4 DECEMBER 2000 AMSTRAD ANNOUNCES FURTHER REVENUE GENERATING E-M@ILER DEVELOPMENTS Amstrad plc today announced that another revenue generating service will be added to the multi-functional e-m@iler, with effect from 4 December. Amstrad's subsidiary company Amserve Limited, established earlier this year to operate the company's e-commerce operations, has reached agreement with UCI Cinemas, Virgin Megastores, Interflora and Ticketmaster. The deal leads to the central ordering telephone numbers of these companies being embedded into the Amstrad e-m@iler services menu, allowing all e-m@iler owners to scroll down the menu and be connected, by a single key-touch, to the desired supplier. The service also enables the participating suppliers to download timely advertisements, for instance reminding customers of "Mother's Day" or alerting them to the release of a new movie. Amserve currently generates revenue from e-mail traffic and advertising routed through the e-m@iler, and the new service will provide an additional revenue stream from calls made to suppliers and, in certain cases, Amserve will share a percentage of the cost of purchases made. Simon Sugar, Amstrad's Commercial Director, commented today: "Our ability to deliver product offerings right into the consumers' home to a screen on their telephone, the most frequently visited and used device in the house, is unique to the Amstrad e-m@iler. In the first instance, we have offered this service to a limited number of rapid repeat leading national brands, and intend to add to the list in the coming months. "We are going to restrict the service to one company per market sector, the criteria being national presence and premier branding. The service will provide another revenue stream for Amserve, and at the same time delivers a further useful service to the consumer." Janet Smith, UCI Cinemas Head of Marketing hailed the new service as an exciting and cost effective way of reaching her potential market when she said: "Research has shown that for a high percentage of people the decision to go to the cinema is made almost spontaneously. The beauty of the Amstrad e-m@iler is that it will allow UCI Cinemas to communicate film release dates, previews and other offers on a short lead-time. The guest is prompted with a film related message that requires no other effort than to press a single button to be connected to our booking service. With Amstrad's plans to get 1 million phones into people's homes, this is certainly an opportunity that I look forward to experimenting with!" Mr Alan Rallings, Chief Executive at Interflora agrees; "As the country's leading flower relay service, we are pleased to offer yet another access point for the benefit of Interflora customers. This quick and convenient service allows customers to place orders on their Amstrad e-m@iler". Note to editors: The e-m@iler product is subsidised with the subsidy recouped by a long term revenue stream derived from e-mail call revenue, SMS message charges, advertising revenue and now voice mail services revenue. As the e-m@iler product and service is very different to the main Amstrad business it is operated through a separate company, Amserve Ltd, which is 20% owned by Dixons Group plc. The Amstrad e-m@iler is being promoted on television and in the national press in the run up to Christmas. For further information please contact Andrew Bloch/Eva Sogbanmu/Gavin Lewis at Frank PR 0207 693 6999 or Gavin@frankpr.it / Andrew@frankpr.it Go to News Headlines