Business/Technology Editors
MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 26, 2000
European Online Auction Giant to Develop Be Free
Enabled Performance Marketing Programs In Nine European Countries
Be Free, Inc. (Nasdaq:BFRE), the leader in performance marketing, today announced that it has partnered with QXL.com plc (LSE:QXL)(Nasdaq:QXLC), Europe's premier online auction community. Through this partnership, QXL.com will launch performance-based affiliate marketing programs enabled by Be Free for each of its country-specific auction communities, including sites in the UK, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Germany among others. The UK program, launched on April 26, is already recruiting affiliate partners at www.qxl.com. Additional countries will launch Be Free powered affiliate programs over the next several months in a pan-European launch.
"By partnering with Be Free, QXL.com recognizes Be Free's leadership in the area of performance marketing, as well as the power of adopting affiliate sales channels for its businesses," said Gordon Hoffstein, chairman and CEO of Be Free, Inc. "Performance marketing is the most effective means of online customer acquisition and QXL.com's pan-European online auction communities will surely benefit from developing affiliate sales channels in the coming year."
"QXL.com simultaneously conducts B2C and C2C auctions in nine languages and currencies in Europe," said Jim Rose, CEO of QXL.com. "We firmly believe in the potential of affiliate marketing to drive traffic and sales to our online auction communities, with compelling contextual links and pay-for-performance incentives. Be Free not only offers best-of-breed performance marketing technology and services, but also has in-depth expertise in European e-commerce and affiliate marketing. For QXL.com, Be Free was the natural partner."
Background on QXL.com
QXL.com is a pan-European online auction community. QXL.com conducts consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer auctions in nine languages and currencies. The QXL.com online auction community facilitates trading 24 hours a day, seven days a week in an efficient, convenient and entertaining environment. QXL.com enables buyers to bid on merchandise and services from across Western Europe which are sold by QXL.com, QXL.com members and merchants. QXL.com also enables sellers to locate and trade with buyers in new geographic markets. A wide selection of merchandise and services is available on our online auction community, ranging from computer software and hardware, consumer electronics, household appliances and collectibles to travel-related items and sports equipment. It recently listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq National Market.
QXL.com provides access to the QXL.com trading community in:
-- English - www.qxl.com and www.qxl.co.uk - launched in November 1997
-- German - www.qxl.de - launched in October 1998
-- French - www.qxl.fr - launched in December 1998
-- Italian - www.qxl.it - launched in June 1999
-- Dutch - www.qxl.nl - launched in October 1999
-- Norwegian - www.qxl.no - acquired in December 1999
-- Danish - www.qxl.dk - acquired in January 2000
-- Spanish - www.qxl.es - launched in February 2000
-- Polish - www.allegro.pl - acquired in March 2000
About Be Free, Inc.
Be Free, Inc. (Nasdaq: BFRE) is a leader in performance marketing - the next generation of online marketing. Be Free helps its customers build and manage uniquely branded online sales channels, enabling these sites to capture revenue by driving site traffic, generating qualified leads and selling products in context on locations throughout the Web. Be Free's customers include some of the Internet's leading merchants, online services and portals such as IBM (NYSE: IBM), America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL), barnesandnoble.com (Nasdaq: BNBN), GoTo.com (Nasdaq: GOTO), Mercata, Reel.com (Nasdaq: HLYW), C|Net (Nasdaq: CNET), Garden.com (Nasdaq: GDEN), PC Connection (Nasdaq: PCCC), Lycos (Nasdaq: LCOS), About.com (Nasdaq: BOUT) and Yahoo!(R)GeoCities (Nasdaq: YHOO).
Collectively, Be Free's customers have more than 3.5 million affiliates in their sales channels. Affiliates can enroll in performance marketing programs using Be Free's technology with a streamlined application form called FastApp, located at http://www.reporting.net/networks/affiliates/bf_fast_app.
Founded in 1996, Be Free has offices in Marlborough, MA, Pittsburgh, PA, Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, Los Angeles, CA, Culver City, CA, Campbell, CA, Austin, TX, Silver Spring, MD, Seattle, WA, New York, NY and Windsor, UK. For more information, visit http://www.befree.com.
Statements in this news release about Be Free, Inc. may be considered forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the Company's current expectations, hopes, beliefs and estimates. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or projected. Further information about the risk factors that could affect the Company's performance are contained in the Company's filings with the Securities Exchange Commission, including but not limited to its S-1 dated November 3, 1999 and March 29, 2000.
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