iQVC/MODESTYLE.COM FORM ALLIANCES WITH AlwaysInStyle.comAlwaysInStyle.com, creator of a powerful online market research and data mining software program, announced strategic alliances with iQVC and modestyle.com. Through their individual agreements with AlwaysInStyle.com, these companies will participate in Always In Style's unique, proprietary data warehouse and market research services. These services are designed to help alliance members expand customer databases, strengthen customer relations, and ultimately enhance product development and selection. Unique Business ModelAlwaysInStyle.com, an enabler site that aggregates and warehouses market research information without violating an individual's right to privacy, will create separate, tailored programs for iQVC and modestyle.com that target their respective customers. These individualized programs will offer valuable customer service while providing their affiliates with cost-effective access to in-depth, hard-to-find consumer data. Always In Style markets Personal Profiles, a series of software programs that, through a variety of questionnaires, collect a wide range of personal information about the end-user, from eye color (the Color Profile) to bodyshape (the Bodyline Profile), and from perfume preference (the Fragrance Profile) to home fashions (the Home Profile). Customers access the Personal Profiles directly at AlwaysInStyle.com or through an affiliate's Web site. For example, the AlwaysInStyle.com icon appears on the iQVC Web site, www.qvc.com, and the profiles and product recommendations are tailored to the affiliate's Web site. Upon completion of their profile, visitors are provided with personalized fashion, beauty and home decorating analysis and advice, as well as customized product recommendations. The profile data collected is then warehoused into more than 300 mining fields and can be reconfigured and packaged into aggregated data reports that provide companies with valuable knowledge needed to create better products and services for consumers. AlwaysInStyle.com offers an online style trends magazine that is updated regularly and will feature products from a growing network of licensees that are available for purchase through the profiles and the magazine. Always In Style will not disclose any personally identifiable information, but will act as an infomediary contacting profile customers directly on behalf of product manufacturers wishing to conduct highly targeted direct marketing campaigns. iQVC AllianceiQVC and AlwaysInStyle.com have created an integrated program to fully support this new alliance, including the following initiatives:
"AlwaysInStyle.com allows us to offer our customers another great way to find products that fit their personal needs," said Steve Hamlin, vice president of Operations for iQVC. "With this alliance, iQVC can now create a personalized environment for customers that will help them locate specific products that will reflect and enhance their personal style - in fact, this personalization feature helps us merchandise individual stores 'just for her'." Modestyle.com AllianceModestyle.com, the Web site associated with Mode Magazine, a publication that targets plus-size women, will be co-branded with AlwaysInStyle.com and will provide their visitors with an opportunity to fill out an Always In Style profile and receive product recommendations that are offered via their site. Modestyle.com provides visitors with apparel and accessories from more than 40 top plus-size clothing designers. "Traditionally, companies spend millions of dollars on labor-intensive research to determine consumers' likes, dislikes, and buying habits, and the price of updating consumer needs is generally reflected in the overall cost of products," said Doris Pooser, president and CEO of Always In Style. "Always In Style contributes to every process of our affiliates' business by taking out a lot of the guesswork in terms of what their consumers want. We help them build one-on-one relationships with their customers by providing visitors to their site with tailored advice and product recommendations based on their physical characteristics and individual preferences and not their purchasing habits, thereby motivating their customers to buy. By providing their customers with personalized advice and product recommendations, Always In Style enables retailers and manufacturers to focus product development to increase customer satisfaction, reduce product returns and ultimately stimulate greater sell through." AlwaysInStyle.com has also entered into alliances with a number of other Hanover Direct Inc companies which include, but are not limited to, the following brands: Silhouettes and Domestications. Additional contracts are pending. AlwaysInStyle.com Allows Affiliates to "Plug In" to Profiling and ContentParticipation in Always In Style's network can be technically implemented in a matter of days. The system provides profiling and content, the scope and depth of which has taken over 20 years to develop and would be time consuming and expensive for product manufacturers to create and implement internally. Additionally, Always In Style is an independent company that does not sell directly to the consumer, but provides either links to third party e-commerce sites or zip code store locators - consequently, affiliation with AlwaysInStyle.com creates no conflict between product manufacturers and their traditional brick-and-mortar retail networks. About Always In StyleAlways In Style LLC is a joint venture between Hanover Direct Inc and AIS Marketing Services Inc, with a majority stake owned by Hanover Direct. The Always In Style trademark, copyright and other intellectual property have been licensed to Always In Style LLC by AIS Marketing Services Inc, a New York corporation owned by Doris Pooser. About Hanover Direct IncHanover Direct Inc, and its business units, provide quality, branded merchandise through a portfolio of catalogs and e-commerce platforms to consumers, as well as a comprehensive range of Internet, e-commerce, and fulfillment services to businesses. Hanover Brands Inc is comprised of the Company's catalog and e-commerce Web site portfolio of home fashions, apparel and gift brands. erizon Inc, is comprised of Keystone Internet Services Inc, www.keystoneinternet.com, the Company's third party end-to-end, fulfillment, logistics and e-care provider, and Desius LLC, the Company's joint venture with RS Software India, Limited, offering 24/7-Web shop services and e-commerce systems development. Information on Hanover Direct, including each of its subsidiaries, can be accessed on the Internet at www.hanoverdirect.com. Contact Lippe Taylor, New York, Jennifer Newman/Laura Pesin, 212-598-4400, jnewman@lippetaylor.com, lpesin@lippetaylor.com. |