Net gets Geerlings & Wade giddy
Shares scream on plan to bolster virtual wine cave
By Lisa J Ulmer,CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 1:03 PM ET Dec 31, 1998See Internet Daily
CANTON, Mass. (CBS.MW) -- Investors have been tipsy with enthusiasm lately over Internet stocks. Why not add a little to the punch?
Geerlings & Wade Inc. (GEER) figured it was worth a shot, and the wine seller has seen its stock scream up after the move.
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Shares of the company, which sells premium wines and wine-related products through catalog mailings and, more recently, the Internet, rocketed as much as 41 percent Thursday after it said it plans to improve its Web site, www.geerwade.com, with more user-friendly features.
Specifically, the company said the improved site will be easier to order from and will provide customers access to their purchase history.
Shares settled 1 13/16, or 25 percent, to 9 1/16 midafternoon Thursday.
In addition, Geerlings & Wade will add hundreds of Bordeaux wines to the site to "improve [its] competitiveness on the high end of the wine selling business," the company's president Jay Essa said in a press release.
"This will give our customers one of the largest selections of Bordeaux wines from which to choose from anywhere in the country," Essa said. "Also, we will do this in a fashion that is designed to comply with state liquor laws."
Geerlings & Wade said it expects completion of the project by mid-next year.
The company is licensed to sell and deliver wine to 23 states in the United States. |
