Too many good stocks to look at ... Suncom Telecommunications Inc. Changes Name to VirtualSellers.com
Trading Symbol to VDOTF
Outlines New Business Strategy
VANCOUVER, B.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 2, 1999--SUNCOM Telecommunications Inc. (OTC BB: SNLMF - news; www.suncomtele.com) Wednesday announced that effective immediately, it has changed its corporate name to VirtualSellers.com Inc. and has begun doing business as VirtualSellers.com (www.virtualsellers.com). The company's common stock will now trade under the symbol (OTC BB: VDOTF - news).
''The new name reflects our restructured business plan and direction, which has been evolving for the past year,'' said Dennis Sinclair, Ph.D., SUNCOM president and chief executive officer. ''Through our recent internal restructuring and strategic acquisitions, we have created a cutting-edge, full-service e-commerce service bureau that focuses on small and medium-sized businesses seeking to sell products over the Internet.''
''Our recently announced acquisition of CallDirect (www.calldirect.com), a direct mail catalog company specializing in telephone productivity solutions, affords us two key strategic advantages. We transition CallDirect, a top performer in its market niche, into e-commerce sales, which increases its value immediately. And through CallDirect, we complete the package of services necessary for us to be the service bureau for catalog companies moving into Internet sales. Catalog marketers are an important focus of our overall strategy.''
Sinclair added, that of the estimated 18,000 catalog companies in the United States, only 2 percent are currently selling their products online. Yet Forrester Research, a leading market research firm, projects that Internet-based sales will reach $3.2 trillion in 2003, representing nearly 5 percent of all sales globally.
''There's a huge market out there,'' Sinclair said, ''and VirtualSellers.com now offers all the services necessary to successfully launch a catalog merchant into cyber business.''
Over the past year, SUNCOM has built three core business segments, which will now operate under the new name VirtualSellers.com. These are: 1) the original VirtualSellers.com, an e-commerce specialty firm that handles Web site design, transaction processing, online security and fraud protection; 2) CallDirect, which processes incoming orders; and 3) customer care call centers, SUNCOM's initial core business, which oversee all in- and out-bound toll-free customer service and telemarketing calls for its clients.
Each VirtualSellers.com client has its own ''store front'' enabled for e-commerce. The client will be responsible for making product available and for shipping, while VirtualSellers.com will handle everything else. That includes designing and maintaining the Web site, taking all customer care telephone calls originating from the site and processing the transaction including merchant banking accounts, fraud protection, customer service and collections.
Because it offers a comprehensive service, not just a software package for one-time sale, VirtualSellers.com has a long-term vested interest in the success of its clients' sites. Its transaction-based system enables VirtualSellers.com to charge a fee, based on a percentage of every sale. VirtualSellers.com's two years of experience validates Forrester Research's estimates that the average online transaction is $160. Unlike online malls, VirtualSellers.com offers only secure sites that actually have products for sale and provides an unprecedented level of service and support. The average transaction charge is approximately 10 percent per sale or $16 on an average sale.
''Because we are paid a percentage of each transaction, we are motivated to be more than just a Web site developer,'' Sinclair explained. ''We want our clients to make money. We want their sites to be successful. Our interest in their success is what places us ahead of our peers. In addition to making the Internet shopping experience safe and easy for consumers, VirtualSellers.com will provide e-commerce specialists to guide clients in maximizing their online sales. Put simply, we partner with our clients to increase sales.''
VirtualSellers.com also provides toll-free call centers to handle its clients' customer service calls and/or telemarketing campaigns. These services are subject to per-call charges separate from the Web site transactions.
On July 1, VirtualSellers.com will open a 20,000 square foot facility in Rolling Meadows, Ill., a Chicago suburb. With its state-of-the-art networking and communications equipment, the company has built a technology platform to handle 53 million hits per day to its clients' Web sites. ''We feel this capacity will be sufficient to handle our current and foreseeable needs even with exponential growth,'' said Sinclair. ''By our fiscal year ending February 29, 2000, we intend to have approximately 1,400 merchants online.''
VirtualSellers.com is a transaction processor for small and medium-sized businesses wishing to sell their products via e-commerce and catalog sales. VirtualSellers.com provides its clients with end-to-end, customized, secure e-commerce services for a nominal set up charge and no monthly fee. Its state-of-the-art, toll-free, inbound communications center in suburban Chicago provides extensive customer support services including e-commerce transaction processing, toll-free inbound transaction processing and customer care.
Safe Harbor Statement
Included in this release are ''forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. There are certain important factors that could cause results to materially differ from those described in the statements made above. These factors include, but are not limited to, the performance of SUNCOM Telecommunications Inc., VirtualSellers.com Inc. and its subsidiaries; the successful completion of SUNCOM's reorganization and the merger with VirtualSellers.com and CallDirect; the success of the company's strategic plans; the vigor of Internet commerce in general; fluctuations in worldwide economic conditions; and others. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct.
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Contact:
SUNCOM Telecommunications
Cary Berman, Investor Relations
312/920-9999
or
Market Pathways
Media & Investor Relations
Shannon T. Squyres, President
949/955-1860
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