Amazon.com to Run Borders.com Website

Posted on April 13, 2001

Amazon.com, Inc. and Borders Group, Inc. announced an agreement to re-launch Borders.com as a co-branded website powered by Amazon.com's ecommerce platform. The co-branded site, expected to debut in August, will feature the books, music, video and DVDs available at Amazon.com. Amazon.com's website will continue to operate independently. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Amazon.com will be the seller of record, providing inventory, fulfillment, site content and customer service for the co-branded site. The new site will continue to offer content unique to Borders.com, including store location information and in-store event calendars. This arrangement follows a similar deal between Amazon.com and Toysrus.com, which was launched in September 2000.

The Borders.com website has struggled to keep up with Amazon.com's website and Barnes and Noble.com, the online presence of Barnes and Noble, Inc., the chief retail competitor of Borders Group. Although Barnes and Noble.com has struggled online as well and recently removed its gifts and software tabs, it has faired better and generated more sales than Borders. The deal will allow Borders to maintain an online presence without having to develop and maintain the ecommerce infrastructure and content itself. Borders.com will continue operation in its current format until the launch of the co-branded site in August. The deal will result in the layoff of 70 employees at Borders.com.

``Amazon.com has worked hard to provide its customers with the best possible shopping experience, and we are incredibly pleased to power and manage the new Borders.com,'' said Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon.com. ``Borders is best-of-breed in the physical world and a company that shares our passion for serving book, music and movie lovers everywhere.''

``This alliance allows Borders to offer our customers the convenience of an online shopping option with the added benefits that will emerge through our new association with Amazon.com, the world's recognized ecommerce leader,'' said Borders Group President and CEO Greg Josefowicz. ``While our customers' needs are met online by the people who do it better than anyone else, we will provide them with what we do best -- the books, music and movies they love to explore in an engaging shopping atmosphere.''

Under the agreement, customers of the co-branded site will provide access to Amazon.com's editorial reviews, personalization features and recommendations, 1-Click ordering, and other Amazon.com features. Both companies will continue to work together to bring about additional customer benefits in the future, which may include the ability for customers to reserve a title online for later purchase and pick up at their neighborhood Borders store, as well as extending the alliance internationally. In addition, customers of the co-branded site, as well as customers of Amazon.com, may receive notification of upcoming author events and musical performances scheduled to take place in Borders stores.