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ROUND ONE---A SHOT ACROSS THE BOW...AlliedSignal to Offer Bendix Brake Products Directly to Do-It-Yourself Customers Via Internet

25 October 1999

AlliedSignal to Offer Bendix Brake Products Directly to Do-It-Yourself Customers Via Internet

    TROY, Mich.--Oct. 25, 1999--AlliedSignal Inc. said today that its Friction Materials business is launching a Bendix Direct Internet-based marketing initiative to sell Bendix(R) brake products directly to U.S. consumers.
    Bendix Direct targets Web-savvy "do-it-yourselfers" -- car and light truck owners who perform their own vehicle maintenance, who want optimum parts ordering convenience, and who value buying directly from the manufacturer. Bendix Direct also provides a solution for consumers who want Bendix products but don't have easy access to them.
    Initially, consumers who log on to bendixdirect.com can order Bendix products via a toll-free phone number -- 1-877-BENDIX8. By early next year, they will be able to order directly from the website 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most of the more than 10,000 Bendix brake products will be available through Bendix Direct, said Mary Petrovich, Vice President, e-Business for Troy, Michigan-based AlliedSignal Friction Materials.
    Bendix Direct is one of the first initiatives launched through e-Bendix, in AlliedSignal subsidiary that oversees various Friction Materials' electronic business efforts.
    "Our goal is to broaden our customer base by making it easy for do-it-yourselfers to order Bendix products over the telephone or Internet, directly from a manufacturer they trust, at a competitive price," Petrovich said. "This will be particularly beneficial in areas of the country where limited distribution channels make it more difficult for do-it-yourselfers to obtain Bendix products."
     Bendix Direct is targeted at do-it-yourselfers, who in the U.S. purchase about $700 million in brake products annually and represent about one-third of the U.S. brake aftermarket, Petrovich said. AlliedSignal Friction Materials will continue to rely heavily on its traditional distribution channels to provide Bendix products.
    "In addition to this e-Bendix venture, we're pursuing several other e-business initiatives to support our distribution channel partners -- warehouse distributors, jobbers and retailers -- and to grow our business," she said.
    To fuel interest in bendixdirect.com, AlliedSignal Friction Materials is running a sweepstakes through Feb. 25, 2000. By calling 1-877-BENDIX8, consumers can register to win a two-year lease of a Jeep Grand Cherokee or a Chrysler Sebring Convertible. The prize will be awarded in March 2000. No purchase is required to win.
    AlliedSignal Friction Materials will market Bendix Direct through banner ads on various automotive-related websites, including popularmechanics.com, Autobytel.com, Autoworld.com, 4brakes.com and 4anything.com -- as well as advertising in Popular Mechanics commemorative millennium issue in January 2000.
    Among the most popular Bendix disc brake products available through Bendix Direct are TitaniuMetallic(TM) pads, which help eliminate break-in requirements on domestic vehicles; Bendix IQ Import Quiet(TM) pads, with a noise-free friction formula geared to import vehicles; and Bendix MetLok SUV(TM) pads, designed for the unique requirements of sport utility vehicles.
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