International sales sparkle for Blue Nile
Though it’s still a small part of overall revenue, international web sales are growing exponentially for online jewelry retailer Blue Nile Inc.
Third-quarter international e-commerce sales grew 259% to $2.2 million from about $612,000 in Q3 2005. “One of the next steps for Blue Nile is expanding our business internationally, taking what we have done for U.S. consumers to consumers in other parts of the world,” Blue Nile chief financial officer Diane Irvine told research analysts on the company’s recent Q3 earnings call. “Last year, we expanded our international offerings and while our international sales are still relatively small, we have seen tremendous growth.”
Blue Nile has expanded its foreign e-commerce initiatives with the launch of a new web store in the United Kingdom in October 2005. In January 2005 Blue Nile also opened its first international e-commerce site in Canada. In the United Kingdom, the Blue Nile site provides shoppers with tools to search, review and compare more than 60,000 diamonds according to cut, clarity, color, carat weight and price. “Growth in this part of our business will increasingly become a priority for us as we enter 2007,” Irvine says.
Blue Nile is No. 52 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites.
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