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Strategies & Market Trends : Stock Watcher's Thread / Pix of the Week (POW) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stock Watcher who wrote (4660)	3/22/1999 12:04:00 PM
From: Jeffrey L. Henken	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 52051

HouseHold Direct Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire 7 Additional Clubs BLOOMFIELD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 1999--HouseHold Direct, Inc. (formerly RDI Marketing, Inc.) (OTC BB:RDIM) signed a letter of intent to acquire the Unimart Group and its 7 membership clubs in Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska, Oregon and Kansas. These membership buying clubs represent about 250,000 members who participate in discount purchasing activities through the facilities and services of The Unimart Group, which has operated successfully in the industry since 1972. Due in part to this acquisition, the total membership of Household Direct is expected to reach 350,000 during the second quarter of 1999. In addition, the currently targeted acquisitions by HouseHold Direct also possess data records of over 1 million consumers who have received membership solicitations, and who are candidates for the remarketing efforts of Household Direct.com. HouseHold Direct.com plans to implement a complete transformation of the profitable operations within the buying club industry. The technology group, led by Thunderstick Software, LLC., is coordinating a massive data management system that will enable the Company to service millions of consumer/members as if they were each a single personal profile. These specific and individualized customer service abilities, added to the product discounts created by the elimination of any distributor or retailer markups, should drive a substantial new member acquisition campaign during the 3rd quarter of 1999. HouseHold Direct.com will begin the testing of several new membership offers during the second quarter of 1999. The acquisition of the Unimart Group creates a regional management operation located in Denver, from which Household Direct could manage West Coast and South Central expansion. This regional ''hub and spoke'' operational focus follows the recent acquisition of PCS, headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The Unimart Group transaction, if consummated, would bring the total of club operations to nine (9), with several other potential acquisitions under consideration. The potential club acquisitions have yet to be audited. However, management's preliminary review reveals that total revenues may exceed $11.5 million and gross profits should approximate $2.5 million. If verified, the then combined financial performance of consolidated Household Direct operations would represent revenues of $15 million and gross profits of $3 million or 20%. Consolidated assets, primarily in the form of accounts receivable, are expected to exceed $5 million. Household Direct.com is continuing the launch of the Company's e-commerce website. The data ranges representing some portions of functionality are now visible with graphics, color and content to follow. Engineering links providing seamless transition from the Household Direct.com site to those of our strategic partners will soon be evident. The horizontal data mapping of each state and most towns in the United States is continuing. Thunderstick Software reported substantial ''hits'' from all over the country and Europe, as traffic management systems were brought on line and tested. Thunderstick Software, LLC. has initiated discussions with SAP AG to provide the R/3tm System as the integrated business process software for Household Direct.com. The coordinated functionality between the physical locations, the e-commerce web servers and the data management systems of the Company will be critical during this aggressive, growth by acquisition, phase. The e-commerce services of Household Direct.com will potentially create a direct connection between thousands of manufacturers and millions of consumers. It will also allow members to comparison shop among multiple manufacturers and suppliers and have live links for updated and current catalogue information. It is expected that Household Direct.com will be investing heavily in ''push technology'' applications that will synchronize with the extensive data warehousing and mining systems of the Company. Household Direct.com is continuing to implement the consolidation of the buying club industry on the schedule previously released. As an ''early adapter'' in the psychographic modeling of consumers, Household Direct.com expects to combine physical service center locations with web oriented convenience, thereby enabling the broadest possible reach for the services of the Company. Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements: Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this Press Release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results in the future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, product price volatility, product demand, market competition, risk inherent in the Company's domestic and international operations, imprecision in estimating product reserves and the Company's ability to replace and expand its holdings. Contact: Fortune Marketing & Capital Consultants Inc., Longwood Investor/Media Relations: Jennifer Thompson, 407/696-2221 email: jennifer@fortunemarketing.com biz.yahoo.com I think this is great news. Thanks, Jeff