21.12.2005, Two pilot projects in Hamburg and Munich from spring 2006; WOM Magazine will be expanded further

Essen, 21 December 2005. Karstadt Warenhaus AG will, as already announced in summer 2005, further expand WOM (World of Music) as a central brand for music and media in its stationary department store business. At first, two pilot projects are planned: in spring 2006, the audiovisual media department of the Karstadt department store on Hamburg's Mönckebergstrasse will be run under the name of WOM (World of Music). After the completion of the extension, the Munich Oberpollinger department store will open WOM (World of Music) in the "Haus am Karlstor" store in addition to the Karstadt music department in the "Haus am Dom" branch.

"We will not only use WOM as a brand, but also reflect the music competence of WOM already established in the market in the areas of product quality and quality of advice," said Thomas Güttler, Head of Multimedia at Karstadt Warenhaus AG. "After our successful start we are thinking about using the WOM brand in at least another 10 multimedia locations," adds Christoph Oberhaus, Managing Director of WOM Media Network GmbH.

The heart of WOM Media Network GmbH is the WOM Magazine (formerly WOM Journal). With a print-run of approximately 250,000 copies and more than 550,000 readers (according to AWA 2005), WOM Magazine is the music magazine with the highest penetration rate in Germany. Following a complete re-design, WOM Magazine has presented itself as an entertainment title focussing on music and music-related topics such as fashion, games, movies, and telecommunications since February 2004. The print medium belongs to WOM Media Network, an integrated media network currently consisting of print and Internet publications, which is a subsidiary of Karstadt Warenhaus AG.

Media contact:
Karstadt Warenhaus AG
Corporate Communication
Michael Scheibe
Phone: +49 - (0)201 / 727 - 21 24
Email: michael.scheibe@karstadt.de