Dot-com duds

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http://www.pets.com Initial financing: $152-million.

Online: April, 1999 Offline: November, 2000

The San Francisco-based on-line pet store had star power in its mascot, a canine sock puppet, and in investors such as Amazon.com. In February, 2000, the company went public at $11 a share, but by June, the shares had sunk to $2. Not even a $60-million marketing campaign could lure customers away from the bricks-and-mortar competition.

http://www.boo.com Initial financing: $125-million.

Online: November, 1999 Offline: May, 2000

Founded by Swedes and backed by Benetton and LVMH chief Bernard Arnault, the U.K.-based fashion e-tailer site seemed like a winner. But swish offices in London and New York, and a $50-million tab to develop the site, drained the corporate coffers. The technology was later sold to Bright Station, a web company, for a mere $372,500.

Online: November, 1999

Offline: July, 2001

The online grocer attracted more funding than any e-tailing company other than Amazon.com, raised $375-million in its initial public offering and had such high-profile backers as Benchmark Capital, Softbank, Sequoia Capital and, through its HomeGrocer acquisition, former Netscape Communications CEO Jim Barksdale of The Barksdale Group.

http://www.den.com Initial financing: $60-million.

Online: November, 1999

Offline: May, 2000

Backed by Dell, Microsoft and Intel, this streaming-media site burned through its first $30 million in less than four months. To make matters worse, CEO Marc Collins-Rector resigned when accusations of sexual misconduct surfaced.

When DEN went under, it owed creditors $10 million. An auction of DEN artifacts (including a four-foot Yoda statue) recouped only $630,000.

http://www.pop.com Initial financing: $50-million.

Online: Never launched

In October, 1999, DreamWorks execs Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, and Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer and Ron Howard announced the birth of a web site with MTV-style edge. Less than a year later, Pop.com was dead. Ambitious plans to create content using Hollywood stars like Mike Myers and Julia Roberts failed to materialize.

http://www.toysmart.com Initial financing: $45-million.

Online: August:1999

Offline: May, 2000

Neilsen and Media Metrix ranked this on-line toy retailer as a top-40 site in 1999. Disney invested $20 million and then kicked in an additional $25 million for marketing. Ultimately, no amount of money could compete with Toys "R" Us and Amazon.com.

http://www.dressmart.com Initial financing: $16-million.

Online: April, 1999

Offline: August, 2000

Here's another flop from those unlucky Swedes. Rated one of the 12 most promising sites of 1999 by Scandinavia's Interactive Media Event, this fashion site debuted with comic John Cleese as its pitchman. Sales were respectable at first, but rapid expansion took its toll on cash reserves, and investors -- reportedly including Sweden's King Carl -- became too nervous to pitch in more funds.

http://www.clickmango.com Initial financing: $4.4-million.

Online: April, 2000

Offline: September, 2000

The British health site with the famous pink-and-green inflatable boardroom and celebrity spokeswoman Joanna (Ab Fab) Lumley went bust in a matter of months. Funding came from Atlas Venture and the Rothschild family, but sales were minuscule. By July, cash-strapped executives couldn't even raise half a million.