The Knot Receives Strategic Investment From QVC

Business Wire, April 15, 1999

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 15, 1999--

$15 Million in Private Equity Funding Will Fuel Expansion

of E-Commerce Services and Offline Brand Extensions

for Internet's Leading Wedding Resource and Gift Registry

The Knot, the No. 1 online wedding resource and gift registry, today announced a $15 million strategic investment from e-commerce leader, QVC Inc.

The Knot will use the funds to support the growth and expansion of its industry-leading online gift registry and further its offline brand extensions.

The investment in The Knot is QVC's first in an online vertical market entity, and will expand QVC's comprehensive offering of expert information and services for its customers. In conjunction with the investment, The Knot will leverage QVC's retail expertise, distribution infrastructure, manufacturing relationships and product inventory to exponentially expand its industry-leading Wedding Gift Registry, making it the largest in the industry -- online or off -- and offering Knot members a more comprehensive product assortment, enhanced customer service capabilities and quicker, more efficient order fulfillment.

"As the established leaders in our respective industries, the match between The Knot and QVC is an ideal one that will enable us to extend that leadership position and better realize the full potential of e-commerce," said David Liu, CEO of The Knot. "The challenge to any fast-growing e-commerce entity is to develop efficient fulfillment processes and broad-reaching manufacturer relationships and to scale to meet demand. By leveraging QVC's retail strength and expertise, The Knot will be well-positioned to continue dominating the wedding space while offering our members a first-rate registry service."

Registrants on the Knot Wedding Gift Registry will have access to thousands of products and first-quality merchandise from a wide variety of such premium brand manufacturers as Lenox, Waterford, Spode, Reed and Barton, Krups, Motorola, Philips Magnavox, Makita and more.

"Our investment in The Knot is truly synergistic -- the marriage of The Knot's comprehensive wedding content with QVC's e-commerce expertise will make this site the undisputed leader in online bridal registries," said John Link, QVC's chief information officer. "With QVC's on-air promotional support and the future cross-selling opportunities with iQVC, this relationship is a match made in heaven."

Link noted that, as part of the new relationship, Doug Briggs, QVC president, will join The Knot's board of directors.

The Knot will also utilize the investment to advance its offline branding initiative, which began with the January publication and subsequent second printing of the first in a three-book series, "The Knot's Complete Guide to Weddings in The Real World," and which includes plans for a national magazine and television programming.

About The Knot

On the Web at www.theknot.com and America Online, keyword: knot, The Knot offers a comprehensive portfolio of essential information, gift registry and other innovative services to support a thriving online community for today's to-be-weds. Covering all facets of wedding planning, trends and budgeting, The Knot boasts more than 5000 original articles, 32 ongoing editorial features, hosted chats and message boards, and a wide range of free, useful tools. Features include an innovative full-service online registry, The Knot Wedding Gift Registry; Diamonds and Engagement Channel; an 8000-image Bridal Gown database; Free Personal Wedding Web Pages; Wedding Photographer's Network; and more.

The Knot draws 900,000 unique visitors and 17 million page views each month, and 1000 new members each day.

As the premier wedding content partner on America Online, and through strategic alliances with industry leaders such as Intuit and Netcentives, The Knot continues to develop innovative means to reach and serve today's to-be-weds.

The Knot is headquartered in New York City.

About QVC

QVC, Inc. is an E-Commerce leader, marketing a wide variety of brand name products in such categories as home furnishing, licensed products, fashion and beauty, electronics and fine jewelry. In addition to its core channel QVC, which reached over 69 million homes across the United States, the company's other divisions/subsidiaries including iQVC, Q Direct, QVC UK, QVC Germany, Q Records, QVC Publishing and Pioneer Studios.