|
Amazon flooded with sales
|
 |
January 5, 1999: 9:51 a.m. ET
Holiday sales quadruple from year ago, pushing 4Q to record 250 million
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Amazon.com overflowed with good news Tuesday as it said holiday sales quadrupled over last year's and pushed the online retailer to a record-setting fourth quarter.
Seattle-based Amazon.com (AMZN) said fourth-quarter sales were about $250 million, more than 350 percent over 1997's fourth- quarter sales of $66 million.
Based on fourth-quarter sales, Amazon.com, the Internet's No.1 music and book retailer, has achieved a $1 billion annualized sales level 3-1/2 years after opening for business.
Between Nov. 17 and Dec. 31, the company said more than 1 million new customers shopped with Amazon.com for the first time. The company also shipped more than 7.5 million items -- more than it shipped during all of 1997 -- and shipping hit a peak of more than $6 million in one day.
Two days into the holiday shopping season, Amazon announced a three-for-one stock split , payable Tuesday.
But Amazon warned that higher seasonal sales wouldn't translate into correspondingly lower net losses in the fourth quarter.
"Significant sales of video and music lowered gross margins, as did aggressive product pricing," said Jay Covey, Amazon.com's chief financial officer. "In addition, the strong growth combined with an all-out push to service customers resulted in higher fulfillment expenses."
Amazon.com's news comes one day after America Online Corp. (AOL) announced holiday-shopping spending by its members through the online service topped $1 billion. AOL was down 6-5/16 at 148-13/16.
On the legal side, Chancellor Jay Finch, an Arkansas judge, ruled that he has jurisdiction in a suit filed against Amazon.com by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT).
Wal-Mart is suing Amazon.com and three other defendants under the Arkansas Trade Secrets Act, claiming they raided the retail giant to hire Richard Dalzell, a former Wal-Mart executive who now serves as chief information officer at Amazon.com. Finch will hear arguments Jan. 21 on a temporary restraining order sought by Wal-Mart to bar Amazon.com from using or transferring any proprietary Wal-Mart systems knowledge.
Amazon.com's newly split shares were down 9-5/16 at 109 in nearly trading Tuesday. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
