Blue Nile has relaunched its web sites for Canada and the United Kingdom, offering local customer service, sales in local currencies and more products. The company also has opened an office in Dublin, Ireland, to provide customer service for UK customers and, ultimately, all of Europe as Blue Nile seeks to expand its international business.
Blue Nile, the top seller of jewelry online and No. 49 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, has had a Canadian web site since 2003 and the UK since 2004, CEO Mark Vadon last week told an investors conference in Chicago sponsored by brokerage firm William Blair & Co. However those sites had required payment in local currency, offered a smaller selection than the U.S. web site and provided customer service from Blue Nile’s home base in Seattle.
Vadon said “we’re very pleased” with the results from the new sites, and he expected to report more details in the company’s next quarterly earnings report. He said the UK and Canadian sites generated over $8 million of the company’s $252 million in sales in 2006.
International markets represent major growth opportunities, Vadon said. He noted that the U.S. represents about 50% of the world retail market for diamond jewelry, Blue Nile’s core product, and that Europe and Japan each represent about 15% of the market. “With America as large as it is, we want to stay very focused on this market,” he said. “At the same time we are interested in gaining exposure in some of these other areas around the world.”
Blue Nile commands 3.5% of the $5 billion U.S. market for engagement rings, Diane Irvine, the company’s president and chief financial officer, told the investors meeting. She estimated Blue Nile accounts for 60% of online engagement ring sales.
70% of Blue Nile’s revenue last year came from engagement rings and other jewelry tied to wedding engagements, with an average ticket price of $5,600 in the engagement category, Irvine said. 90% of the company’s sales are of diamond jewelry, she added.
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