Alice.com Expands to Europe: Merger with Koto.com Launches Online Marketplace for Household Essentials Abroad

MIDDLETON, Wis., July 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Alice.com, an e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials, today announced its merger with European company Koto.com, a Spanish company, expanding its groundbreaking direct-to-consumer online retail model to an international European audience. Spain will be the first country to launch in this worldwide expansion as the newly branded Alice.es allowing consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers to reach online shoppers in both the United States and Europe with a complete end-to-end e-commerce solution. Alice.com will continue its international growth with similar sites launching in Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom in 2012 and 2013.

CPG manufacturers seeking to reach and expand their global audience will be able to employ Alice.com's industry leading e-commerce platform to establish direct consumer relationships on their branded websites as well as the Facebook platform in both the U.S. and European markets. The expansion will enable CPG brands to leverage the Alice.com retail experience to provide a convenient shopping experience for their consumers, allowing them to skip the trip to the store in favor of getting all their favorite household brands in one place, with the benefit of competitive prices, free shipping, instant coupons, and automatic product reordering.

"Creating a direct relationship with the end consumer is a big initiative for CPG manufacturers not only in the U.S., but also globally," said Brian Wiegand, CEO of Alice.com.  "Joining forces with Koto.com means we can now offer CPG brands a single, unified platform, with all the tools in place to engage consumers in both the U.S. and internationally."

To assist in the expansion of Alice.com's geographic footprint, the Koto.com team will integrate with the Alice.com team, bringing significant knowledge and insight of the European online CPG market. Alice.com will establish an office in Madrid, Spain to strengthen their Spanish presence, while the corporate headquarters will remain in Middleton, WI.  

"Alice.com has built an unparalleled online shopping experience, and a truly innovative direct-to-consumer model allowing brands to engage with customers like never before - we are thrilled to be able to leverage their platform and e-commerce tools for the European market," said Ignacio Somalo, former CEO of Koto.com and new European president of Alice.com.

The entire Alice.com e-commerce suite of products and services will be available for CPG brands in Europe, beginning with Spain in Q3 of 2011. Consumers will be able to access all offers in Spain at http://alice.com/ and http://koto.com/  

About Alice.com

Alice.com is an e-commerce platform and online marketplace for household essentials. As a leading provider of online retail and interactive marketing services for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, Alice.com offers manufacturers a direct to consumer platform that provides shoppers with competitive pricing, free delivery, instant coupons, and simple automation and management of household purchases. And, with its free iPhone app, all of this is available on-the-go. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

SOURCE Alice.com