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HP And RD1.COM Help Farmers On Line

Editorial Contacts:

Juliana Moss
09 356 6607
Juliana_moss@hp.com

Barbara Hollyman
09 356 6645
barbara_hollyman@hp.com

Claudia Macdonald for hp
09 306 1809
claudiam@beyondpr.co.nz

HP Pavilion Chosen as No. 1 Brand with Excellent Support

AUCKLAND, 6 December 2000 – Hewlett-Packard New Zealand (HP) and RD1.COM, the rural website created by the New Zealand Dairy Group, have joined forces to help farmers get on line.

RD1.COM is offering competitively-priced HP Pavilion PC packages to a selected group of 20,000 farmers nationwide to make connection to its web site simple and cost effective.

HP was chosen because it was the number one brand, it had a very good support network, an excellent delivery service and strong after sales service, says Annemarie Mulder, RD1.COM’s general manager, sales and marketing.

HP in New Zealand is excited by the new relationship. “Our partnership with RD1.COM has provided HP with a new way to market our products and services,” says Juliana Moss, alternate channel manager, HP NZ Ltd.

The packages on offer bundle HP Pavilion 6700 and 9705 pcs with printers, scanners, software programs and an ihug internet connection.

RD1.COM is sending details of the offer to all farmers who are account holders at New Zealand Dairy Group’s AnchorMart retail chain by direct mail and through advertising.

As well, it has established kiosks at 26 AnchorMart stores nationwide to give farmers a view of the web site and to demonstrate the HP Pavilion 6700, Deskjet640C printer and ihug connection.

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Annemarie Mulder said she had been very impressed with HP’s service. “They have provided tremendous support and training to our call centre staff to boost levels of computer understanding. These staff will be providing additional information on the packages as well as accepting orders.”

Designed as a farm management tool, the RD1.COM site offers a wide range of rural information, including daily weather forecasts, farm research and a rural supply shop.

Annemarie Mulder said dairy farmers had requested assistance to get connected to RD1.COM “Farmers are becoming increasingly computer savvy with many already using the pc as an essential farm management tool. They have seen that more and more services are now offered on line and want to be able to access the internet.”

Research conducted by RD1.COM has shown that around half of New Zealand farmers have pcs, with 35% of those surfing the net regularly. That figure rises to 54% surfing regularly among top level farm businesses, Annemarie Mulder said.

“It is that sort of acceptance of the internet as an information tool that made us realise that we should provide all the assistance we can to get farmers on line,” she added.

HP and RD1.COM have designed both entry level and more powerful packages based around the HP Pavilion 6700 and 9705 pcs, and
include Deskjet 640C and 930C printers, a Scanjet 3400C, Microsoft Works Suite and Microsoft Office, a rural modem, ihug satellite connection and computer desks.

About HP

Hewlett-Packard Company -- a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services -- is focused on making technology and its benefits accessible to individuals and businesses through simple appliances, useful e-services and an Internet infrastructure that’s always on.

HP has 88,500 employees worldwide and had total revenue from continuing operations of $48.8 billion in its 2000 fiscal year. HP Australasia has over 1,300 employees in Australia and New Zealand and total revenue of A$1.6 billion in its 2000 fiscal year.

Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.co.nz

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