Dealer.com Closes 2010 with Substantial Growth, Increased Research and Development

BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Dealer.com (www.dealer.com), the global leader in online marketing solutions for the automotive industry, today announced that it delivered another year of substantial growth in 2010, as revenues reached $85 million, an increase of over 60 percent from 2009 – and more than triple the 2008 level. In addition to its continued strong financial performance, Dealer.com extended its technology and service leadership with an increase of more than 100 percent in research and development (R&D) spending – for the second consecutive year – as well as expanded industry partnerships and a variety of prestigious awards and accolades.

"Our remarkable track record is attributable to the technical expertise of our employees and their unwavering commitment to the satisfaction and overall success of our clients across the automotive industry," said Mark Bonfigli, Dealer.com's CEO. "In addition, a key underlying factor is our unique culture supporting the health, well-being and career development of our employees, which helps us attract highly motivated people who want to work hard and make a difference. With the substantial investments we made in both technology and people in 2010, Dealer.com remains well-positioned to drive future growth."

Dealer.com hired and successfully integrated over 180 new employees in 2010, bringing its headcount at year-end to more than 430. To help manage this growth and bolster its management structure, the company named five new vice presidents and a new CFO, David Stetson. In addition, Chief Technology Officer Rick Gibbs was named President. Construction also started on a major expansion of Dealer.com's headquarters in Burlington, which will more than double its existing space and support a number of significant enhancements in its employee wellness programs.

During 2010, Dealer.com further strengthened its comprehensive online marketing platform with the launch of a number of new or improved products and services. These include CarFlix HumanVoice Videos for online vehicle inventories; upgrades to its TotalControl DOMINATOR™ paid search solution; and a new Service Marketing Package to help dealers attract and retain service customers.

In addition, Dealer.com expanded its partnerships with OEMs last year, and now supports solutions for Subaru of New England and American Suzuki Motor Corporation. Partnerships with the nation's top automotive dealer groups, as ranked by Automotive News, also increased. According to the annual ranking, 80 percent of the leading dealer groups now choose Dealer.com's online marketing services – up from 70 percent a year earlier. Specific dealer group clients added in 2010 include Fletcher Jones Automotive Group, which features the largest Mercedes Benz dealership in the U.S., as well as Gurley Leep Automotive Group and Napleton Automotive Group.

"We have been thrilled to begin work with hundreds of new clients over the past year, including some of the largest and most innovative auto retailers in North America," said Rick Gibbs, President and Chief Technology Officer at Dealer.com. "It's gratifying that so many dealers clearly appreciate our track record of technology and service leadership, which continues to far outpace even our closest competitors."

Several independent national research reports also confirmed Dealer.com's industry leadership, including comprehensive organic and paid search studies from Sorgenfrei, LLC and The Pasch Consulting Group. The company's industry-leading products and services and unique corporate culture were also recognized through the following awards and rankings in 2010:

• Inc. magazine's Top Small Company Workplace Award – named one of the 20 best small to mid-sized businesses in North America.
• DrivingSales.com Vendor Ratings – three separate awards, as top-ranked website provider, lead management provider, and SEO provider.
• Auto Dealer Monthly's Dealers' Choice Awards – received Diamond Award in the Best Web Site Provider/Design category (fourth consecutive year); and Platinum Award for Internet Training.
• Vermont Business magazine – named the fastest-growing company in Vermont over the last five years, with revenue growth of 1,270 percent.
• Inc. 5000 Rankings – ranked 1,056th overall, and 106th among the nation's fastest-growing private advertising and marketing companies (fourth consecutive year of placement).
• Automotive Website Awards – won the Pinnacle Platform Award for superior search marketing architecture; TotalControl DOMINATOR also was named Best Online Advertising Tool.
• Summit International Emerging Media Awards – Leader Award for the Checkered Flag and Silver Star Montreal websites (third consecutive year of placement).
• Deloitte's Technology Fast 500™ – ranked number 150 (up from 214 last year) among fastest-growing companies in North America.

About Dealer.com (www.dealer.com)

Dealer.com is the global leader in online marketing solutions for the automotive industry, providing award winning e-marketing solutions to automotive manufacturers, auto dealers and multi vertical media companies.  The company's innovative websites and integrated online tools, lowest cost advertising alternatives that significantly lower the cost of customer acquisition, enhancing dealers' efficiency and profitability. More dealerships use the Dealer.com platform than any other platform in the world.

Recent national and international accolades include: Inc. magazine's 2010 Top Small Company Workplaces and Inc. 5000, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, top ranking in The Net Promoter® Score Survey of customer satisfaction, Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 and the Web Marketing Association's Automobile Standard of Excellence. In addition, Dealer.com was the 2009 Top Rated Website Provider on DrivingSales.com, and won the 2010 Dealers' Choice Diamond Award for Best Website Solution and the 2009 Most Comprehensive Search Marketing Platform Award from the Automotive Search Marketing Association. For more information visit: http://www.dealer.com/promo/look-inside.htm.

SOURCE Dealer.com