Rather long article, but the part that caught my attention, "Market size information contained in this release and provided by Gomez Advisors has not been independently verified by the company."
E*TRADE and Owners.com Sign Marketing Pact
Providing Co-Branded Real Estate Services
May 14, 1999
SAN FRANCISCO, May 13 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation --
E*TRADE(R) Group Inc. (Nasdaq: EGRP), a leading provider of online investing
services, and Owners.com Inc., America's largest by-owner real estate service,
have entered into a co-branding agreement. Financial terms of the agreement
were not disclosed.
Under the one-year marketing agreement scheduled to go into effect this month,
Owners.com's real estate services, including online classifieds and home
marketing services, will be added to E*TRADE's Mortgage Center. The
agreement also includes the opportunity for further online and offline promotion of
Owners.com's real estate services to E*TRADE's customers and members.
"Just as E*TRADE has revolutionized the online investing industry by giving
individual investors the tools they need to manage their investments,
Owners.com is revolutionizing the real estate industry by enabling families to
take control of the sale or purchase of their home, saving an average of $10,000
on realtor commissions," said Hans Koch, chairman and chief executive officer of
Owners.com. "Managing their home sale or purchase online is a natural next
step for E*TRADE customers who already are investing online."
Through co-branded pages on the Owners.com web site, E*TRADE customers
will have easy access to Owners.com's by-owner home marketing services and
national database of homes for sale by-owner. The Owners.com site outlines
every major step of the home buying and selling process, providing tools and
services ranging from customized yard signs and title and escrow services to
home pricing reports (comps) and insurance. The Owners.com "My Desktop"
feature enables users to manage the transaction process from their own
personalized home page on the Owners.com web site.
"E*TRADE and Owners.com share the vision of empowering individuals with the
right tools to manage their finances and personal real estate online," said Jerry
Gramaglia, senior vice president of Sales and Marketing for E*TRADE.
"Owners.com's comprehensive by-owner real estate services is another way that
E*TRADE adds value for its customers, members and visitors. We believe this
collaboration will contribute to the success of both companies."
With the re-launch of its web site in January 1999, Owners.com provides more
information and services related to buying or selling a home than any other real
estate site. Site partners such as E-LOAN, Ernst & Young, InsWeb, CityAuction
and American Home Shield provide Owners.com customers with content, tools
and services at every step of the home transaction. Through its network of
distribution partners, Owners.com's home listings are available on web sites
such as Yahoo! and Lycos that have a combined reach of over two-thirds of all
Internet traffic.
Continued Koch, "In the midst of a hot real estate market, we are seeing a rapid
rise in the number of homes for sale by-owner throughout the nation, and
particularly in major metros such as Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Whereas, in the past, an average of 20 percent of homes were sold by owner, we
project that this segment will double in the next four years. As the national
by-owner listing service, Owners.com is leading this revolution in the real estate
industry."
About E*TRADE
A leading branded provider of online investing services, E*TRADE has
established a popular destination web site for self-directed investors. The
company offers independent investors the convenience and control of automated
stock, options and mutual fund order placement at low commission rates. In
addition, E*TRADE has a suite of value-added products and services that can be
personalized, including portfolio tracking, real-time stock quotes, Smart Alerts,
market commentary and analysis, news, investor community areas and other
information services.
E*TRADE was the first securities and financial services company to be awarded
the CPA WebTrust seal of assurance by the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants (AICPA). In the fourth quarter of 1998, the E*TRADE web
site was named the No. 1 online investing site in an international survey of the
industry's top 20 Internet brokerage firms by Lafferty Information and Research
Group, a global provider of high-value and business information research.
Investors can access E*TRADE at www.etrade.com on the Internet and through
many other electronic channels and online services, including AOL (Keyword:
E*TRADE) and via the TELE*MASTER interactive telephone system. E*TRADE
Securities Inc. (Member NASD/SIPC), and its parent company, E*TRADE Group
Inc., are headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.
About Owners.com
Owners.com (formerly Abele Owners' Network) was introduced in May 1996 as
the first national "by owner" real estate service. Owners.com has marketed more
than 200,000 residential properties in all 50 states on its online service. Among
the Owners.com's awards, the site was named "the best for-sale-by-owner
network" by the Wall Street Journal. It was also featured as one of PC
Magazine's "Top 100 Web Sites" (8/97, 11/97, 3/98), and was recognized as a
Snap.com Editor's Choice Site.
Owners.com has developed partnerships with companies such as Yahoo!,
E-LOAN, CityAuction (a subsidiary of Ticketmaster Online -- CitySearch Inc.),
iOwn, Countrywide Home Loans, American Home Shield, Vista E/Risk, InsWeb,
Loanworks (a service of IndyMac Mortgage Holdings), iCreditReport.com,
National School Reporting Service and others to offer powerful transaction and
marketing support for homeowners selling their homes by owner. Owners.com
Inc. is a privately held company with headquarters in San Francisco, Calif.
The Owners.com logo is a service mark of Owners.com Inc. Owners.com and
Abele Owners' Network are trademarks of Owners.com Inc.
Important Notice
E*TRADE is a registered trademark of the company. All other trademarks are
properties of their respective owners. The statements contained in this news
release that are forward-looking are based on current expectations that are
subject to a number of uncertainties and risks, and actual results may differ
materially. The uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, changes in
market activity, market acceptance of the new Destination E*TRADE web site,
anticipated increases in the rate of new customer acquisition, the conversion of
new visitors to the site to customers, seasonality, the development of new
products and services, the enhancement of existing products and services,
competitive pressures (including price competition), system failures and
interruptions, economic and political conditions, changes in consumer behavior
and the introduction of competing products having technological and/or other
advantages. Further information about these risks and uncertainties can be found
in the information included in the annual report filed by the Company with the
SEC on Form 10-K (including information under the caption "Risk Factors") and
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Market size information contained in this release
and provided by Gomez Advisors has not been independently verified by the
company.
Contact: Ken Sporleder, 650-328-5555, ext. 129, ksporled@nealemay.com, or
Doug Hendrix, 650-328-5555, ext. 115, dhendrix@nealemay.com, both of
Neale-May & Partners for E*TRADE Group Inc.; or Hans Koch of Owners.com
Inc., 415-427-1000, ext. 104, pr@owners.com.
SOURCE E*TRADE Group Inc.
/CONTACT: Ken Sporleder, 650-328-5555, ext. 129, ksporled@nealemay.com,
or Doug Hendrix, 650-328-5555, ext. 115, dhendrix@nealemay.com, both of
Neale- May & Partners for E*TRADE Group Inc.; or Hans Koch of Owners.com
Inc., 415-427-1000, ext. 104, pr@owners.com/ /Company News On-Call:
prnewswire.com or fax, 800-758-5804, ext.
136683/ /Web site: etrade.com (EGRP)
[Copyright 1999, PR Newswire] |
