Online bookseller Amazon.com on Aug. 12 went live with an integrated Website offering merchandise from the Target, Marshall Field’s, and Mervyn’s stores, as well as Amazon.com goods. At the same time, Target’s Marshall Field’s unit has begun mailing the first of its three new catalogs to support the new site. A Marshall Field’s general merchandise title hits homes this week; mailings of the other two books—home and apparel—”will be staggered” over the next week or two, says Heidi Weaver, a spokesperson for the Marshall Field’s division of Minneapolis-based Target Corp.
While the site gives the Seattle-based Amazon entrée into the apparel business, Target will take advantage of Amazon’s name and Web-hosting expertise. Although the companies haven’t revealed the financial terms, the arrangement is similar to Amazon’s relationship with Toyrsrus.com, in which the bookseller receives a percentage of all online transactions involving the Target properties.