Message-ID: <20566889.1075840217963.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2000 06:08:00 -0700 (PDT) From: newsletter@sbsubscriber.com To: klay@enron.com Subject: Strategy+Business Enews Exclusive: The Last Mile to ... Somewhere? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: Randall Rothenberg X-To: klay@enron.com X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Kenneth_Lay_Dec2000\Notes Folders\All documents X-Origin: LAY-K X-FileName: klay.nsf Welcome to s+b's enews, an exclusive new added-value from strategy+business. This week: THE LAST MILE TO ... SOMEWHERE? By Tim Laseter, Martha Turner, Anne Chung, and Pat Houston New York, Oct 17, 2000- Last week's announcement that the Web-based e-tailer and delivery service Urbanfetch was discontinuing its business-to-consumer operation came as no surprise to us. As we pointed out in the August issue of strategy+business, such companies -- highflyers Kozmo.com, Webvan, and HomeGrocer among them -- face limited online sales potential, high cost of delivery, a speed-variety trade-off, and existing, entrenched competition. "We believe the last mile may lead to the gallows rather than to the promised land," we wrote. Since that article appeared, Webvan acquired HomeGrocer, Kozmo cancelled its plans for an initial public offering, and Urbanfetch closed its core business. Are we gloating over our prescience? Not at all. We think all these moves are signs of maturity -- and indications that one or more players may develop a winning business model. ------------------------------ To read the full analysis: http://www.strategy-business.com/enews/101700.html ------------------------------- S+B's enews is an exclusive platform for e-business analysis, insights, commentary, and other intellectual capital from the authors, strategists, and editors at strategy+business. Randall Rothenberg Editor-in-Chief strategy+business ------------------------------ To have your address removed from the enews e-mail list, go to: http://www.sbsubscriber.com/services/welcome.cfm?ref=newsletter_register.cfm&D =20001019060120&N=5429693.0&R=4428.0&frame=N.