Siemens Helps Make HelloDirect.com The Most Extensive Online Source for
Telecommunications Information, Products And Services
SAN JOSE, Calif., June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Hello Direct, Inc.
(Nasdaq: HELO), the leading developer and direct marketer of telephone
productivity products, today unveiled a revamped and enhanced online store at
its Web site, http://www.hellodirect.com. The company also announced a new strategic
marketing program with Siemens Communication Devices, a division of Siemens
Information and Communication Products LLC, designed specifically for Hello
Direct's Internet customers.
"We want HelloDirect.com to be the single most comprehensive and
easy-to-use source of communications solutions for small businesses and home
workers," said Brian McConnell, PhoneZone.com founder and Hello Direct's
director of electronic commerce. "With that in mind, we made the online store
larger, faster, and more intuitive, and introduced features to help us build
long-term consumer relationships and deliver the impeccable customer service
associated with Hello Direct." Visitors will find extensive links to
HelloDirect.com's telecommunications buyers guide, search engine, and
interactive bulletin boards, as well as to informative and complementary
partner sites.
In addition to a host of technical, stylistic and user service
improvements, customers will find a wider range of products and vendors at the
new Hello Direct online store. Through the expanded relationship with
Siemens, for instance, Hello Direct will offer Siemens' complete line of new
Gigaset(R) 2.4 GHz cordless phone system products. Hello Direct customers can
go to http://www.hellodirect.com to find complete information and to purchase the
Siemens Gigaset 2420 and 2402 2.4 GHz cordless communication systems. These
new Siemens phones are currently the only cordless systems available that
feature two lines and support up to eight cordless handsets allowing
multi-user capabilities and simultaneous conversations. Additional links on
HelloDirect.com will direct interested customers to detailed component and
purchase information about the Siemens product line. Recent industry news and
editorial coverage of the products can be found in HelloDirect.com's
Information Network, the comprehensive and highly regarded telecomm buyers
guide and search engine based on the former PhoneZone.com website.
"Hello Direct.com is a leading online source for telecommunications
information and solutions, and offers us a very effective way to reach the
increasing number of small business consumers who are turning to the Internet
to purchase communications equipment," said Stacey Black, vice president of
marketing for Siemens Communication Devices. "We support Hello Direct's
commitment to using the Web to provide detailed, easy-to-use, unbiased
information that will help customers make educated purchasing decisions."
"Offering cutting-edge products from a respected manufacturer like Siemens
in our online store further solidifies HelloDirect.com as the leading online
marketplace for telecommunications information and solutions," commented Ron
Becht, Hello Direct's vice president of product marketing. "We're constantly
looking for innovative products to improve the Hello Direct site to deliver
maximum value to our customers and our strategic partners."
Since its January acquisition of PhoneZone.com, the premier Web buyers
guide for telecommunications and networking products and services, Hello
Direct has quietly yet aggressively expanded its Internet presence and
significantly improved its e-commerce capabilities with more additions yet to
come. An online retailing pioneer (sales commenced in 1994), the Internet
now contributes 10 percent of the Company's total revenue and is its
fastest-growing sales channel. In fact, with now over 200 alliance partners,
Hello Direct's monthly Web-based revenue is growing at more than a doubling
rate versus year ago.
About Siemens Communication Devices:
Siemens Communication Devices, a division of Siemens Information and
Communication Products LLC, develops, manufactures and markets digital
cordless products for the North American market. Its patented WDCT (worldwide
digital cordless telecommunications) technology platform, a derivative of the
DECT (digital enhanced cordless telecommunications) standard, operates at the
2.4 GHz frequency and provides unprecedented digital cordless calling
capabilities. Siemens is a leading provider of DECT-based products, having
shipped more than 15 million DECT phones worldwide. For more information
about the Gigaset, please visit Siemens Communication Devices' website at
http://www.siemenscordless.com .
About Hello Direct, Inc.:
Hello Direct, Inc. ( http://www.hellodirect.com ) is the leading developer and
direct marketer of telephone productivity tools including headsets,
teleconferencing, wireless and related desktop products. Through a
combination of distinctive catalogs, outbound telemarketing and Internet sales
channels, the Company offers a broad selection of commercial-grade products
and information that provide solutions to its customers' evolving
telecommunications needs.
Gigaset is a registered trademark of Siemens AG.
SOURCE Hello Direct, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.hellodirect.com
CONTACT:
Brian McConnell of Hello Direct,
415-647-9911, ext. 201; Karen O'Brien of Siemens, 512-990-6463;
David Hawk of JONA Group, 415-552-1515; or general, Don Markley,
or investors, Reid Cox, of Financial Relations Board,
415-986-1591
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