Press release: 1997-09-22: Sega To Act As Merchandise Agent For Yahoo!

This is an unaltered copy of a press release, for use as a primary source on Sega Retro. Please do not edit the contents below. Language: English Original source: Sega.com (archived)

SEGA TO ACT AS MERCHANDISE AGENT FOR YAHOO!

Sega's Licensing Division Adds Yahoo! To Client List

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- (September 22, 1997) --
Sega® of America today announced an agreement with Yahoo! to act as the exclusive U.S. merchandise licensing agent of record, providing its licensing expertise to the Internet's leading navigational guide. The video game giant's licensing division will help one of the most-recognized entities on the Internet bring its brand to consumer products ranging from apparel to computer accessories.

As a result of the agreement, Sega's licensing division will oversee and execute all of Yahoo!'s licensing and merchandising programs for brands including Yahoo!®, My Yahoo!®, Do You Yahoo!TM and Yahooligans!TM. In addition to clothing and computer accessories, Sega's licensing team will pursue product categories on behalf of Yahoo! such as stationery, back-to-school items, sporting goods, watches and footwear.

"Through our strategic licensing and marketing expertise, Sega has extended the appeal of our video game characters into the mass consumer audience," said Bernard Stolar, chief operating officer, Sega of America. "We are pleased to partner with Yahoo!, one of the best-known brands on the Internet, to create greater awareness among consumers who may not yet be familiar with the Internet or with Yahoo!"

"What's more, we believe the personality that Yahoo! has is a good fit with Sega's. We share an understanding about what appeals to consumers, such as interactivity, entertainment and fun," added Stolar.

"As the leading Internet brand with more than 24 million users in the United States, Yahoo! is in an ideal position to extend into consumer products and reach a broader base of individuals," said Jeff Mallett, senior vice president of business operations at Yahoo!. "Working together with Sega, we will bring the essence of the Yahoo! brand -- fun, irreverent, friendly -- to the highest quality merchandise in a variety of product categories."

Sega licensed properties include Sonic the HedgehogTM, "Virtua FighterTM 2", SEGA SPORTSTM, Sega Kids ClubTM, "BugTM" and "NiGHTSTM." Products bearing these licenses include plush toys, apparel, SpaghettiO's and back-to-school products. To date, Sega licensed products have generated more than $1.5 billion in world-wide retail sales.

Sega of America is the arm of Tokyo, Japan-based Sega Enterprises Ltd. responsible for the development, marketing and distribution of video game systems and video games in the Americas. Sega Enterprises Ltd. is a nearly $3.6 billion company recognized as the industry leader in interactive digital entertainment media, and is the only company that offers interactive entertainment experiences both inside an outside of the home. Sega of America's World Wide Web site is located at http://www.sega.com.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) is an Internet media company that offers a network of globally-branded properties, specialty programming, and aggregated content distributed primarily on the Web, serving business professionals and consumers. As the first navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the single largest guide in terms of traffic, advertising, and household reach, and is one of the most recognized brands associated with the Internet.

Yahoo! Inc. continues to develop a family of community services, including Yahoo! Chat, classifieds, and Yellow Pages, along with targeted Internet guides for geographic audiences (Yahoo! Japan, UK & Ireland, France, Germany, Canada, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, Austin, Seattle, Dallas/Fort Worth, Atlanta, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Miami); shared-interest audiences (Yahoo! Internet Life magazine and web site, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Scoreboard and unfURLed, MTV/Yahoo!'s online music guide); and demographic audiences (Yahooligans!, a Web guide for kids; and Beatrice's Web Guide for women). Yahoo! Inc. is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., and can be found on the web at www.yahoo.com.

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Yahoo!, the Yahoo! logo, and Yahooligans! are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. Beatrice's Web Guide is a trademark of Yahoo! Inc. and Wire Networks, Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.