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To: Arik T.G. who wrote (34248)	1/11/1999 5:48:00 AM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Guy's its taken a long time, but I've finally been quoted. >>c The Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Former Disney Online president Richard Wolpert will oversee the creation of an electronic commerce site and other Internet ventures for the Yucaipa Cos., the privately held investment firm headed by former grocery chain magnate Ron Burkle. The company planned to formally announce Wolpert's appointment on Monday. ''Richard brings a unique expertise and passion for the Internet that will help make us a leader on the Internet and in the electronic commerce realm,'' Burkle, Yucaipa's managing partner, said in a statement. Wolpert, 36, will join Yucaipa Cos. as a partner with responsibility for developing high-technology ventures. ''What I've been brought in to do besides this e-commerce thing is really spend a lot of time and energy on the Internet,'' Wolpert said in an interview. ''I'm going to take some of the company's expertise in doing deals of that size and look at the Internet.'' Yucaipa Cos. has dabbled in technology before but is best known for a string of big food industry deals that culminated in the $8 billion merger last October of Yucaipa's Fred Meyer Inc. with Kroger Corp. Earlier last year, Yucaipa sold Chicago-based Dominick's Finer Foods to Safeway for $1.2 billion. Before joining Yucaipa, Wolpert helped Disney develop and manage some of the Internet's leading sites, including Disney.com, The Disney Internet Guide and The Disney Store Online. Yucaipa hopes to launch its e-commerce site in mid-1999. Wolpert declined to discuss details of the site but said he believed the Internet would become a major point of purchase for items such as books and clothing, and for making travel arrangements. The potential of electronic commerce was underscored last year as online sales tripled to nearly $13 billion. But while online leaders such as bookseller Amazon.com have done a good job of making sales, few are turning profits. ''In '98 all that mattered was revenue. Nobody cared if you made profit at all. That's not going to last,'' Wolpert said. ''What we're planning on doing we think will address that.'' Wolpert left Disney in July after 2 1/2 years to return to his entrepreneurial roots, he said. ''Within the time that I was there I felt like I was really successful and enjoyed it and learned a lot. My background before that really was investments and having ideas and starting things from scratch and getting them up and running,'' he said. Before arriving at Disney, Wolpert founded several technology companies, including After Hours Software, Chance Technologies, Bit Jugglers and Mind Over Technology. He began his career at Apple Computer, where he was involved in the early development of the Macintosh. AP-NY-01-11-99 0301EST

To: Arik T.G. who wrote (34248)	1/11/1999 2:11:00 PM
From: MythMan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

time to drop....it's passed MER in market cap...

To: Arik T.G. who wrote (34248)	1/11/1999 2:15:00 PM
From: GST	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

Arik -- Agree with your assessment (including some bounce next week) but think the top was last Friday morning.