NetFlix.com Launches Aggressive Growth Plan Premier Online DVD Rental Store Expands Executive Team And Promotional Activities On The Heels Of $30 Million Investment By Group Arnault
Spurred by the explosive growth of the DVD market and the widespread acceptance of e-commerce among consumers, NetFlix.com, the worldís first and largest online DVD rental store, enters a new phase of growth as the leading pioneer of e-rentals. With a $30 million investment by renowned luxury product leader, Group Arnault, expanded promotional activities and the addition of two newly appointed high-level executives, Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy and Vice President of Operations Tom Dillon, the company is launching an aggressive expansion plan to fortify its position as the premiere online store for DVD rentals. Investment Funding Representing the largest investment in the company to date, Group Arnaultís infusion of $30 million will be used to bolster the storeís e-commerce growth and branding initiatives. With the shift of the DVD marketplace clearly reaching beyond early adopters to more mainstream consumers, NetFlix.com will capitalize on Group Arnaultís financial backing to reinforce the companyís position as the premiere online destinations for DVD rentals and related information. Executive Team Expansion To continue the companyís momentum and expansion in e-commerce initiatives, Barry McCarthy joins as Chief Financial Officer and Tom Dillon has been appointed Vice President of Operations. Complimenting an established executive team headed by CEO Reed Hastings and Founder and Executive Producer Marc Randolph, both McCarthy and Dillon will be charged with ushering NetFlix.com into its next phase of growth. Charged with handling the companyís financial and legal affairs, Barry joins NetFlix.com from his position as CFO of Music Choice, a partnership of major cable and music companies including Time Warner, Comcast, Cox, MediaOne, Adelphia, Sony, Warner, EMI and General Instrument. McCarthy was previously an Associate, Vice President and Director with CS First Boston. Tom Dillonís responsibilities include all aspects of the online ordering and distribution for NetFlix.com. Bringing with him a wealth of more than 30 years of line and staff experiences in manufacturing, distribution and information technology. Formerly with Seagate Technology, Dillon joins NetFlix.com from Candescent where he was Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Promotional Relationships With the installed base of DVD players expected to reach beyond 3.3 million by the end of 1999, DVD continues to reign as the fastest selling home entertainment platform in history. As such, NetFlix.com is continuing to solidify its strategic relationships with leading DVD hardware and home theater equipment manufactures including Sony, Toshiba, RCA/Thomson Consumer Electronics, Pioneer, Panasonic and others. NetFlix.comís aggressive marketing tactics have proven to be tremendously successful - NetFlix.com in-box coupons and promotional offers reach virtually all DVD hardware consumers. The continued success of the DVD format has translated into a boon for NetFlix.com. With consumers spending more time at home and enjoying the convenience of e-commerce, the company continues to expand its reach offering a more enjoyable method of renting DVDs. According to a recent customer survey conducted by NetFlix.com, nearly 98 percent indicated that renting DVDs online is ""important"" or ""very important"" to them. Additionally, 65 percent of the respondents indicated that their overall home movie watching consumption has increased since owning a DVD player. Responding to this surging demand, NetFlix.com has bridged together the convenience of home shopping with the efficiencies of an online store. Boasting more than 11,000 DVDs each of such popular titles as Six Days, Seven Nights, Ronin: Special Edition and Pleasantville in its vast inventory of more than 250,000 discs. NetFlix.com continues to serve as an innovative resource for DVD rentals and related information. NetFlix.com is the world's first and largest online DVD rental store. The NetFlix.com store, located at www.netflix.com, carries virtually every DVD movie - currently numbering more than 3,600 titles - and rents them to owners of DVD players. In addition to offering its customers the world's largest selection of DVD movies, NetFlix.com provides 7-day rentals, same-day-shipping to anywhere in the U.S., easy-to-use search features, a DVD Test Drive program (a preview before buying program), advance movie reservations and multi-rental discounts. By focusing on online rentals, NetFlix.com is pioneering a new online retail model and e-commerce category. NetFlix.com currently has promotional relationships with major consumer electronics brands Sony (NYSE: SNE), Toshiba, RCA/Thomson Electronics, Pioneer (NYSE: PIO) and others. Founded in 1997, NetFlix.com is headquartered in Los Gatos, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, California.