STORY CAST FILMMAKERS FEATURES SCREENINGS PHOTOS PRESS

..A Film By Wonsuk Chin

 STORY CAST FILMMAKERS FEATURES SCREENINGS PHOTOS PRESS  
Kozmo: A Company History
February 1998
Number of Employees: 5
Products Sold on Website: VHS movie rentals, snacks.
Operating Cities: 1
"Kozmo.com announced the opening of the first online video store offering its customers instant gratification. Kozmo.com customers will be able to rent a movie online and have it delivered to them within 30 to 60 minutes from the time of order. Customers no longer will have to make dedicated trips to their local video store to find out that the movie they wanted to rent has already been rented out or that the video store does not carry a specific movie title. Founded in 1997, the Company is focused on providing the ultimate video rental experience to its customer base. Kozmo.com is launching its service in Manhattan and plans to expand to several major cities over the next year."* 

* excerpt from Kozmo's first press release.

June 1999
Number of Employees: 95
Products Sold on Website: VHS and DVD rentals, Video Games, Food
Operating Cities: 2
"For convenience-lovers that want fun and simple solutions to their busy lives, Kozmo.com is just a click away. Offering rentals and purchases of entertainment and specialty-convenience products, weíre the first e-commerce company to bring the ultimate convenience of online shopping together with hand-delivery in less than an hour."*

"The Company expects to launch its first expansion city, Seattle in the middle of June and has closed approximately a $2.8 million round of financing. Kozmo currently has 30 full-time employees in the New York HQ with plans to double by yearís end. The company recently launched its Game Boy section as we further expand our line of entertainment products and intend to launch several major lines of product categories in the upcoming months." **

* excerpt from company press kit  ** excerpt from company update letter from Joseph Park.

February 2000
Number of Employees: 1350
Products Sold on Website: Movies, Video Games, Music, Books, Magazines, Food, Minimart
Operating Cities: 5
Starbucks and Kozmo.com, an Internet-to-door delivery service, announced a five-year agreement under which Starbucks Coffee will receive $150 million from Kozmo.com for in-store exposure, co-marketing opportunities and the opportunity to place return boxes in Starbucks stores. The boxes will initially be used to return video and game rentals and assist Kozmo easily mobilize for its ambitious national expansion. "We'll be able to ride on Starbucks' coattails, and give our customers an incredible sense of confidence," said Joseph Park, chief executive of Kozmo.  
July 2000
Number of Employees: 3100
Products Sold on Website: Movies, Video Games, Music, Books, Magazines, Food, Minimart, Electronics, Drugstore, Gifts, Meals
Operating Cities: 11
"Kozmo.com, announced that Joseph Park has promoted Gerry Burdo to President and Acting Chief Executive Officer to lead the company during its next wave of growth. Now is the ideal time for Kozmo.com to be led by someone equally obsessed with serving our customers and serving the bottom line," said Park, "I am pleased that he accepted my offer to become President and Acting CEO." * 

* excerpt from Kozmo press release

April 2001
Number of Employees: 0
Operating Cities: 0
Online delivery service Kozmo.com shut down its Web site and ceased operations in all nine markets on April 12, 2001. Nearly 1,100 workers were laid off. "Given more time and more hospitable market conditions, Kozmo would have succeeded in rounding the corner and would have continued to grow," said Gerry Burdo, president and chief executive of Kozmo. Sources close to the company said it folded in the wake of a failed merger with grocery delivery firm PDQuick (formerly Pink Dot), which was expected to bring in new financing.
What is Kozmo  l l  Features Home  l l Back to Top
Home  l l   Links  l l  Contact Us