GlobalWebBrands Changing Business Model, Brand Name; Selling FreewayWebhost

March 7, 2007; 12:19 AM

Web hosting provider GlobalWebBrands (www.globalwebbrands.com) has announced sweeping changes to its business after a disappointing month in February. Among its plans are a huge move up-market and the disposal of its successful FreewayWebhost free Web hosting division.

“January started 2007 off as a great year for us, but February was one of our worst months on record since we launched the company in August 2004,” stated GlobalWebBrands CEO Daniel J. Briere. “The Web hosting industry’s fundamentals are changing very fast, and fortunately, we were able to see that and are adjusting because of it. It is a strong possibility that many budget Web hosts are planning to continue on as always, which may fatally hurt their businesses. We decided not to wait.”

While all existing users of GlobalWebBrands’ paid Web hosting service are allowed to remain on their current hosting plans at their existing prices, the company has introduced a single new hosting plan priced at $200 per month, and designed for enterprise use. The new Web hosting plan is now the only plan offered by GlobalWebBrands to new users.

“As of Friday, March 2nd, we were redirecting all visitors to our Website to HostGator’s affiliate program, as we worked on a new business strategy. By the evening of March 3rd, we had a new strategy in place, and we now plan to aggressively pursue the fulfillment of our operating goals for the rest of year 2007,” stated Mr. Briere. “Our strategy consists of catering to a new breed of Web hosting customer – those who need a rock-solid service, but don’t want to leave the personal touch that shared hosting provides over a dedicated server. Many will say that our new hosting plan is grossly overpriced, but based on what we can provide, as well as the needs of our new target market, it is actually underpriced. Our long-term desire has been to operate in the top tier of Web hosting services, and this was an opportunity to do that, while still serving and meeting the expectations of our existing users.”

In related news, GlobalWebBrands is also divesting its free Web hosting operation, known as FreewayWebhost, through an eBay auction (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200085555448). While FreewayWebhost has been a more successful venture than it was originally envisioned as being, it has also become a distraction to the GlobalWebBrands management team. Premium Web hosting and free Web hosting are very different businesses, and they require different resources to operate.

As part of its new business model, GlobalWebBrands now plans to operate as Globalwebbrands.com.