Webvan Plugs in Electronics

Following moves earlier this year to expand its offerings to include books and videos as well as groceries, Webvan is adding consumer electronics to its inventory. Analysts say the retailer needs to keep adding new revenue sources to bring its costly and highly automated fulfillment operations to profitability. The e-retailer currently operates in two markets-the San Francisco Bay Area and Atlanta-and plans to enter more than 20 others, at an overall cost of $1 billion. Webvan CEO George Shaheen recently has emphasized that the company does not consider itself solely an Internet grocer, but an e-commerce company with the scale and frequency of contact capable of delivering a wide range of merchandise directly to consumers' homes at prearranged times.