Amazon to Power Waterstone's Website

Posted on July 27, 2001

Amazon.co.uk, the U.K. site of international online retailer Amazon.com, and Waterstone's, a U.K. bookseller, have formed a strategic alliance. Under the agreement, Waterstone's online bookselling site waterstones.co.uk will be relaunched, powered by Amazon's ecommerce platform. Amazon.com also announced earlier this year that it will provide the ecommerce platform for the Borders website, which is to be relaunched in August. Amazon also has an ecommerce deal with Toys R Us and just recently announced a deal with AOL where it will provide ecommerce technology for an AOL shopping section.

A Waterstone's team will provide the editorial content for the new Waterstones.co.uk website. Amazon.co.uk will be the seller of record, providing inventory, fulfillment, other content and customer service for the site. The new site will be launched in autumn 2001 and will continue to feature store locations, promotions and events information. The site will further be promoted in Waterstone's physical stores.

``This partnership enables Waterstone's to offer our customers the best of both worlds -- outstanding book knowledge and content from the U.K.'s No. 1 bookseller, combined with Amazon.co.uk's expertise in online operations, quality of fulfillment and after-sales support. We are delighted to be working with them,'' said Peter Mitchell, business development director for Waterstone's. ``This is good news for Waterstone's and its customers.''

Amazon.com operates four international websites: www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de and www.amazon.co.jp. Waterstone's first opened in 1982 and is now the UK's leading specialist bookseller. Together with HMV music stores, Waterstone's is part of the HMV Media Group, formed in 1998. Waterstone's currently has physical retail outlets in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Europe.