Allwall.com changes name to Art.com - continues to be profitable after acquisition

RALEIGH - July 13, 2001 - Allwall.com, the largest online consumer marketplace for framed posters, prints, and photos, announces it has officially changed its name to Art.com following the recent acquisition of the Art.com domain name from previous owner Getty Images. While many dot-com companies, including the previous Art.com, have been forced to shut down due to financial struggles, allwall.com achieved profitability in June of 2000 and continues to experience tremendous growth. On May 24, 2001, one week after owner Getty Images shut down their consumer site, Art.com, allwall.com acquired a majority of Art.com’s assets, including the Art.com name, intellectual property, strategic partnerships, inventory, and customer lists for an undisclosed amount of cash. Subsequently, Allwall.com relaunched its Web site with the Art.com name and logo, www.art.com, and has increased its staff by almost 50 percent.

"Since the acquisition, our traffic has doubled increasing the number of unique daily visitors to over 100,000, and as a result, we have experienced a proportional increase in revenues," said Joshua Chodniewicz, CEO of the new Art.com. "As we continue to move forward in completing the integration of Art.com, we anticipate our profitable growth to continue increasing."

With the premier domain name in the industry, art.com is a better reflection of the North Carolina company’s large inventory of over 100,000 posters, art prints, and photographs. In addition, state-of-the-art custom matting and framing services are offered with every online order. The acquisition also expanded Allwall.com’s product line to include lithographs and limited editions, which Mr. Chodniewicz says will become available for purchase in the very near future through the online Art.com site. In addition to a larger product selection, the new Art.com Web site will soon launch several new features, such as “Galleries” for users to contain their personal, online wish lists of Art.com products.