Q2 Internet sales rise 14% at Sharper Image
Internet sales at Sharper Image Corp. rose 14% year-over-year in the second quarter ended July 31, to $20.4 million from $17.9 million, as total sales rose 20% to $145.4 million from $121.5 million, the retailer said today. Total store sales increased 17% to $86 million from $73.2 million, while comp store sales rose 1%, it added.
Total Q2 catalog/direct marketing sales, which include Internet, TV infomercial and wholesale sales, rose 28% to $39 million from $30.4 million in the year-ago quarter. That increase included a boost from wholesale sales to about 1,100 stores operated by retail partners, a spokesman says, adding that Sharper Image expects to expand its wholesale operations with additional stores. Sharper Image, No. 62 in Internet Retailer’sTop 300 Guide to online retailers, also operates 164 of its own retail stores and plans to add to that total this year.
In July, the rate of year-to-year growth remained the same for Internet sales at 14%, but the other channels grew at a slower pace than for the rest of Q2. Total sales in July rose 18%; total store sales, 15%; catalog/direct marketing, 27%; and comp store sales remained the same.
"Sales and gross margin were adversely impacted by less than anticipated television infomercial media availability in July, combined with generally lower sales returns on direct response media spending and lighter customer traffic at retail locations," said Richard Thalheimer, chairman and CEO. "We believe that increased travel, good summer weather and competition generally from election related media spending contributed to this lower return on our advertising expenditures."
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