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For Immediate Release
Mail Boxes Etc. to Offer USA.NET’s Email Services to Its Millions of
Customers as well as Franchisees at its 3,350 U.S. Locations
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.,(January 11, 2000) - USA.NET, the
world’s largest email outsourcer, and Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE), the world’s
largest franchisor of retail business, communication and postal service centers, today
announced a contract that establishes USA.NET as the email provider of choice for
MBE’s customers and franchisees. Under the agreement, MBE franchisees will offer
USA.NET’s email services -- either as part of a mailbox rental package or as a
separate service --to their millions of customers throughout the United States.
USA.NET’s feature-rich email will also be provided to MBE franchisees.
"Mail Boxes Etc. is an excellent example of a ‘click and mortar’
company, one which gives customers the best of both worlds -- the Internet combined
with a traditional storefront," said John Street, president and CEO of USA.NET.
"This exclusive agreement will enable MBE’s customers and franchisees to
leverage USA.NET’s feature-rich, globally accessible email service.
This relationship showcases USA.NET’s ability to provide centralized, reliable, email
services to companies with millions of customers and thousands of locations."
USA.NET’s email services will be a value-added service option for each mailbox
customer of participating MBE centers. MBE will brand the email as mbeMail, making it
accessible via MBE’s virtual business center (www.mbeBiz.com), a comprehensive
online reference tool for small-business resources and services. For both customers
and franchisees, USA.NET’s services offer advanced Webmail features, including
junk mail blocker, read receipt, signatures, secure password exchanges, email
collecting and language selection.
"We are pleased to be working with USA.NET to offer customers of MBE centers a
one-stop shop for comprehensive business services, including online communications,"
stated James Amos, MBE president and CEO.
Page Two, USA.NET Powers Virtual Business Center and Corporate Email for Mail Boxes
Etc.
In the future, the companies anticipate working together to provide additional innovative
e-mail services to MBE’s customers.
About Mail Boxes Etc.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Mail Boxes Etc. (MBE), the largest retail
business, communication and postal services franchisor in the world. MBE is a wholly owned
subsidiary of U.S. Office Products Company (NASDAQ: OFIS) with more than 4,000 MBE locations
operating worldwide, and master license agreements in 60 countries around the world. In the
United States, MBE centers are owned and operated by licensed franchisees of Mail Boxes Etc.
USA, Inc. Outside the United States, MBE centers are owned and operated by MBE master
licensees or their franchisees. MBE maintains a Web site at http://www.mbe.com.
About US Office Products
US Office Products is one of North America’s leading providers of office supplies,
office furniture, and office coffee and vending services. In addition to owning Mail Boxes
Etc., US Office Products owns Blue Star Group Limited, a leading supplier of office products
and business services in New Zealand and Australia, and a 49% interest in Dudley Stationery
Limited, the second largest contract stationer in the United Kingdom. US Office Products’
corporate web site address is www.usop.com.
About USA.NET
USA.NET®, the world’s largest email outsourcer, delivers
industry-leading email services to more than 1,500 businesses—including American
Express, United Airlines, Hewlett-Packard, Netscape, Agillion, register.com and
Phone.com—and manages more than 13 million mailboxes worldwide. Designed to meet
the needs of all audiences, USA.NET’s superior email outsourcing solutions eliminate
the hassle and expense of installing, upgrading and supporting an in-house email system. The
first company to launch Web-based email in 1996, USA.NET also became the first to introduce
email outsourcing for businesses in 1997. USA.NET received the industry’s first patent
for its Web-based email filtering and forwarding technology in 1999. For more information
on USA.NET, visit www.usa.net. |
