Exhibit 99.3
News Announcement
BRIGHT STATION PLC SUBSIDIARY SPARZA ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIP WITH DEUTSCHE POST FULFILMENT GMBH
London - 15 February, 2001 - Bright Station plc (LSE: BSN, NASDAQ: BSTN),
(www.brightstation.com), the technology company and leading provider of Internet
and eCommerce solutions, announced today that its eCommerce hosting solutions
subsidiary Sparza (www.sparza.com) has formed a strategic partnership with
Deutsche Post Fulfilment GmbH, a leading logistics and fulfilment provider.
Deutche Post Fulfilment (DPF), a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Post World
Net operates Europe-wide with a staff of 750 from over 4 logistic centres. DPF
(www.deutschepost.de/fulfilment) provides comprehensive national and
international outsourcing solutions in warehousing and distribution for the mail
order business and eCommerce. "DPF has proven, that they have a robust and
scaleable back-end-fulfilment system in place. The importance of such a system
is recognised within the e-business world. A partnership with Sparza is an
important step towards developing a true end to end service," said Werner Nies
managing director of the DPF.
"Working with Deutsche Post Fulfilment, we will integrate our technology
platforms and create a global strategic partnership in relation to logistics and
fulfilment", said Eric Goldstein, CEO of Sparza. " Together we will provide an
Internet shopping gateway to European and global market places. Sparza and DPF
will provide the end to end solution for companies that are serious about
eCommerce."
Sparza provides a scaleable, robust e-commerce solution, which combines
cost-effective, best-of-breed modular technology with maximum flexibility.
Sparza has been developing retail solutions for the web since 1998, and in June
2000 it acquired the rights to the world's most sophisticated B2B/B2C e-tail
engine, which had been developed and refined in use by boo.com. It has continued
to refine this effective and versatile software, providing state of the art
technology on `rental' terms obviating the need for massive investment on the
part of the retailer.
-ENDS-
For further information, please contact:
Nick Chaloner
Head of Corporate Communications
Bright Station plc +44 (0)20 7930 6900
nickchaloner@brightstation.com
John Olsen / Nick Lockwood
Hogarth Partnership +44 (0)20 7357 9477
nlockwood@hogarthpr.co.uk
About Bright Station
Bright Station plc is a leading creator of innovative Internet technologies and
technology-driven businesses. It is comprised of the following:
Smartlogik - Creates decision makers and corporate efficiencies through its
superior knowledge management solutions. Smartlogik solutions combine
state-of-the-art proprietary technologies that enable user-friendly searching,
indexing and categorization of unstructured information with business-friendly
implementation services to ensure that every corporation realizes maximum
benefit from its Smartlogik knowledge management solution.
Sparza - An eCommerce ASP providing online retailers with state-of-the-art
Internet shopping solutions at a fraction of the cost. By outsourcing their
entire web store operations to Sparza, retailers can remove eCommerce from the
balance sheet and concentrate on the value-adding parts of the business such as
customer service, product development and marketing.
WebTop - The next generation Internet search services company with one of the
largest web indexes in the world. Over 500 million web pages have been
catalogued and organized into information zones to deliver context specific and
accurate information retrieval on the web.
OfficeShopper - The Internet procurement and business supplies vendor.
Bright Station Ventures - responsible for nurturing, and investing in, promising
technology and Internet start-up businesses leveraging Bright Station's
world-class technology assets and expertise.