Business and Travel Editors

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 12, 2000

Grand Opening Brings Customers Convenient One-Stop-Shop

for Adventure Travel and Outdoor Gear

PlanetOutdoors.com, the most complete online resource for outdoor gear, apparel and advice, and Away.com, the leading adventure travel company on the Web, today announced the opening of their co-branded gear and adventure travel stores.

In celebration of the grand opening, free shipping will be offered through June 21 on all orders placed on Away.com's new gear shop, http://gear.away.com.

The arrangement, established this past February, now offers Away.com customers access to high-quality apparel, footwear and equipment for a wide range of activities, including mountain biking, kayaking, climbing, backpacking, camping and more. PlanetOutdoors.com customers will have access to a full-service, personalized Web site featuring 75,000 pages of premium travel content and a network of more than 1,000 tour operators worldwide. The reciprocal agreement allows each site to feature fully co-branded stores for gear and travel services. Marketing and customer service efforts will be strategically coordinated to offer extraordinary customer care irrespective of whether users are buying a backpack or a trip to Belize.

"PlanetOutdoors.com and Away.com share a philosophy in offering customers world-class selection, service and advice related to an active outdoor lifestyle," said David Secunda, PlanetOutdoors CEO. "With the opening of these new stores, we now support that commitment by bringing to market a unique online experience where customers can gear up and get out to the destination of their choice."

"Away.com already leads the industry in offering the most extensive and unique selection of outdoor adventure trips on the Web," said Sean Greene, CEO of Away.com. "In addition to giving consumers insightful and educational information about adventure destinations and activities, Away.com also gives them online personal planners and access to travel booking with our travel experts. The new gear shop powered by PlanetOutdoors.com completes the story by giving customers a wide selection of gear and apparel for their next adventure."

Online bookings for leisure travel will reach $16.6 billion by 2003, representing 9.6 percent of overall travel sales, according to Internet research firm Jupiter Communications. According to the Travel Industry Association of America, adventure travel is the fastest-growing segment of the leisure travel market. In step with this, the total U.S. market for outdoor products is $16 billion and the online segment is expected to reach $4.5 billion by 2002.

About PlanetOutdoors.com

PlanetOutdoors.com is the leading outdoor site on the web committed to bringing the widest selection of top-quality outdoor gear and apparel, expert advice and award-winning customer service to outdoor enthusiasts. Other sites powered by PlanetOutdoors.com include: WomenOutdoors.com, a site dedicated to active women in the outdoors; OutdoorProlink.com, a professional purchase management program available to over 150,000 guides, outfitters and educators in the US; and co-branded stores with strategic partners such as Away.com. Established by veterans of the outdoor industry in early 1999, the Boulder, Colo.-based company empowers active people to quickly and easily gear up and get outdoors. For more information, please contact PlanetOutdoors.com at 303/444-6530, ext. 333, or visit www.planetoutdoors.com.

About Away.com (http://www.away.com)

Away.com brings together world travelers, experts, and tour operators to create a vibrant online community where users can search for trips, use personalized travel planners, get advice and buy gear. The site was ranked the number one Outdoors site by PC Data Online and hosts the largest network of tour operators and trips on the Web. Investors, such as Gannett Co. Inc. of Arlington, Va., Chicago-based New World Ventures and Potomac Ventures of Washington, D.C., back the privately held firm. Away.com maintains its travel services division and call center in Portland, Maine, which is staffed with expert travel consultants to answer questions and provide advice to its more than 800,000 members. Away.com, formerly known as GreenTravel.com, offers three channels - Green Travel, Adventure Travel and Cultural Adventures.