The auction chain will be accessible from Wanadoo reception page and from several of its thematic chains. Aucland hopes to seduce within one year about 250,000 Wanadoo subscribers.
The Sophipolitan start-up Aucland (auctions site on the web) founded by Fabrice Grinda in 1999 has just joined with Wanadoo (France Telecom Internet subsidiary, quoted in the Stock Exchange since July). By the agreement, the 1.4 million of subscribers to the supplier Wanadoo will benefit from a permanent access to the 110,000 items proposed on the Aucland web site (CD, cameras, travels…).
In a common release, it is underlined that Wanadoo subscribers will have the possibility to 'introduce themselves within few seconds'if they want to sell or buy on the site aucland.fr. They will benefit from services Aucland has developed: display of any item, followed by a selection of auctions, secure transactions. This auction chain under the name of Wanadoo-Aucland will be accessible from Wanadoo reception page, or from thematic chains of the gate.
Wanadoo wanted to create an auction chain for some months. The gate selected the propositions on the market and judged that Aucland was corresponding best to what it was looking for (according to the services offered and to the ethic). On the other hand, Aucland which is in France in competition with QXL, iBazar, and Yahoo! Enchères plans, by joining with the first French supplier, to become the leader on the French auctions' market.
The Sophipolitan start-up, into which Europ@web acquired a majority interest last September, has now 200,000 clients across France (more than 300,000 in the whole Europe). Aucland hopes to seduce, thanks to the agreement, 250,000 Wanadoo subscribers within one year. And after that, Aucland would like to enter the Stock Exchange at the end of the year or at the beginning of 2001.