1-800 CONTACTS Now Sees Internet Sales in First Quarter Exceeding $2 Million Up From $1.2 Million in the Fourth Quarter; Company Discusses the Effectiveness of its Internet Strategy.

DRAPER, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 1999--1-800 CONTACTS, INC., the world's largest direct marketer of contact lenses, Wednesday announced that Internet sales have grown another 65% in the first three weeks of the year and are now expected to exceed $2 million in the first quarter of 1999.

"Late in the second quarter of 1998 we started actively promoting our www.1800contacts.com web site as an easy way for contact lens wearers to buy contacts and since then we have see impressive results," stated Jonathan Coon, president and chief executive officer. "We really saw the impact when we took more than 500 Internet orders in one day last week."

Jonathan Coon continued, "Internet sales have grown rapidly from $.1 million in Q2 1998 to $1 million in Q3 1998 to $1.2 million in Q4 1998 and are almost $.5 million in the first 3 weeks of Q1 1999. Looking at these recent results, we now believe that 1999 Internet sales will exceed $10 million."

Scott Tanner, chief financial officer, added, "The Internet is increasingly becoming the way in which new customers are ordering from 1-800 CONTACTS. Internet sales as a percentage of new sales have progressed from 1% of new sales in Q2 1998 to 10% of new sales in Q4 1998 and are now projected to be greater than 13% of new sales in Q1 1999."

"The positive response to our redesigned web site that was launched at the end of June 1998 has been truly exciting," exclaimed Jonathan Coon, "and as we continue to advertise our web site on traditional advertising mediums and on portals like Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO), Excite (NASDAQ:XCIT), Lycos (NASDAQ:LCOS), Infoseek (NASDAQ:SEEK), and America Online (NASDAQ:AOL), we expect to see our internet business grow rapidly in 1999."

"By the end of February 1999, our database will be fully integrated with our web site. This new system will check inventory, authorize credit cards, and place orders directly into our database. Customers will also be able to track their orders online and place reorders with a couple of clicks. These are features customers have come to expect from sites like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), CdNow (NASDAQ:CDNW), and Dell (NASDAQ:DELL)."

Added Scott Tanner, "We recently added the ability to see our current television and radio commercials to our website. We believe that this will help leverage the investment we have made in broadcast advertising and further support the 1-800-CONTACTS brand name in the minds of consumers."

Tanner continued, "We believe that one of the reasons for the success of 1-800 CONTACTS on the Internet is that contact lens wearers have higher average incomes, and as a result, a higher percentage of them own computers and have access to the Internet. We believe that making the Internet a totally integrated part of our business will help us capture a greater percentage of the $2.5 Billion US market for contact lenses."

Statements made in this news release contain information about the company's future business prospects and may be considered forward looking. Such forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the company's Internet sales for the first quarter of 1999 and for the entire year and the expected completion date for the integration of the company's web site to its database.

These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by such forward looking statements.

Factors that may cause future results to differ materially from the company's current expectations include, among others: general economic conditions, the health of the contact lens industry, inventory acquisition and management, advertising effectiveness, regulatory considerations, and competitive conditions.