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Federated hitched online
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May 25, 1999: 9:47 a.m. ET
Stake in WeddingChannel.com provides avenue to marriage business
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Federated Department Stores Inc. and WeddingChannel.com officially spoke their vows Tuesday, creating a partnership aimed at capitalizing on the lucrative wedding-gift business.
In exchange for a roughly 20 percent stake in Wedding Channel, the Los Angeles-based operator of the WeddingChannel.com, Federated's 403 department stores will begin posting their nearly 400,000 annual bridal registries directly on the company's Web site.
That should substantially improve traffic on the site already considered the Web's top bridal hub, offering prospective brides and grooms a variety of wedding-related services, including fashion, etiquette and honeymoon planning tips.
It will also eliminate some geographic barriers for Federated (FD), which operates some of the nation's biggest department store chains. Now, brides and grooms won't have to worry about making sure their registry is accessible to out-of-town guests, company officials said.
The Wedding Channel Web site currently includes a bridal registry option for engaged couples, but it thus far has been met with limited success. Including registries from such stores as Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Stern's could also improve customer interest in that section, company officials said.
Each year, more than 2.4 million couples get married and have, on average, 188 people attend their weddings. That generates a gift-giving industry that some estimate exceeds $10 billion a year.
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