.com
----------
>From: prnews@zacks.com (Zacks Newsbytes)
>To: grudolph@toolcity.net
>Subject: AMAZON SIGNS ON AS NO. 1 MSN MUSIC PARTNER
>Date: Thu, Nov 26, 1998, 3:06 AM
>
>
>
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>REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1998 NOV 25 (NB) -- By Matt Hines,
>Newsbytes. Microsoft Corp. [NASDAQ:MSFT] announced today that it
>has signed an agreement making successful Web outlet Amazon.com
>[NASDAQ:AMZN] the premier music retailer on the MSN shopping channel,
>the MSN.COM portal page, and other selected properties in its
>network of Internet sites. Shares in Amazon.com immediately swelled
>on Wall Street, gaining $8 5/8.
>
>This is the second deal that MSN has signed with a music retail
>outlet. Microsoft announced a pact with K-Tel International Inc.
>earlier this month but officials said that today's deal is more
>significant. While K-Tel's agreement makes it a "tenant" partner
>with links in a specific music center, Amazon.com will gain exposure
>as a premier partner across the entire MSN network.
>
>Shares in K-Tel
>soared when it announced its MSN deal as well. The firm jumped
>$9.625 on Wall Street immediately after its original MSN
>announcement but has fallen over the past several weeks.
>
>Microsoft spokesmen said that Amazon.com's premier status will earn
>it high visibility in a number of ways. As the exclusive music provider
>on the MSN.COM portal page, Amazon.com will have a "Buy Music Quick"
>link as well as a rotating contextual merchandising message.
>Amazon.com will also take the anchor position on the MSN shopping
>channel for the music and video area, Microsoft said. The firm will
>offer users direct links to Amazon.com for finding and buying CD, DVD
>and VHS titles. In addition, Amazon.com will have promotional offerings
>consisting of advertising banners, text placements and graphical links
>across the network.
>
>"We welcome Amazon.com as our Premier Music Merchant on MSN Shopping
>and the MSN.COM portal and as an advertiser across MSN," said
>Charlotte Guyman, general manager of the online sales and marketing
>team at Microsoft. "We think MSN offers Amazon.com the best of both
>worlds -- tremendous reach off the home page and the targeted shopping
>audience provided by MSN Shopping."
>
>Microsoft's Web network should also benefit from the presence of
>Amazon.com as well. The site has been pointed to by many as a rare
>example of a profitable Web-based retail operation. Its site
>opened in July 1995 and is now considered to be the world's
>largest book store. Amazon.com claims to inventory over 3 million
>books, music CDs, audio books, videos, DVDs and computer games at
>present.
>
>Amazon.com is located online at amazon.com
>
>The MSN network can be found online at msn.com
>
>Reported By Newsbytes News Network, newsbytes.com
>
> |
