Blackwell U.K. and Alibris Team Up to Offer Millions of New and Second-Hand Books to U.K. and European Customers
Direct shipping, local currency, and lower prices improve access to hundreds of independent booksellers in the U.K. and Europe
EMERYVILLE, CA—February 11, 2008—Alibris, the premier marketplace for new and second-hand books, and
Blackwell U.K. Ltd., the market leader in academic and professional bookselling in the U.K., announced the launch of their
partnership today.
Blackwell.co.uk already has a catalogue of more than 3 million books available online, to which a vast selections of new and
second-hand books have been integrated from Alibris's network of independent sellers. As a result, Blackwell customers can search
and order from Alibris (www.alibris.com and www.alibris.co.uk), whose extensive inventory of more than 75 million new and second-hand
books is now directly available within the Blackwell Web site. Book lovers in the U.K., Ireland, and Europe can now turn to
Blackwell.co.uk for books they thought they'd never find.
"We're thrilled to be increasing the selection, value, and convenience for our U.K. and European customers," noted Blackwell Director
of e-Commerce, Claire Zuurbier.
The partnership represents a major step forward in Blackwell's commitment to providing convenient access to millions of new,
out-of-print, rare, and second-hand books to its consumers throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. The partnership also represents
a major step forward in Alibris's expansion into international and other media markets.
"Our U.K. and European booksellers have asked us for help in selling more books, movies, and music in their local markets," said
Brian Elliott, President and CEO of Alibris. "Our partnership with Blackwell helps accomplish that goal by providing our sellers with
access to more customers in the U.K. and Europe, as well as enabling us to reduce delivery time and costs for those markets."
Elliott confirmed that the partnership with Blackwell is part of an international growth strategy for the company. "Alibris is backed
by investors who are eager to encourage our growth, and we look forward to doing a lot more in the coming year."
The Blackwell integration was built using the Alibris E-commerce Integration Framework, a standardized XML-based technology that allows
partners to display Alibris items in search results and offer Alibris items for sale on their e-commerce-enabled sites.
About Alibris
Alibris is the premiere online destination for new and used books, music, and movies, as well as rare and out-of-print titles. We
connect people who love books, music, and movies to the best independent sellers from 45 countries around the world. Our proprietary
technology and advanced logistics allow us to offer more than 75 million used, new, and out-of-print titles to consumers, libraries,
and retailers, which include Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Borders, Chapters/Indigo, and Half.com. Founded in 1998 and
acquired by Oak Hill Capital Partners in 2006, Alibris was named a "Fast 50" and a "Technology Fast 500" growth business by Deloitte
in 2005. Alibris is a registered trademark.
About Blackwell
Blackwell is the leading academic bookseller in the U.K. with over 60 outlets across England, Scotland and Wales. It has built an
international reputation for bookselling excellence with links to academic institutions and libraries around the globe and has
continued to expand its U.K. base on high streets and in university campuses up and down the country. Two new stores have opened in
2007 at Reading University and at Wellcome Collection in London.
In 1995, www.blackwell.co.uk became the first transactional online bookstore in the U.K., now giving people across the world access
to over 3 million titles.
At the 2007 Bookseller Retail Awards, Blackwell won two of the most prestigious awards in the bookselling industry, winning the
awards for the Retail Chain of the Year and the Headline Bookselling Company of the Year.
Today Blackwell has been trading for over 125 years. Its staff continue to be renowned for their expertise, depth of knowledge,
and love of books since the first Blackwell shop opened its doors.
