Trade Me Diversifies Into Flats & Flatmates

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 17 Apr 2001 –

TRADE ME DIVERSIFIES INTO FLATS & FLATMATES

Trade Me has announced the acquisition of Flathunt.co.nz – New Zealand’s leading flatting and flatmates website. Flathunt has been re-launched as an integrated part of the Trade Me website.

The move is one of several planned to broaden the Trade Me brand and expand into complementary markets, adding to Trade Me’s current revenues of auction commissions and advertising.

“This is an important step in broadening our offering in areas where our brand makes sense and providing new services to the 120,000 people who visit each month,” Managing Director Sam Morgan said.

“The newspapers make a good chunk of their classifieds revenue from this area, charging around $20 for a small ad with a phone number. We offer richer features, a targeted audience and significantly better value for money.” Morgan says.

The listings will be in a classifieds format, something Trade Me claims is more appropriate to flats than the auction pricing model they use elsewhere on the site. The service also includes a free “Flat Alerts” service where prospective tenants register their preferences and receive an email notification when a matching property is listed. Mobile phone notifications will be added shortly.

Rowan Simpson, founder of Flathunt, is pleased with the acquisition and expects the much larger audience to contribute to strong growth in listings.

“Flathunt is a logical fit for Trade Me; it as a highly automated service and offers significant value to user compared to traditional classifieds. Acquiring Flathunt provides Trade Me with a good head-start in this area,” Mr Simpson says.

Listing a flat for a month on Flathunt will cost $3.50 with subscription pricing available to property managers and agents.

The new site is available at www.trademe.co.nz/flathunt/

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