STRATEGIC PARTNERS
January 22, 2002
NEW YORK -- E-Trade Group Inc., the No. 2 U.S. Internet brokerage, will put 20 E-Trade shops and more than 1,000 ATMs into Target Corp. stores nationwide.
Under the agreement, E-Trade will be the exclusive ATM network for all Target and Target Greatland stores in the United States. E-Trade currently has ATMs in 110 Target stores.
E-Trade subsidiary E-Trade Access (the former Card Capture Services) will deploy Wincor-Nixdorf machines, which were chosen for their advanced functionality and Windows NT-based platform. Wincor-Nixdorf ATMs are distributed in the U.S. by IBM.
The E-Trade shops -- ``E-Trade Zones' -- are 400-square-foot facilities within SuperTarget stores staffed with sales and service representatives. E-Trade and Target launched a pilot program for the stores in September with an E-Trade Zone in Roswell, Ga.
The companies also are operating a new Web site at http://www.target.etrade.com, designed to feature E-Trade financial tools and services and offering users special discounts at Target when they open E-Trade Bank or E-Trade Securities brokerage accounts through the
co-branded site.
E-Trade, which also owns E-Trade Bank, last week opened a 30,000-square-foot E-Trade Center in New York that it described as a ``financial services superstore.' People can make trades through their accounts, attend financial seminars and buy E-Trade gear at the store.
"By significantly expanding our retail presence and nationwide ATM network, we're adding an important new distribution platform to expand the market for our growing selection of integrated financial products and services,' E-Trade President Jerry Gramaglia said in a statement.
According to a Reuters report, E-Trade shares closed at $7.55 on April 10 on the New York Stock Exchange. After the close, the company reported a small operating profit for the first quarter.
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company said its first-quarter profit was driven by cost cuts and traditional banking revenue.
Online brokerages have seen their revenues drop because of plunging stock markets, which typically keep individual investors from trading. In the first quarter, E-Trade's revenue from processing trades fell 48 percent. E-Trade cut its market budgeting nearly in half during the quarter to cope with the market slowdown.
