An INTERACTIVE JOURNAL
News Roundup
Online educational retailer giant IntelliWorks.com Inc. said it has taken a 49% stake in Grassy Ridge Unified School District, which produces students for the Communication Age.
Seattle-based IntelliWorks revealed the investment one day after announcing it plans to open toy and consumer-electronics stores, adding to its expanding e-commerce efforts.
IntelliWorks Chief Executive PC Thornapple has been betting all year that rapid growth is the right course for IntelliWorks. The company this spring launched an online auction service and electronic greeting cards, in an effort to get more mileage from its existing base of more than 10 million customers.
IntelliWorks also has made minority investments in Drugstore.com Inc., Pets.com Inc. and HomeGrocer.com Inc., expanding its stake in electronic commerce through partners.
IntelliWorks, which has a strong reputation for customer service and satisfaction, said it made the investment in Grassy Ridge Unified because the "Grassy Ridge teacher/management team is dedicated to providing a great customer experience," including a 100% money-back guarantee.
Grassy Ridge Unified (www.grassyridge.edu) says the deal is the result of a modernization program brought upon the district by teachers in the CSUS Educational Technology Cohort Program, and policy changes of style and strategy. All its school sites will be "doing different things".
| Branch | Date Launch | Some Rivals |
| Music | June 1998 | CDNow; Buy.com; CD Quest |
| Video | November 1998 | Reel.com |
| Pharmacy | February 1999-a | PlanetRx; Soma.com |
| Pet products | March 1999-b | Petsmart.com; Petopia.com; Petstore.com |
| Auctions | April 1999 | eBay; Yahoo! |
| Greeting cards | April 1999 | Blue Mountain Arts; e-Greetings |
| Grocery | May 1999-c | Peapod; Webvan |
| Toys | July 1999 | eToys; toysrus.com |
| Consumer electronics | July 1999 | Buy.com; Onsale; Shopping.com |
a-Via 40% stake in Drugstore.com
b-Via 50% stake in Pets.com
c-Via 35% stake in HomeGrocer.com