Online Bookseller ComputerLiteracy.com Changes Name to Fatbrain.com
Company extends brand strategy to professionals across multiple
industries,
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 1999-- In a move reflecting an expansion of its successful e-commerce market strategy, ComputerLiteracy.com (Nasdaq:CMPL - news) today unveiled a new company name, Fatbrain.com. The Internet's most comprehensive professional bookstore, Fatbrain.com today launched a new Web site at fatbrain.com along with a new brand identity that extends beyond the company's traditional market of technical experts to include professionals in other industries. Starting tomorrow, Fatbrain.com's Nasdaq stock ticker symbol becomes ''FATB.'' Next week, the company will launch its first major advertising campaign.
The name Fatbrain.com reflects the company's expanded scope and communicates its role in helping professionals and organizations locate the resources to help address information needs and pursue professional growth.
Having outgrown the name ComputerLiteracy.com, the company recently announced a strategic move to build on its expertise in the technical books market and also address professionals in the business and finance, science, engineering and mathematics industries. As ComputerLiteracy.com, the company has used its unique, expert offerings in technical books and documentation to build a loyal following of technology professionals and launch a successful bid into the business-to-business e-commerce arena a category projected to exceed $1 trillion by the year 2003, according to Forrester Research.
''Fatbrain.com is about problem-solving, bright ideas and feeding your mind,'' said Chris MacAskill, president and CEO of Fatbrain.com. ''We've worked hard to get in on the ground floor of the business-to-business e-commerce movement, one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Internet today. Our FindITnow program now connects employees and purchasing departments in many of the leading firms from Silicon Valley to the East Coast. We're ready to move beyond this to address professionals in a wider range of industries, and an important part of this is to build and market a new brand that suits our
mission.''
Next week, the company will launch its first integrated branding campaign with print and outdoor advertisements. Designed to introduce the professional community to the brand Fatbrain.com, the campaign's striking, colorful artwork uses a melange of surreal images such as human figures, drawings, scribbles, motherboards, switches, wires, plugs and cables.
''Our typical customers are smart and creative, and as such, they have unique information needs,'' said Robert Cudd, vice president of marketing and editorial for Fatbrain.com. ''The goal was to create a look that appeals to these customers and drives them to our Web site, where we can prove that we're a better bookstore solution for their professional needs.''
Fatbrain.com offers a world-class selection of books, training materials and documentation plus sophisticated search tools to assist professionals in locating the right resources to solve their unique challenges. Fatbrain.com also provides unique, advanced editorial services such as expert reviews and reading recommendations.
Over the past four months, the company has created custom intranet bookstores through its FindITnow program for more than 60 corporate customers including 3Com (Nasdaq:COMS - news), Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE - news), Bank of America, Compaq (NYSE:CPQ - news), KLA-Tencor (Nasdaq:KLAC - news), Netscape (Nasdaq:NSCP - news), Network Associates (Nasdaq:NETA - news), Oracle (Nasdaq:ORCL - news), Philips (NYSE:PHR - news), SAS Institute Inc., Seagate (NYSE:SEG - news), Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Unwired Planet, Verifone, Xerox PARC and others.
About FindITnow
Introduced last fall, Fatbrain.com's FindITnow intranet bookstore program allows businesses to provide customized
professional bookstores on their corporate networks. These co-branded stores provide employees with a quick, easy way to
find and order books and resources specific to their individual needs. FindITnow bookstores integrate with existing business
processes to give organizations control over procurement. The program offers unique expertise in professional, technical and
business books, training materials and documentation. Corporations may realize significant cost savings by leveraging the
FindITnow program with the corporate intranet and existing processes.
About Fatbrain.com
Fatbrain.com is the Internet's most comprehensive professional bookstore. The company offers a world-class selection of
books, training materials and documentation for experts in business and finance, technology and other industries. A leader in
business-to-business e-commerce, Fatbrain.com specializes in creating custom corporate intranet bookstores that work
seamlessly with existing infrastructure. Formerly ComputerLiteracy.com, the company first built a loyal following among
programmers and IT professionals for its unique specialty in resources for technology professionals. Fatbrain.com offers
discounts of up to 40 percent, and all in-stock orders placed by 4 PM PT ship the same business day. Visit Fatbrain.com on
the Web at fatbrain.com.
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including, among others,
Fatbrain.com's limited operating history, anticipated losses, the unpredictability of its future revenues, competition, risks
associated with system development and operation risks, management of potential growth, and risks of new business areas,
international expansion, business combinations, and strategic alliances. Actual results could differ materially from those
discussed. More information about factors that potentially could affect Fatbrain.com's financial results is included in the
Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Registration Statement filed under its original
name, Computer Literacy, Inc., on Form SB-2 on November 19, 1998, as amended. All forward looking statements are
based on information available to the Company on the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update such
statements.
All company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies
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