Lets see if the 'Things' PR machine is still working?
>>ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- TMAN global.com (OTC Bulletin Board: FSGI) announced today that it has completed an e-commerce agreement with Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) in order to become an Amazon.com Associate. Now visitors to tmanglobal.com will have millions of additional reasons to visit the popular web address -- known as one of the world's largest websites devoted exclusively to the martial arts and health and fitness industries. TMAN global.com intends to distribute tens of thousands of titles each month from its newly relaunched web site, in order to keep its commitment to deliver the best martial arts, action/adventure, and extreme sports information the world has to offer.
According to Tony Interdonato, TMAN global.com's Chairman and CEO, "We are very excited about this association. We plan to offer everything Amazon.com has as it pertains to our niche marketplace, from Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris books and videos, to many different types of celebrity health, fitness, and workout videos. All of the many visitors to our website will be encouraged to take advantage of the amazing value that our being an Amazon.com Associate will afford them."
Currently, the universe of potential visitors to the TMAN global.com website includes more than 100 million people involved in some form of martial arts worldwide, with many hundreds of millions more that are concerned with health, fitness, diet, and nutrition. Interdonato continues, "Even though the martial arts industry appears popular in this country, with approximately 20,000 studios and 15 million individuals participating in some form of martial arts, it is only a small fraction of the world marketplace, where in many countries martial arts is a way of life. We believe TMAN global.com has the unique opportunity to be one of the first, and most successful, Internet companies to tap this multi-billion dollar marketplace."
According to Jeff Bezos, President of Amazon.com, "We are pleased to have TMAN global.com in the family of Amazon.com associates. We have agreed to ship products and provide customer service for orders we receive through special links on tmanglobal.com. They will list selected books, CD's and videos in an editorial context that will help you to make the right choice. We encourage you to visit TMAN global.com's web site often to see what new items they've selected for you."
This latest announcement is in keeping with TMAN global.com's e-commerce strategy for procuring online business relationships. "This agreement will substantially broaden our product universe by allowing us to tap into Amazon.com's tremendous resources," said Ron Tramontano, TMAN global.com's new president. "We are happy to be associated with Amazon.com because of their well-known commitment to excellence in online retailing. Also, in light of yesterday's announcement that Amazon.com has achieved a $1 billion annualized sales level after only three and one half years in business, we feel that being associated with this type of quality Internet partner will greatly increase our ability to grow and develop our business that much more rapidly."
TMAN global.com joins a list of many well-known Amazon.com associates such as Yahoo! (YHOO), Excite (XCIT), Netscape (NSCP), AOL.com, Geocities, and many others. TMAN intends to categorize and list thousands of martial arts, action/adventure, extreme sports, health, fitness, and nutrition titles.
About TMAN global.com, Inc.
TMAN global.com, Inc. is a two-year old Internet-based company that operates one of the world's largest websites devoted exclusively to the martial arts and health and fitness industries. TMAN global.com is located at Universal Studios Florida, with interests in the sports, entertainment and financial auditing industries.
About Amazon.com, Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc., the Internet's No. 1 music and No. 1 book retailer, opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995. Today, the Amazon.com store has expanded to offer more than 4.7 million book, music CD, video, DVD, computer game, and other titles, plus secure credit card payment, personalized recommendations, and streamlined ordering through 1-Click SM technology.
Amazon.com operates two international 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. It also operates 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, TMAN global.com's limited operating history, anticipated losses, unpredictability of future revenues, potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results, competition, risks associated with system development and operations, management of potential growth and risks of new business areas, international expansion, business combinations, and strategic alliances.
NOTE: TMAN global.com is a trademark of TMAN global.com, Inc. All other names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
SOURCE TMAN global.com, Inc.
CO: TMAN global.com, Inc.; Amazon.com, Inc.
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LONDON/NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 1999--Citron Inc.
(OTC BB:CTRN), a New York- and London-based Internet marketing company,
recently experienced an impressive response from potential
clients/affiliates requesting the company's products or participation
in the company's services.
Citron's business strategy is to build a network of affiliate web
sites throughout the Internet similar to Amazon.com's (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Associate Program. The affiliates will be offered a choice of various
products they may link to their web site and earn a commission as a
percentage of sales. Citron is continually growing its affiliate
network. With the use of Citron's affiliates, each product is able to
reach a wider audience. Today there are more than 40 million Internet
users passing through web sites such as SkyMall (NASDAQ:SKYM), uBid
(NASDAQ:UBID), eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO). Many of
these Internet users are purchasing the products each site offers.
Citron believes its affiliate network can capture a significant
portion of the traffic. This network is expected to become fully
operational upon the completion of Citron's new style web site in
February 1999.
Citron charges each client a commission on the sale of every
product sold through the company's web sites and affiliate network.
Each affiliate site is in turn paid a commission from Citron for
directing the purchaser of the product.
Current products to be included on Citron's new style web
site are as follows:
1) Discounted Travel
Travel products include airline tickets, hotels, cut price
holiday packages, language courses, and sun screens for
balding/thinning heads.
2) Health Products
Health products include anti-impotence, enhanced sexual
performance, snoring, hair loss, backaches, arthritis, and
enlarged prostates.
3) Tele-I.D. - a Unique and Humane Phone Card System
Tele-I.D. provides two specific services for emergency phone card
use: one being the recovery of lost pets, the other for lost
children, or handicapped or otherwise needy individuals.
4) International Tax Planning Advice
Citron is expecting its product line to increase upon the launch
of the company's new style web site. Each product will be marketed via
Citron's continually growing affiliate network.
All owners or operators of web sites wishing to participate
in Citron's affiliate network program should e-mail the company at
aeb@enterprise.net. The title box of the e-mail should contain the
word "AFFILIATE" and the body of the e-mail should include the web
site address.
All companies wishing to market their products via Citron's
affiliates should also contact the company by e-mail at
aeb@enterprise.net. A Citron representative will respond to all
requests as promptly as possible.
Citron Inc. expects to earn .65/share for the 12-month period
beginning March 1999.
CONTACT:
for Citron, Inc.
Andrew Bryant, 706/343-0096
aeb@enterprise.net
URL: webforce10.net
KEYWORD: NEW YORK
BW1238 JAN 06,1999<<
>> The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- Tucked inside an elfin workshop in Staten Island, miles from Manhattan's publishing elite, bookmaker Malachi McCormick quietly plies his trade. REAL quietly.
There is no whir of presses at The Stone Street Press, no mad dash to set type, no repetitive hum of machines in motion. In fact, there is no press of any kind -- just McCormick, a stack of paper, a pen and a bottle of ink.
Stepping into McCormick's Stone Street shop is like going back in time. No radio. No television. Not even a clock in sight.
''You can't have anything dividing your attention,'' he says.
Books are made here.
Not cookie-cutter, run-of-the-mill books, but slim, richly textured tomes, written entirely in calligraphy, each hand-bound by McCormick.
''It's wonderful to watch people discover Malachi's works at book fairs. Listening to the oohs and exclamations of delight,'' said Karin Taylor, executive director of the Small Press Center, which represents small publishers. ''It's quite apparent all the love and devotion that goes into his books.''
His 61 limited-edition titles range from the esoteric (''Herself Long Ago,'' a translation of poems by six Irish women between the eighth and 10th centuries) to the Epicurean (cookbooks on Irish soups, breads, holiday dinners).
Though most reach deep into his Irish roots, McCormick has also published books on English, Yiddish and African proverbs and collections of nursery rhymes and cat folk tales.
Stone Street is among the smallest of the estimated 50,000 small presses in the nation, Taylor says. A small press is defined as one that publishes fewer than 12 titles a year and has a print run of 5,000 or under. McCormick usually publishes one title a year, but he works on several different books at the same time.
Though labor intensive, his books are surprisingly affordable. They range from $4 for the diminutive ''How to Make a Decent Cup of Tea'' to $35 for the miniature three-volume ''Love of Frog.'' His entire catalog can be purchased for $440.
''A book should be affordable to people,'' he says. ''I have friends who have their own small press and nothing sells for less than $100 or $150. There's something anti-democratic when you get to that level.''
A native of Cobh in County Cork, McCormick founded The Stone Street Press -- named after the cobblestone street where he lives and works -- in 1980, when he was between jobs and at a crossroads in life.
He had already spent nearly 25 years working first as a chemist for an Irish steel company and then as a management consultant at a large firm in London. Although he says he could make 20 times his current income in either career, he found neither fulfilling.
There's no need to ask why he pours so much into a business that has, he admits, marginal financial return.
McCormick simply loves what he does. Visitors are enveloped in his stories about Irish poets, harps (his newest book is poems about harps), Irish saints. He's not only interested in his research, he's immersed in it.
McCormick moved to New York in 1973 with a community of writers and artists he helped found in London. He wrote and edited the group's magazine, but in 1980 he decided to leave the community and Manhattan to try something new. He had an idea for a book on Irish proverbs and, while exploring how to get it published, a friend suggested he do it himself.
''It was really a rather astounding suggestion,'' said McCormick, who has bushy salt-and-pepper hair and a cultured Irish brogue. ''For all the books I'd read, I had never thought about how a book is made. It was an outrageous idea, and I really liked it.''
He knew it would be done in calligraphy, the legacy of both his rigorous Irish schooling and his mother, who he says ''wrote in the clearest hand'' all of her 89 years.
''The best calligraphy is invisible,'' McCormick says, adding that it should never distract the reader from the text.
Though he judges his first work, ''A Collection of Irish Proverbs,'' as amateurish but not bad, he says his latest book, ''Colum Cille,'' about the life of a sixth-century Irish saint, showed vast improvement. ''I like the idea that the better you get at it, the less noticeable it is,'' he says.
The writing might blend in, but the books do not. These are books that beg to be held, touched, even caressed.
The paper can be thick and hearty or delicate and dimpled; each page is slightly different. Bindings are hand-stitched and made of string and ribbons. And Stone Street book jackets are the antithesis of glossy, machine-made book fronts. His covers are adorned in brilliant Chinese paste silks, colorful collages and luxurious textured paper.
''There's a sort of wholesomeness or healthiness in touching a book with texture,'' McCormick says. ''I can't really explain it. It's like trying to explain why something handmade is better. You can have a handmade hammer and a machine-made hammer. Both have the same function, yet there is this THING that makes the homemade hammer just feel better.''
Three of his titles -- the Irish cookbook, the tea book and a collection of Irish folk tales -- were republished via conventional printing press by Random House. It was a learning experience for both parties.
''They told me they wanted the book to look like mine, so they hired me as a consultant on the design,'' he says. ''Yet everything I recommended they found a reason why it wouldn't work.''
He picked out a parchment paper with unusual markings but was told it was too expensive and wouldn't go through the machine. ''They ended up photographing the paper'' and running it through the press, he said with a deep, head-shaking sigh.
Though his books are not big in size (the smallest is 2 1/8 inches by 2 3/4 inches) or volume (they range from 12 to 80 pages), they take time to make.
McCormick works eight to 10 hours a day, usually in silence, perched on his footstool, parchment paper on the light box, carefully scripting each letter. An apprentice comes in once a week. McCormick says it takes about 2 1/2 months to complete the calligraphy for a book the size of ''Colum Cille.'' Copies are then printed from the original.
Yet he doesn't feel isolated. ''It's really a more reflective kind of thing,'' he says, and there's also the added pleasure of seeing a book come out right.
His works are sold at independent bookstores across the country, including Gaelsong in Seattle, Printed Matter in New York City, Wordsworth in Boston, Earthsong in Del Mar, Calif., McIntyre's in Pittsboro, N.C., and Chapters in Washington, D.C.
But the demise of many independent booksellers -- a subject that stokes McCormick's Irish ire -- has forced him to become his own retailer.
He spends many weeks each year selling his works at book fairs, auctions and craft shows. And while he enjoys meeting readers, it cuts into his creative time.
His books are sold on the Internet through Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com, but McCormick says he's had few sales from either. Perhaps, he says, book lovers who scour small shops for quirky, interesting works do not buy books via computer.
''A book,'' he says, ''is not just a vehicle for a story. It's sort of living as well.''
AP-NY-01-06-99 1202EST
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BOCA RATON, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 1999--International Industries Inc. (OTC:ININ) announced Wednesday that it has been accepted in the affiliates program of Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN).
The company expects this to add to its revenue stream. International Industries will earn a commission on any sales placed by people who go to www.Amazon.com from www.stogies-online.com or www.stogiesonline.com. "This association with internet giant Amazon.com elevates our presence dramatically in the internet commerce community," stated Gary Schultheis, president of International Industries.
The company also announced that web traffic to its www.stogies-online site was up 12% from November to 96,000 hits in the month of December. The company continues to expand and upgrade the offerings on its website. Management expects healthy traffic growth to produce geometric increases in revenue from onsite purchases and the affiliates programs.
International Industries, through its majority owned subsidiary Mr. Cigar Inc., franchises the "Mr. Cigar" fully automated vending humidors, which dispense mass-market and premium cigars. The automated humidors hold up to 200 cigars ranging in price from $2 (mass-market) cigars to $35 (premium) keeping them perfectly humidified until purchased. International Industries has a website at www.stogies-online.com for online ordering and marketing of their products.
This material was prepared and disseminated by The Hawke Group Inc. ("Hawke") for the company discussed herein, based upon company supplied information or other sources believed to be reliable. The information is not guaranteed by Hawke for accuracy or to be all inclusive. Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ from those discussed. This material is information only and is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell the securities. Hawke, its affiliates, and/or its officers, directors and employees may from time to time have a position in these securities. The Hawke Group has been compensated by the company.
CONTACT:
The Hawke Group Inc.
Phone: 954/564-7114
Fax: 954/564-9848
Visit our website at www.hawkegroup.com
KEYWORD: FLORIDA
BW1287 JAN 06,1999
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CHATSWORTH, Calif., Jan 6 (Reuters) - Laserdisc and digital video disk distributor Image Entertainment Inc. <DISK.O> said Wednesday that sales should exceed $20 million in its fiscal third quarter.
The company did not indicate whether sales for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 1998, would reach the levels of the year-earlier quarter, and officials were not immediately available to comment. Image Entertainment had sales of $26.3 million in the year-ago period.
Image Entertainment said it expects to report a profit for the quarter, but did not specify the amount. The company posted net income of $1.1 million, or $0.08 a share, for the 1997 period.
DVD sales for the third quarter rose 190 percent over a year ago to more than $14.5 million, the company added. The DVD results were up 120 percent over the $6.6 million for the second quarter ended Sept. 30.
"During the holiday selling season we saw strong DVD sales to both traditional and Internet retailers," President Martin Greenwald said.
DVD sales outpaced laserdisc sales for the first time in the quarter, the company said.
A growing portion of the DVD sales, 23 percent, came from Internet customers.
Image Entertainment currently provides programming for several online services, including Amazon.com <AMZN.O>.
The shares were up 11/16, to 9-9/16 on the Nasdaq stock market.
12:39 01-06-99
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San Francisco, Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc., the top Internet retailer; Yahoo! Inc., the No. 1 Internet directory; eBay Inc., an online auctioneer; and other Internet-related companies rose on prospects for booming Internet sales.
Amazon.com rose 13 1/2, or 11 percent, to 138. Yahoo! rose 33 1/8, or 13 percent, to 291. EBay rose 59, or 26 percent, to 283. CMGI Inc., which invests in closely held Internet companies with the goal of taking them public or selling them to other companies, rose 30 9/32, or 25 percent, to 151.
The surge in Internet shares, which continues to befuddle Wall Street analysts, comes after Amazon.com said yesterday that fourth-quarter sales almost quadrupled to $250 million, though it also said higher sales won't translate into a narrower loss.
''This enthusiasm is incredible. It really is amazing,'' said Lauren Cooks Levitan, an analyst with BancBoston Robertson Stephens, who rates Amazon.com ''buy.''
Amazon.com has spent millions to expand its product line and lure customers to its Web site. The company, which has soared more than 14-fold in the last year, also split its stock 3-for-1 yesterday.
''Amazon is the flagship brand in the e-tailing space,'' Levitan said. ''$250 million in revenue certainly legitimizes this distribution channel.''
Others Skyrocket
Among other Internet-related companies that rose, No. 1 online service America Online Inc. climbed 2 1/16 to 149. No. 2 Internet directory Excite Inc. rose 8 15/16 to 51. Internet software company Inktomi Corp. rose 19 3/4 to 158 7/8.
No. 3 Internet directory Lycos Inc. rose 13 5/8 to 66. Broadcast.com Inc., which broadcasts radio programs and corporate conference calls over the Internet, rose 10 15/16 to 91 9/16.
Broadcom Corp., which makes chips for high-speed modems, rose 25 1/2 to 158 3/4. Network Solutions Inc., which assigns Internet addresses, rose 17 to 172. High-speed Internet access provider At Home Corp. rose 16 1/8 to 96 3/8.
Intuit Inc., which makes financial-planning software and runs a personal-finance Web site, rose 9 15/16 to 88 3/8. Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch Inc., which runs city guides and sells tickets to entertainment events online, rose 11 1/8 to 57 7/8.
Service provider Internet America Inc. rose 14 1/4 to 37.
17:31:24 01/06/1999<<
>>c The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq Stock Market, and American Stock Exchange.
NYSE
Walt Disney Co. rose 3/8 to 30 15/16.
The stock lagged the Dow Jones industrials until the last few minutes of trading, when a flood of index-related purchases pushed it higher. Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eisner said Wednesday new initiatives dragged down earnings in 1998. In a letter to shareholders and Disney employees, Eisner said 1998 was a ''tough year'' for Disney's live action movie business, despite such successes as its remake of ''The Parent Trap'' and ''Armageddon.''
Cabletron Systems rose 1 to 10.
The Rochester, N.H. computer-networking company has hired Merrill Lynch to shop the company, the New York Post reports, citing a person familiar with the situation. Several calls to the company were not answered.
EMC Corp., fell 1 5/8 to 89 1/2.
Hewlett-Packard Co. rose 1 15/16 to 71 5/8.
The companies extended for three years their agreement to resell each other's products. EMC makes computer storage systems, and Hewlett-Packard makes personal computers.
LTV Corp. rose 1 3/8 to 7 13/16.
Bethlehem Steel rose 1 5/16 to 10 9/16.
USX-US Steel rose 2 15/16 to 27 7/16.
Merrill Lynch upgraded steel stocks. Meanwhile, the Clinton administration missed a congressional deadline to produce a plan to combat steel imports. Industry officials and members of Congress said the delay reflected divisions within the administration over two camps -- one arguing for tough protectionist measures and another arguing that such measures would sabotage Washington's efforts to help countries hurt by the global financial turmoil.
Nike Series ''B'' rose 2 15/16 at 43 5/8.
Reebok rose 9/16 to 16 1/4.
Boston Celtics rose 4 1/8 to 14 5/8 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The National Basketball Association and the players' union reached an agreement, ending a 6-month-old lockout that had hurt sales of athletic equipment.
NASDAQ
Applied Materials rose 3 13/16 to 53 9/16.
BT Alex. Brown upgraded the stock to ''strong buy'' from ''market perform.''
Amazon.com rose 13 1/2 to 138.
Yahoo! rose 33 1/8 to 291.
America Online rose 2 1/16 to 149 on the New York Stock Exchange.
While these stocks have risen sharply over the last year, they still remain the best long-term investments in the Internet sector, according to Deutsche Bank analyst, Alan Braverman. In an interview with CNBC Wednesday, Braverman said the stocks ''are easily in the No. 1 position relative to any of their peers.''
ASM Lithography NV rose 7 3/4 to 45.
Traders said the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker is benefiting from a rally in U.S. technology stocks on Tuesday, and signs of economic recovery in some of the company's main markets, particularly South Korea.
Network Associates Inc. fell 1 3/4 to 58 3/16.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into whether the some of company's accounting methods relating to some acquisitions in 1998 would reduce future earnings, analysts said. The Scottsdale, Ariz., supplier of network security and management software said it would take steps to offset any earnings reduction resulting from an SEC review. Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Larson also said he was comfortable with analysts' 1999 earnings expectations of $2.13 a share.
AP-NY-01-06-99 1845EST
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