Skymall bolsters Web management team, shares rise
January 7, 1999 11:24 AM
PHOENIX, Jan 7 (Reuters) - SkyMall Inc. SKYM shares soared 30 percent to $23 Thursday after the company named a veteran sales executive to direct its new Internet shopping mall unit.
The unit, known as skymall.com, began operations Jan. 1. It will operate its own Web site and enable companies to conduct electronic commerce through skymall.com's merchant system.
SkyMall named Sandy Goldman to direct skymall.com. His title will be vice president of sales. Goldman was previously the chief executive officer of pix.com, an Internet photo startup. Prior to that, he was general manager of WavePhore Inc.'s WAVO WaveTop service, which delivers Internet programming over TV broadcast signals. He also co-founded Shoppers Express, an early Internet-based grocery shopping service.
Skymall.com intends to pursue strategic alliances, significantly broaden its current product line, market its turnkey e-commerce solution, and add new content to attract more visitors.
Robert Worsley, SkyMall president and chief executive officer, said in a statement, "We've seen a tremendous upsurge in our e-commerce activity this past quarter, and we are committed to continuing to leverage our excellent customer service and back-end infrastructure to capitalize on the opportunities of the Internet."
At the end of December, Worsley doubled his equity stake in SkyMall to 4.6 million shares, giving him 54 percent of the company's outstanding common stock.
SkyMall sells products to airline passengers thorugh its in-flight catalogs. Its shares have soared recently on news that it would also become an Internet retailer.
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