Following the collapse of a proposed merger with Genesco Inc., The Finish Line Inc. is counting on the web and e-commerce to get the company back on track.
The Finish Line, No. 154 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, is usually closemouthed about its e-commerce operation. But on the company’s recent year-end earnings call, CEO Alan Cohen said e-commerce will play an important role in getting Finish Line back on track. “We are seeing good trends in the e-commerce end of our business,” Cohen told analysts. “We continue to have double-digit growth in traffic and sales and we have the ability to capture our share of the market in this particular business.”
After an acrimonious process that prompted Genesco Inc. to file suit seeking to complete a deal, Genesco and Finish Line called off their merger in March. But Finish Line ended 2007 with a net loss of $60.4 million on revenue of $1.28 billion vs. net income of $32.3 million on sales of $1.33 billion in 2006.
Finish Line doesn’t break out many e-commerce statistics, but FinishLine.com is now generating about 100,000 daily visits, Cohen told analysts. “FinishLine.com continues to be an important growth vehicle for us,” he said.
Though Cohen didn’t provide many details, Finish Line also will shift more marketing dollars to online initiatives. “We’re going to focus very much on the Internet business,” Cohen told analysts. “Our consumers are migrating to the Internet. We find they shop the Internet and our stores sometimes in the same day.”
Back...
