SmartBargains Inc., an online retailer of excess merchandise, seeks up to $80.5 million through an initial public offering of stock for working capital and "for additional resources to grow our business," the company says in an IPO registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Facing growing competition from both online and offline discount retailers who also deal in excess merchandise, Boston-based SmartBargains points in its IPO prospectus to several areas of targeted growth, including additional merchandise offerings. "We believe that significant opportunities for expansion exist in product lines for children, the home and women’s and men’s apparel," says the company, No. 190 in the Internet Retailer Top 300 Guide to online retailers.
SmartBargains says it also plans to expand relationships with suppliers, including manufacturers and other retailers, for arrangements such as selling their merchandise in new branded departments on SmartBargains.com. It also plans to expand its drop-ship program, initiated last November, to offer a greater variety of products that manufacturers ship directly to SmartBargains’ customers.
In addition, SmartBargains says it will expand its online direct marketing efforts as well as its online advertising through affiliates, portals and search engines.
SmartBargains, though still reporting financial losses, has been improving its income statement in recent years. It posted a net loss of $1.4 million on $92.2 million in revenue for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2004. That represented an 87% improvement its net loss of $10.7 million for the prior fiscal year, when it reported revenue of $75.8 million.
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