Coupons.com Announces Agreement with Salton Inc. to Be the Exclusive Online Coupon Partner.

Business Editors

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 8, 2000

Multi level coupon program will drive in-store

purchases via online couponing 

Coupons.com, a leader in online coupon technology, today announced their agreement with Salton Inc. (NYSE: SFP), a leading domestic designer and retailer of a broad range of branded, high quality small appliances, tabletop products and personal care/time products, to be the exclusive online couponing outlet for Salton Inc. Salton's line of products includes brands such as Farberware(R), Toastmaster(R), Breadman(R), Juiceman(R), George Foreman Grills(R), Melitta(R), Block(R) China, Atlantis(R), Sasaki(R) and more.

Salton has adopted both the use of the Coupons.com network for serving their coupons online, as well as the newly released "Bricks" third party coupon initiative that allows for cost-effective, secure, online couponing from the Salton website. The "Bricks" technology will allow them to convert their own website traffic, their e-visitors, into actual in-store customers for their various retailers. Salton, Inc. products are available through such outlets as Sears, K-Mart, Macy's, and Albertson's, just to name a few.

"We are very pleased to be adding Salton and their affiliated brands to the Coupons.com network," said Steven Boal, Chief Executive Officer of Coupons.com. "Partnering with a company like Salton further validates that print-at-home coupons, delivered via the Internet, are indeed becoming the delivery option of choice for direct marketing campaigns," he added.

Coupons.com supplies its partners with the technology to reach targeted customers, with savings and incentives via the Coupons.com network as well their own websites. These coupons can be printed on any black and white printer for in-store redemption. This system, when paired with the closed-loop redemption tracking provided by the Valassis Communications Inc. (NYSE: VCI), 2D Aztec bar coding system, provides full lifecycle tracking and reporting.

"Coupons.com offers us the multi-level couponing solution we have been looking for," said Leon Dreimann, Chief Executive Officer of Salton, Inc. "They offer more than just Internet coupons. Not only can we place offers in the Coupons.com network, but we can also offer customers coupons and incentives from our own website that drive them into our retailers' locations," he added.

The "Bricks" program places a coded coupon link on a partner's web page. When activated, "Bricks" securely transfers offer data directly to the consumer's printer. Offers are based on each merchant's unique specifications. The merchant maintains the traffic and Coupons.com manages the offer throughout the entire redemption lifecycle.

The Coupons.com unique application enables the consumer to print coupons when they are either online or offline. It is non-invasive Internet couponing requiring nothing more than a zip code to provide customers with more than 35,000 local, national and online coupons. A simple, one-time download of the web-enabled application allows the consumer to instantly receive coupons. An icon located in the corner of the screen alerts the consumer when new and relevant offers are available. In addition, Coupons.com offers recipes, shopping columns, movie reviews, sweepstakes, contests and more.

Coupons.com is a privately held company headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, with additional offices in San Francisco, CA. The Coupons.com network of providers includes Valassis Communications, Inc. (NYSE: VCI), the free standing insert giant, which recently acquired a minority interest in the company, and Val-Pak which provides regionalized promotional offers. The Coupons.com proprietary, patent-pending PASSport technology provides a secure and targeted distribution system for coupons that can be printed at home for in-store redemption or redeemed electronically when shopping online. Coupons.com advertisers include Lenscrafters, Fingerhut, Choice Hotels, Cooking.com, Linens-n-Things, Disney.com, Mrs. Field's Cookies, Netgrocer, PC Flowers & Gifts, Pearle Vision Centers, Petco and Radio Shack. With over 1.7 million unique visitors per month, (PC Data, March 2000), Coupons.com ranks as one of the fastest growing online incentive marketing companies, targeting both online and offline shoppers.

Salton, Inc. is a leading domestic designer, marketer and distributor of a broad range of branded, high quality small appliances, tabletop products and personal care/time products. Its portfolio of well-recognized owned and licensed brand names includes Salton(R), Toastmaster(R), Maxim(R), Breadman(R), Juiceman(R), George Foreman Grills(R), White-Westinghouse(R), Farberware(R), Melitta(R), Block(R) China, Atlantis(R), Sasaki(R), Rejuvenique(R), Ingraham(R), Calvin Klein(R) and Sonex(R).