Blair continues to emphasize e-commerce and the web
E-commerce remained a bright spot in an otherwise tough year for Blair Corp.
Based on net sales, e-commerce revenue for Blair, No. 95 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, rose 9% in 2006 to $93.7 million from $86.1 million in the prior year. But in the fourth quarter, year-over-year web sales decreased by 9% to $19.9 million from $21.9 million.
Overall net sales for 2006 were $426.4 million, compared to $456.6 million in 2005, a decrease of 7%. “2006 was a difficult year with significant changes in the areas of merchandising, circulation, credit and staffing,” says Blair chairman and CEO Al Lopez. “The results for the fourth quarter reflect actions taken earlier in the year to improve operational efficiency.”
Blair continues to invest and grow its web channel. Web site traffic for 2006 increased 18.6% over 2005 levels, while web site conversion rates and average order values remained steady, the company says. Revenue resulting from investments in keyword searches rose over 60% above 2005 levels and revenue from natural search has nearly doubled following an intensive web site optimization project, according to Blair.
“The year-over-year increase reflects our customer’s interest in migrating to Blair.com and the impact of user experience and technology initiatives designed to improve site functionality and increase conversion rates,” the company says.
In January, Appleseed`s Topco Inc., a company owned by investor Golden Gate Capital, acquired Blair in a cash deal worth $173.6 million, or $42.50 per share. Blair’s vice president of marketing Jeff Parnell, is speaking at the Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition, June 4-7 in San Jose, in a session June 5 titled Making E-Retailing Music: When IT and Marketing Harmonize.
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