000812 Online Marketplace Launches in Chicago Area

Carol Stream, IL - Promising consumers the “gift of time,” Webvan Group, Inc. celebrated the launch of webvan.com in the Greater Chicago Area. Webvan is the first Internet marketplace to seamlessly combine the convenience of online shopping with a personalized courier service that delivers products into customers' homes and offices within a 30-minute window of their choosing.

“Webvan will reinvent the way Chicago consumers shop,” said George T. Shaheen, president and CEO of Webvan Group, Inc. “Webvan will bring Chicagoans' favorite products to their homes, eliminating the need to run time-consuming errands to the post office, pet store, bookstore, florist, electronics store and supermarket. No other e-tailer can deliver everything from groceries to electronics to books at competitive prices, to your doorstep in the 30-minute window of your choosing.”

Quality, Selection and Value

Webvan combines outstanding quality with selection and value, offering a full range of groceries, electronics, CDs, DVDs, non-prescription drugs, books, fresh flowers and home and office supplies. The emphasis on Webvan's quality is especially evident in the selection of farm-fresh produce, USDA Choice meats and poultry, premium seafood, cheeses and baked goods from nationally known purveyors, artisan breads and special occasion desserts from local bakeries. Chicago residents will also find some of their favorite items, such as Home Run Pizza, El Ranchero tortillas and Corner Bakery on the site.

“Webvan is providing Chicagoans with world-class Chicago Area products and a level of quality and convenience that they could not get in the past,” said Wayne Paul, vice president and general manager of Webvan-Chicago. “We will listen to our customers and give them the kind of superior customer service and products that they will come to expect from Webvan.”

Webvan's commitment to quality and value extends to its distribution center. From its 370,000 square feet distribution center located in Carol Stream, Webvan's highly automated technology allows it to prepare orders that include everything from ice cream to fresh lettuce to new best selling books to be delivered to customers' doorsteps in the Greater Chicago Area in scheduled 30- minute windows.

Webvan-Chicago is Committed to the Community

Webvan strives to be an active and responsible citizen by partnering with local and national nonprofit organizations within the communities it serves.

For example, through its exclusive partnership with Schoolpop.com, the largest Internet fundraiser for schools, customers can select the local Chicago area school of their choice, which will receive up to four percent of a shopper's total purchase. Webvan has also pioneered an ongoing program with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to help feed thousands of individuals and families in need. The GCFD distributes millions of pounds of food every year to nonprofit agencies assisting hungry people in the Greater Chicago Area.

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