Hemköp starts Christmas ham ordering service on the Internet

PRESS RELEASE, DECEMBER 2, 1998 Hemköp starts Christmas ham ordering service on the Internet This year consumers in Sweden will be able to preorder Christmas hams from Hemköp on the Internet. Customers will receive professional assistance from Hemköp's butchers in choosing a ham based on the criteria provided in their order. Preferences can be made for the ham's weight, shape and fat content. The ham can then be picked up on a specified day at a store of the customer's choice. Roughly 90 percent of the Christmas hams sold in Swedish stores have been kept in frozen storage ahead of the Christmas retail season. Hemköp, however, is the only retail chain that can guarantee fresh Swedish Christmas hams that have never been deep frozen. The ordering service also includes precooked Christmas hams which only need to be roasted, which takes about 15 minutes. "We see this as a test of consumers' interest in preordering groceries on the Internet," says Bengt Andersson, Marketing Director of Hemköp. "If this trial turns out well, we see undreamed of opportunities to complement the stores' offering with goods that are ordinarily not included in their product range." Hemköp's Internet address is: www.hemkop.se. From this website customers can conveniently link to the Christmas ham ordering page. The technical solution was provided by WM in Falun. For further information, please contact: Hemköpskedjan AB Telephone No. Bengt Andersson, Marketing Director +46-23-589 00 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1998/12/02/19981202BIT00230/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1998/12/02/19981202BIT00230/bit0002.pdf