[London, ENGLAND] European shopping portal
Zoomit.com
announced Tuesday that it has acquired the Dutch operations of
Koopwijzer BV, including
a product database and a comparison shopping service.
Founded in September last year, Koopwijzer.nl has become one of
the most popular interactive buyers’ guides in the Netherlands.
It not only compares prices but also lets customers share opinions
and read consumer test results.
Zoomit’s Chief Executive Johan Dolven, who is based at the
group’s Norwegian headquarters, said the acquisition would
establish a strong presence for Zoomit in the Netherlands.
“In addition to helping people find the best price, we can
also help them to find the best product. That really adds
value!” said Dolven.
Zoomit will pay for its acquisition in shares. However, no details
of the share exchange agreement were revealed.
Zoomit says it plans to implement the product information
service gradually, extending it from the Netherlands to
other European countries. It will create an English version
to serve all of Europe, followed by other versions in
eight languages during the fall this year.
Since its launch in 1997 by Mogul.com founder Per Siljubergsaasen,
and Excite.com programmer William Klippgen, Zoomit has added
services in other parts of Scandinavia and announced its
pan-European ambitions.
In February 2000, Zoomit secured over US $12 million in
financing. Shareholders in the company include the Norwegian
Venture Capital firm Kistefos, two UK based funds, plus
the founders and employees.
Zoomit offers real-time price comparison from more than
400 shops which deliver in Europe, together with product
information on over 6,000 products over 45 categories.
Its shopping guide lists more than 2,500 European stores.