SkupeNet Limited - Classified and Directory solutions

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Online, print, convergence and integration are the buzzwords of the classifieds industry. Strategic insight is critical for all classifieds providers today.

16/05/2008 Channel4 utilises a Skupe Net solution for their new motoring classifieds service
Today, Channel4 announced the launch of their new service, 'For the first time in its nine-year lifetime, 4Car now has a classified advertising service offering thousands of new and used cars for sale.'
Channel 4 is collaborating with motoring classifieds publisher UK-cars-for-sale and Skupe Net, which it means site visitors can browse 230,000 vehicles for sale from more than 4,000 dealers every day. The service allows potential car buyers to choose the exact make and model, and ultimately help them find the vehicle they want - at the right price and at the most convenient location.

20/02/2008 Trader Data Systems closes after less than 18 months
TDS provides 'car history checks' to the UK Motor Trade so at first glance this may not appear to be relevant to classified advertising. However the fact that TDS is owned by the Trader Media Group, the largest UK Motoring Classifieds publisher is worthy of note.
In yesterday's statement, the Trader Media Group (TMG) revealed that the closure "is the result of an important new strategic direction for TMG and Auto Trader". The statement went on to indicate that "We are committed to providing a range of core services that help dealers sell cars more profitably. To this end, we are making a massive investment in Auto Trader with a brand relaunch this month designed to attract more motorists to the magazine and website through our 'World of Cars Made Easy' campaign."
It appears that TMG are turning away from their strategy of becoming the 'one stop shop' for motor dealers and instead will attempt to become the 'one stop shop' for consumers.
This strategic change will now see Autotrader attempting to become a significant competitor to the numerous motoring publishers with whom they have 'classified listing' tenancies.
As the Chinese would say, 'may you live in interesting times'.

Skupe Net's Brand Builder advertising platform is designed to enable media publishers to avoid the tenancy route and create their own independent classifieds solution, thereby strengthening their own brand and revenue opportunity.

30/11/2007 Dealers are wasting £17 million of their online advertising with poor quality adverts
UK Dealers are wasting £17 million of their online advertising with poor quality adverts, according to research from used car website, fish4cars. The company analysed 322,000 individual trade car advertisements posted on its website by over 3,000 dealers in October this year. Fish4cars discovered that 17% of the adverts posted were not supported with a photograph, the number one factor that prospective buyers look for when browsing adverts online. This means almost 55,000 adverts were effectively wasted. In addition, fish4cars estimates that poor quality advertisements lacking in basic details such as colour, transmission or number of doors are costing retailers an extra £20 million in wasted advertising spend each year.

08/11/2007 Skupe Net is a sponsor of Eutotaxglass's conference on using the Internet to gain competitive advantage for the Motor Industry.
Eurotaxglass's listened to what their customers were asking for, The Internet – gaining the competitive advantage is a fast track to keeping ahead of the game. Leading motor industry practitioners covered a variety of hot topics related to Internet usage and digital marketing. The fully interactive conference programme allowed motor industry professionals to express opinions & ask questions anonymously whilst knowing where they are in relation to the rest of the industry in utilising the Internet. Skupe Net was proud to be there on the day and to be associated with this significant event.

07/11/2007 Carpages achieves a Hitwise Top10 placement with a Skupe Net solution
A Skupe Net client, www.carpages.co.uk was presented with a Hitwise Top10 ranking today for UK Motoring Classifieds. In March of this year, Carpages outsourced the Motoring Classifieds portion of their business to Skupe Net. During the period July-September, www.carpages.co.uk ranked No. 8 by visits among all United Kingdom websites in the Hitwise Automotive - Classifieds industry. The Hitwise Top 10 Award recognises websites from over 160 industries that are leaders in their industry and we are delighted to have been able to bring Carpages from zero classifieds presence to the No.8 UK ranking in six short months.

09/10/2007 Motopia launches new local motoring magazine and website for Wiltshire
Motopia is the brainchild of Melissa Terry, the distinguished motoring journalist whose accolades include the Mitsubishi Motors' Regional Motoring Journalist of the Year award by the Guild of Motoring Writers. Motopia will be launching their local magazine and website in November. In addition to national news and reviews, the publication will include strong local coverage including motorsport with Thruxton, Gurston Down and Castle Combe on the doorstep. The local car search and business directory will enable readers to quickly track down cars and services in their neighbourhood.

30/06/2007 EuroTaxGlass's GlassNet clients now have full access to the Skupe BrandBuilder Network
EuroTaxGlass's is Europe's leading supplier of automotive business intelligence to thousands of dealers across 28 countries. GlassNet online dealer solutions is a revolutionary new web portal that helps dealer efficiently manage the key processes within the dealership. The online advertising function now automatically transmits the dealers vehicles to Skupe Net. As a result their dealers will benefit from including their cars on top quality websites such as CarPages and CarEnthusiast.

04/03/2007 Car Pages add the Brand Builder classifieds search to their website
Carpages.co.uk is one of the top 20 UK motoring web sites (source:Hitwise). Their archive contains over 14,000 documents of car news, reviews and facts. Carpages have now introduced an intergrated car search that will enable their users to research and find used cars as part of the same process. The solution incorporates a rotating selection of featured cars that offer visitors a 'fast track' to an actual car search that is relevant for the web page. To see an example, click here

29/01/2007 Brand Builder short listed for AM Awards 2007
Skupe Net's Brand Builder solution for website publishers and motor dealers has been short listed for the 2007 AM Awards. The AM Awards are widely respected and fiercely fought between companies of all sizes in all sectors in the motor industry. The awards honour outstanding companies across the industry, rated by quality, service and innovation against a matrix of areas that AM believe best characterise the top businesses. For more details on the 2006 winners, click here.

21/12/2006 Car Enthusiast launch their motoring classifieds solution
Car Enthusiast have implemented the Skupe Net Brand Builder solution and are now able to provide their users with a powerful car search of over 200,000 vehicles. In addition to the standard car search, each news story and review includes a right hand side skyscraper that promotes a selection of vehicles relevant to the actual story. See their website for more details.

10/09/2006 HPI announce their Skupe Net partnership
HPI joined forces with Skupe Net in order to enable their dealers to benefit from the advertising opportunities that the Brand Builder solution can offer. "We are committed to helping our dealers make the most of the online marketplace" explained Daniel Burgess. "Skupe Net offers a new advertising channel and complements the range of benefits already delivered to dealers by HPI Exchange".

28/07/2006 Irish Times buys www.myhome.ie
As reported by RTE.ie, 'The Myhome.ie property website has been bought by the Irish Times for €50m. The website was set up by in 2001 by estate agents Sherry Fitzgerald, the Gunne Group and Douglas Newman Good.
MyHome has probably been the biggest home grown marketing success on the web and this year expects to make a profit of €2.5m on turnover of €6.2m.'

06/12/2005 Skupe Net now listing in excess of 100,000 vehicles
Just 12 weeks after launching, www.skupe.net now lists in excess of 100,000 vehicles. The new web site is designed to help web users quickly find what they are looking for, be it cars, houses or jobs. In total there are now more than 300,000 business classifieds on the web site; this is good news for users and advertisers as the quantity of listings ensures that users are likely to find listings of interest which will ensure that vendors are benefiting from Skupe Net generated sales leads.

The items noted are just a couple of news stories of interest for Skupe Net partners. Globally the classifieds industry is undergoing what can only be described as a revolution. In order to keep abreast of the changes and implications, Skupe Net cannot over state the value of utilising a professional consulting and analysis service.