Books-A-Million Q2 web sales up 10%

Chain and web book retailer Books-A-Million Inc. reported second quarter 2008 online sales of $6.5 million. Net e-commerce sales for the quarter were up 10% year-over-year from $5.9 million, according to the company’s recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Overall retail sales for the second quarter of 2008 ended Aug. 4, 2007, from Books-A-Million’s 206 stores and BooksAMillion.com, were $131.5 million, also up 10% compared with $119.6 million in the prior year quarter. Books-A-Million is No. 251 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

The company attributes the overall sales lift to a 6.6% rise in comparable store sales, against the prior year quarter, and additional sales from an increase in its total number of superstores. The increase in comparable store sales for the quarter was chalked up mainly to sales of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and related gift items, along with strong sales from bestsellers and the summer sale lineup.

Net web sales for the first six months of fiscal 2008 were $12.6 million, up 2.4% from $12.3 million compared with the same period in the previous year.

E-commerce sales at Books-A-Million Inc. totaled $6.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2008, a decrease of 4.7% from web sales of $6.4 million in Q1 of FY 2007.