EXHIBIT 99.1
Contact:
JIM GALLAGHER
860-927-8616
jgallagher@outpost.com
For Immediate Release
OUTPOST.COM TO ACQUIRE B2B ETAILER, CMPExpress
ALL STOCK TRANSACTION VALUED AT $12 MILLION WILL BE IMMEDIATELY ACCRETIVE AND
WILL ACCELERATE TIME TO PROFITABILITY
KENT, CT, SEPTEMBER 7, 2000 -- Outpost.com (Cyberian Outpost, NASDAQ:
COOL), a leading global Internet retailer of high-end consumer technology
products and eBusiness Services provider, announced today the signing of a
definitive agreement to acquire CMPExpress, a private Internet retailer of
technology products to the business market. The $12 million purchase price will
be paid in Outpost.com common stock. The transaction will be immediately
accretive to earnings and is expected to close within a week.
CMPExpress, which has been selling on the web since 1996, has offices in
Toms River, NJ and Brookhaven, PA. The company had sales of $42 million in 1999
and, with a current average order size in excess of $1,100, generated sales of
approximately $40 million in the first eight months of this year.
"This acquisition represents a terrific opportunity for Outpost.com that
will generate positive earnings immediately, as well as positive cash flow ,"
said Bob Bowman, president and chief executive officer of Outpost.com. " We
currently have a highly successful B2C business and an electronic Business
Services division that includes clients like Brookstone, Tweeter and Wolf
Camera. Combining these businesses with an established B2B group with an
outstanding reputation like CMPExpress, gives Outpost.com three strong business
components on which to achieve incredible growth and will allow us to accelerate
our path to profitability. CMPExpress provides us with a strong foundation of
B2B sales, as well as a Website with the proprietary controls, scalability and
functionality to provide a distinct competitive edge in the B2B space. This
acquisition gives us the ability to capitalize on significant sales and profit
growth in the B2B market, and we expect our B2B business, to be called
OutpostPRO, to exceed $100 million in sales by fiscal year-end. The acquisition
also provides a true B2B solution for Outpost.com's small business customers,
and provides a wider selection of products to existing CMPExpress customers,"
Mr. Bowman continued.
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"An important component of this transaction is the addition of a highly
motivated and talented CMPExpress outbound B2B sales team, with an average of
seven years experience in B2B sales, to our current seven person outbound B2B
sales staff," Mr. Bowman said. "These individuals share our commitment to
outstanding customer service. They are focused on establishing and cultivating
B2B relationships, then transitioning accounts to the Website for ongoing
purchase and account management," Mr. Bowman concluded.
"We are very proud of the progress CMPExpress has made to date in the
highly competitive technology market," said Bryn Kaufman, CMP founder, who
has been named Vice President, Technology for Outpost.com's new B2B
operations, reporting to Raymond Karrenbauer, chief technology officer for
Outpost.com. "Our acquisition by Outpost.com and the access to its
existing customer base, outstanding customer relationships and unmatched in
the industry back-end fulfillment capabilities, greatly accelerate our
revenue growth and improve our ability to serve the small business market,"
Mr. Kaufman said. In addition to Mr. Kaufman, Sean McGilloway, VP of Sales
for CMP, has been named Vice President, B2B Sales, for the combined
companies, reporting directly to Mr. Bowman.
Outpost.com's existing B2B business will be merged into CMPExpress and the
combined business will now represent approximately 25 percent of Outpost's total
sales.
About Outpost.com
Outpost.com, established in 1995, is a leading Internet retailer of
consumer technology products and has recently expanded its business model to
offer its outstanding customer shopping experience to a number of highly visible
partners. Partnerships with Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, Brookstone and
Wolf Camera, collectively expand the clicks and mortar presence of Outpost.com
to more than 1,000 land based retail stores. Additionally, Outpost.com e-
Business Services provides solutions encompassing site design, site maintenance,
order management and fulfillment to other partners, Sandbox, Computer.com and
Exactly Vertical. All of these partnerships builds on the strength of the
Outpost.com #1 top-rated consumer shopping experience on the Web as rated by the
on-line rating service Bizrate.com and the 1999 2000 #1 PowerRanking for
Computing by Forrester Research. Outpost.com's 24/7 Customer Service Center and
free next-day delivery service for in stock products is unmatched in the
industry. All products are shipped free and overnight, every day. Today,
Outpost.com has an existing customer base of over 700,000 and over 4 million
visitors per month to its Website.
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This press release contains forward-looking statements that address the
expected benefits of the acquisition, including statements that it will
generate positive cash flow, be accretive to our earnings, accelerate our
path to profitability and allow us to capitalize on the B2B market. These
statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to a
number of factors and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to
differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
We caution investors that there can be no assurance that actual results,
outcomes or business conditions will not differ materially from those
projected or suggested in such forward-looking statements as a result of
various factors, including, among others, our ability to close the
transaction on terms acceptable to us, our ability to successfully
intergrate CMPExpress's operations into our existing operations, the
unpredictability of the combined company's future revenues and operating
results, the continued growth of demand for internet products and services,
our need for additional financing and competitive pressures.
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