CLASSIFIED VENTURES TO FOCUS ON ACCELERATING GROWTH IN ONLINE AUTOMOTIVE AND REAL ESTATE CATEGORIES
Company will exit auctions businessChicago, August 22, 2000 - Classified Ventures, Inc., the Internet's leading classified advertising company, announced it will exit the auctions business in order to focus all corporate resources on its market-share leading automotive and real estate Web sites, cars.com (www.cars.com) and HomeScape.com (www.homescape.com). .
"The reality of today's business climate demands we make hard decisions about where to focus our resources. The online automotive and real estate markets represent a much more significant long term economic opportunity for Classified Ventures and its investors than the online auctions business," said David G. Israel, President and Chief Executive Officer. "To maintain our category leadership and accelerate the momentum we have generated, Classified Ventures and its affiliates have decided to focus on core revenue producing businesses."
"As a consequence, Classified Ventures will close its auctions.com Web site on August 31. Auctions.com provides auction services for about 39 local market affiliate Web sites, which also will close. Members of auctions.com and local market affiliates will receive refunds on their deposits."
"We have gained traction and are serious competitors in the online automotive and real estate market segments," said Israel. "Cars.com generated more than 1.5 million unique visitors in the month of July according the Media Metrix and has ranked number two or three in traffic in its category for eight of the last 10 months. Apartments.com and NewHomeNetwork.com, members of the HomeScape.com network, each ranked number one in traffic in their categories for the last two months."
Israel also noted newly introduced features at cars.com include a "Sell Your Car" channel for consumer-to-consumer used car sales. In July, Classified Ventures introduced a new real estate strategy with HomeScape.com, a newly launched residential real estate Web site.
About Classified Ventures
Classified Ventures, Inc. creates nationally branded online marketplaces that are the Internet's leading destination for buyers and sellers of cars (cars.com) and homes (HomeScape.com). The company also owns Marketdrive Interactive, Inc., a leader in e-customer relationship management. Based in Chicago, Classified Ventures is owned by six leading media companies: Gannett Company., Knight Ridder, Inc., The McClatchy Company, The New York Times Company, Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company. For more information please visit www.classifiedventures.com.About cars.com
Cars.com (www.cars.com) simplifies local new- and used-car shopping on the Internet. Affiliated with more than 130 local newspapers, cars.com is the only automotive Web site providing daily updates of dealer inventories that are available in 26 of the top 30 markets in the United States.About HomeScape
HomeScape.com (www.homescape.com) is a comprehensive online real estate destination providing a full scope of services surrounding the buying, selling, renting, moving or financing of a home or apartment. The site is composed of six nationally branded online services, which include HomeFinder.com (www.homefinder.com), NewHomeNetwork.com (www.newhomenetwork.com), Apartments.com (www.apartments.com), MovingCenter.com (www.movingcenter.com) HomeGain and iOwn.com. HomeHunterT, a local-only resale solution, is offered through the Web sites of select newspapers..
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Contact at Classified Ventures:
Classified Ventures
Vice President
Corporate Communications312.601.5611
312.286.7639