From: TheStandard.comTo: Intelli Europe
Sent: 5/16/01 7:21 PM
Subject: INTELLIGENCER EUROPE: Amazon France head quits
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THE INDUSTRY STANDARD EUROPE'S
I N T E L L I G E N C E R E U R O P E
This Week in the European Internet Economy
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Wednesday, 16 May 2001
TOP STORY:
* Amazon France head quits
WORTH REPEATING:
* Unmobile mobiles
THE WEEK:
* News highlights
BY THE NUMBERS:
* Managers look to the US
TOP STORY
~~~~~~~~~
Amazon France head quits
Denis Terrien is the latest in a line of high-ranking executives to
leave the French subsidiary of the US Net giant
By Kristi Essick
The head of Amazon France, Denis Terrien, has stepped down, following
a series of recent high-profile departures from the French subsidiary
of the US e-commerce giant. Terrien, who has been president of Amazon
France since it was created two years ago, will be replaced by Georges
Aoun.
Terrien, who presided over the company's launch into the market in
August of last year, said he is leaving the firm to pursue another
professional project. His departure does not bode well for Amazon
France, which has lost three other high-ranking executives in the last
few months.
In February, vice-president Cicile Moulard left the company to pursue
other business opportunities, and Graziella Niang, head of
communications, also resigned. Alongside Terrien, Amazon France also
said goodbye to its director of operations, Vincent Marty, this week.
Terrien's place will be taken by 30 year-old Georges Aoun, currently
head of Amazon.fr books. Like Terrien, he has worked at Amazon since
its early days in France. The US company has had operations in France
for the last two years, but did not officially launch the Amazon.fr
site until last autumn. The company now has about 100 employees, with
at least half working at the Amazon.fr distribution centre in Boigny
sur Bionne.
Amazon does not release revenue figures for its individual
international subsidiaries but the French version of the site has
rapidly gained popularity. However, the site faces stiff competition
from existing players, which launched several years before Amazon.fr.
In January, Amazon.fr was the fifth most visited e-commerce site in
France, according to Jupiter MMXI. It's top two competitors, fnac.com
and Alapage, were the number one and number two e-commerce sites
during the same month. Fnac.com had a 9.9 per cent reach among French
Internet users, while Alapage.com reached 9.5 per cent of users.
Amazon.fr was visited by just 3.5 per cent of French Internet users.
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WORTH REPEATING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's a disappointment and a fairly minor glitch Still, the problem
meant you'd have an unmobile mobile phone, so that's no good."
British Telecom spokesman Roger Westbury commenting on the technical
problems delaying the launch of a 3G service on the Isle of Man.
Quoted by ComputerWorld.
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THE WEEK
~~~~~~~~
STAR SYSTEMS: While many tech dotcoms have crashed and burned in the
US, in Europe pioneering new technology continues to thrive. And five
rising-star companies are showing how technology can shape the next
generation of business: Dortmund-based Materna is the biggest
non-telecom SMS provider in the world; SDL International, of
Berkshire, England, provides online translation services; Paris-based
Lookthatup has developed a system that analyses, indexes and retrieves
images that appear on the Net; London-based Vox Generation is
developing speech-recognition technology that can interpret everyday
speech and follow the leaps of human thought; Webraska, of Pouissy,
France, develops maps and real-time navigation systems for the mobile
Internet.
http://www.thestandardeurope.com/article/display/0,1151,16507,00.html
BT BLUES: British Telecom has announced it will split itself into two
separately quoted companies, BT Wireless and Future BT, which will
concentrate on business in the mobile and fixed-line communications
sectors. The news came as the company unveiled its long-awaited
emergency cash call, asking shareholders to buy stock at a deeply
discounted price, as it attempts to raise #5.9 billion (9.5 billion
euros). Meanwhile, the telecom giant was forced to push back the
launch of its 3G wireless service by at least three months after
experiencing the same handset problems that delayed NTT DoCoMo s
launch. More gloomy news sees the #3 billion (5 billion euros) sale of
Yell.com by BT put in doubt by a ruling of the UK s Office of Fair
Trading.
http://www.thestandardeurope.com/article/display/0,1151,16509,00.html
http://www.thestandardeurope.com/article/display/0,1151,16486,00.html
http://www.thestandardeurope.com/article/display/0,1151,16497,00.html
HARBOUR SEAL: Microsoft has agreed to sign up to the European Union-US
"safe harbour" agreement on secure data transfer. The voluntary
framework negotiated between Brussels and Washington last summer,
allows US firms to satisfy EU personal data protection requirements.
The safe harbour agreement will come into effect on 1 July but so far
only a few US companies have signed up. EU sources said Microsoft s
decision to abide by the agreement could act as an incentive for other
US firms.
http://www.thestandardeurope.com/article/display/0,1151,16521,00.html
ORANGE AID: France Telecom stable-mates Orange and NTL, the UK s
largest cable operator, have forged an alliance to create a mobile
service for the cable firm s 3 million customers. Under the deal, NTL
will be able to use Orange s network to set up its own service. NTL
will launch a tailor-made tariff to its customers in the second half
of 2001, marketing and promoting the new service as a core part of its
bundled package.
http://www.thestandardeurope.com/article/display/0,1151,16503,00.html
VULTURE CULTURE: With private equity reduced to a trickle, many
beleaguered start-ups are facing a stark choice: go under or cede
control to an investor of last resort. "Cram downs" where a venture
capitalist offers a small amount of financing to take control of a
struggling company are on the rise. The incoming investors drive the
valuation of the target firm down to almost nothing, while the initial
investors and founders see their stakes reduced to near zero. But the
cram down is a risky proposition.
http://www.thestandardeurope.com/article/display/0,1151,16496,00.html
BOL ABOLISHED: Bertelsmann s online bookstore BOL is to be folded into
the German media group s book clubs and will close its operations in
Denmark and Norway. Founded in 1999, BOL has failed to compete with
rival Amazon s international revenue and brand strength. Bertelsmann s
move marks an end to its IPO plans for BOL. The business, which
operates in 11 European and five Asian countries, said it expected $81
million (93 million euros) of sales for the whole of 2001.
http://www.thestandardeurope.com/article/display/0,1151,16517,00.html
CABLE S CASH: Cable & Wireless is seeking permission to buy back up to
15 per cent of its own shares, returning part of its #6 billion (9.7
billion euros) cash pile to shareholders. The telecom group said the
move was being taken in order to "maintain maximum flexibility" as it
considered options for spending the cash pile. C&W has also announced
that it is to buy Web hosting firm Digital Island for #340 million
(388 million euros) as part of its bid to enter the US business market
for Internet services.
http://www.thestandardeurope.com/article/display/0,1151,16529,00.html
RISE AND SHINE: An independent television and film production firm
founded by Elisabeth Murdoch and TV producer Lord Alli has received #6
million (10 million euros) of funding from investors including 3i
Group. The investment is understood to value Shine Entertainment at
about #30 million (49 million euros) and will be used to develop the
group s rights management operations and build a platform that can be
used to make acquisitions. Shine is the latest attempt by Elisabeth
Murdoch to escape the shadow of her father, media mogul Rupert
Murdoch.
http://www.thestandardeurope.com/article/display/0,1151,16504,00.html
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BY THE NUMBERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A survey of top technology business decision-makers has found that
nearly half believe that the US economic slowdown is already affecting
Europe. But 80 per cent of the executives say they will maintain
spending on Internet technology projects to stay competitive.
http://www.thestandardeurope.com/article/display/0,1151,16494,00.html
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STAFF
~~~~~
Written by James Price and Rob Jeacock. Send news tips and
press releases to [log in to unmask]
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