DD
glad I held onto some SKYM from a Thursday day trade
CEO on Squawk
and
SkyMall Internet Sales Up 600 Percent
Business Wire - December 28, 1998 07:16
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 28, 1998--SkyMall, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYM) today reported that its Internet sales for fiscal 1998 are expected to reach approximately $2.1 million compared with sales in 1997 of just over $300,000; an increase of approximately 600 percent. Internet sales for the fourth quarter of 1998 have tripled to approximately $1 million from approximately $300,000 during the fourth quarter of 1997.
With a record 15 million hits to-date for the month of December, www.skymall.com has seen its December traffic more than triple from the year before. The number of hits during the fourth quarter of 1998 have increased to approximately 28 million versus approximately 8 million for the fourth quarter of 1997.
The Company has recently realized a steady increase in Internet sales with its highest levels to-date of approximately eight percent of total revenues during the week ended December 19, 1998. SkyMall expects total revenues for fiscal 1998 to be approximately $65 million versus $60.8 million the year prior. Total revenues include primarily, print catalog sales and placement fees, Internet sales, international sales, and revenues derived from SkyMall's subsidiary, Durham & Company.
"We are pleased about the positive trend in our Internet sales," said Robert M. Worsley, SkyMall's president and chief executive officer. "This trend demonstrates that the Internet is increasingly becoming a more popular way to shop, and affirms the decision we made earlier this year to convert our entire business to a Web-based infrastructure.
"The total order volumes we processed on the busiest days this Holiday season have proven that our Web-based infrastructure decision was right and is highly scalable for future growth. Through its virtual inventory system, SkyMall processed more than 35,000 orders to over 100 merchant fulfillers during the two busiest days of the 1998 Holiday season.
"SkyMall has strong fundamentals, including gross margins in excess of 50 percent and a track record of strong revenue growth and profitability. We have recently announced a number of new relationships that have made SkyMall's product offering more widely available to online consumers. These and other new relationships will be important in furthering SkyMall's strategy of becoming a well-recognized Web retailer.
Mr. Worsley concluded, "We believe consumers will continue to look to brands they know and trust when shopping on the Web. SkyMall brings the consumer the best products from more than 100 well-known merchants. With our in-flight paper catalog that is available to more than one million airline passengers each day, we essentially have a paper banner ad for driving traffic to our Web site. Without the size restriction of our paper catalog, we will continue to add additional content to our Web site, providing on-line consumers a superior shopping experience."
Note
SkyMall will be featured on CNBC Monday, December 28, 1998 at 7:45 a.m. Mountain Standard Time.
About SkyMall
SkyMall(R), the largest in-flight catalog company in the United States, makes high-quality products and services available to more than 400 million airline passengers per year and to millions of on-line shoppers at www.skymall.com and through Internet alliances. The Company markets and sells premium merchandise from participating merchants, including major catalog companies and specialty retailers. SkyMall's in-flight catalog program and electronic commerce initiatives are being leveraged through international expansion and incentive programs aimed at broadening the Company's product lines and expanding its customer base. Through its subsidiary, Durham & Company, SkyMall offers high-quality logo merchandise to corporate America and other organizations. For further information and prior press releases, please visit SkyMall's Web site.
This news release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This information may involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those factors detailed by SkyMall, Inc. in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: SkyMall Inc., Phoenix
Robert M. Worsley, 602/528-8620
or
Robert J. Digan, 602/528-8638
or
Marti A. Benfield, 602/528-3233
ir@skymall.com
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