In another case of e-commerce taking a bigger chunk of multi-channel sales, third quarter online sales at women’s apparel and accessories retailer Coldwater Creek Inc. rose 10.9% over the year-ago period, to $50 million from $45 million. Online sales as a percent of total sales increased to 32.5% in the quarter from 31.8%.
David Pence, chairman and CEO, attributed the increase largely to improved holiday-focused merchandising of hot-selling products. On ColdwaterCreek.com, the home page features a prominent display of novelty jackets and related apparel that are selling across all channels. Also on the home page is a prominently placed notice that Coldwater will guarantee delivery by Dec. 25 of any in-stock goods ordered by midnight, Dec. 22, and sent through standard ground shipping. The home page also displays gift certificates that can be either e-mailed or sent through postal delivery, and it shows images of Coldwater Creek holiday catalogs for shoppers who prefer to order by catalog product numbers.
Total Q3 sales reached $153.8 million, up from $141.7 million a year ago. Overall Q3 direct-to-consumer net sales–-including online, catalogs and outlet stores–-declined 2.2% year-to-year, to $120.6 million from $123.4 million. As a percentage of overall Q3 net sales, the direct segment accounted for 78.4%, down from 87.1% a year ago. Also during Q3, the company decreased its number of mailed catalogs by 19.8% to 12.5 million. Coldwater Creek increased its store count threefold in the past year to 43 from 14.
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