Amazon.com on Monday announced it has acquired the assets of Egghead.com
and is redirecting traffic to a transitional Web site until the ailing
e-tailer relaunches.
The Seattle-based e-commerce pioneer acquired the Egghead.com assets on
Monday, Nov. 26, through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of
California. The assets included the Egghead.com URL, intellectual property
as well as all business documentation. The redirect went live on Sunday,
according to Amazon spokesperson Patty Smith.
Last month, Egghead.com disclosed it was in
discussions with parties to re-activate the e-commerce web site, which
suspended operations on Oct. 25 after a deal to sell its assets to Fry’s
Electronics collapsed. At the time, Egghead.com CEO Jeff Sheahan told
InternetNews.com that Fry’s in essence “breached its contract” to buy
Egghead’s operation and was facing the risk of legal action. Fry’s
Electronics subsequently acquired the assets of beleaguered Outpost.com.
Egghead.com filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 15.
Egghead Software began in 1984 as a retail storefront for computer
software, which grew quickly to an extensive chain with more than 205 stores
nationwide. In response to market changes, the company moved its business to
the Internet in 1998, re-emerging as Egghead.com. As part of the
transaction, Amazon.com has also acquired valuable customer information that
the company has amassed through the years.
However, due to the privacy policy of the former entity, Amazon.com
cannot simply spam ex-Egghead.com users. Amazon’s Smith said Egghead’s privacy agreement will be strictly upheld.
