Bluefly.com Exceeds $1 Million in Gross Sales During Second Quarter; Internet Retailer Generates Over 140 Percent Sales Growth From First to Second Quarter.NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 3, 1999-- Bluefly Bluefly, Inc.. (NASDAQ: bfly) is an American electronic commerce company based in New York, New York. As one of the leading fashion and lifestyle e-commerce website, Bluefly Inc, has grown rapidly since it’s inception. , Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on SmallCap: BFLY BFLY Bluefly Inc. (stock symbol) ), a leading Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the retailer of designer fashions and home furnishings furnishings the extra type or quantity of hair on the head, tail, ears or legs, specified for a particular breed. For example, the feathers in setters, the beard in Bearded collies, the eyebrows in Schnauzers. at outlet store An outlet store or factory outlet is a retail store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public through their own branded stores. The stores can be can be brick and mortar or online. prices (www.bluefly.com), announced today that its gross quarterly sales before returns and allowances increased by over 140% to $1,104,000 in the second quarter of 1999, from $457,000 in the first quarter of 1999. The company also experienced similar growth in traffic during the quarter. Unique visitor sessions grew by over 140%, to approximately 5.1 million unique visitor sessions during the second quarter, from 2.1 million unique visitor sessions during the first quarter, and page views increased by over 85%, to approximately 52 million during the second quarter, from 28 million during the first quarter. During the second quarter, the number of registered users grew by over 75%, to 85,370 at the end of the second quarter from 48,690 at the end of the first quarter. "Although we always expected to grow our business rapidly, even we were surprised at our ability to reach the $1 million gross sales Gross Sales A measure of overall sales that isn't adjusted for customer discounts or returns, calculated simply by adding all sales invoices, and not including operating expenses, cost of goods sold, payment of taxes, or any other charge. milestone in only our third full quarter as an Internet retailer," said Ken Seiff, Chief Executive Officer. "We believe that our growth has been fueled by our strategic marketing relationships, our print advertising campaign, which was launched in April, and the increased breadth of our inventory. We are extremely proud of this accomplishment, and, on behalf of the entire company, I would like to thank each and every one of our customers and shareholders for their contributions to our success," added Seiff. During the past month, the company completed two major initiatives. It launched a completely redesigned version of its Web site, adding two new departments and a host of improvements to its customer interface, and it entered into an agreement with an investor group led by affiliates of Soros Private Equity Partners providing for a $10 million investment in the company. "The goal of both the redesigned Web site and the Soros financing is to allow us to grow our business as quickly as possible," said Seiff. "With both of these initiatives completed, we are preparing for what we hope will be a great fourth quarter. We have many challenges in front of us over the remainder of the third quarter, including transitioning to a fulfillment ful·fill also ful·fil tr.v. ful·filled, ful·fill·ing, ful·fills also ful·fils 1. To bring into actuality; effect: fulfilled their promises. 2. center with greater capacity to handle our business, bringing our customer service operations in-house In-house In the context of general equities, keeping an activity within the firm. For example, rather than go to the marketplace and sell a security for a client to anyone, an attempt is made to find a buyer to complete the transaction with the firm. and increasing the speed with which we process inventory. While these issues will undoubtedly require a considerable amount of attention, we believe that by focusing on them during the third quarter, we can put ourselves in a better position by the fourth quarter to deliver upon our goal of making Bluefly.com the online destination of choice for designer fashions and home furnishings at a discount," added Seiff. Bluefly is a NASDAQ SmallCap public company. Headquartered in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , in the heart of the fashion district, Bluefly aims to be the most enjoyable way to shop for designer and name brand apparel and home accessories at savings of 25 to 75 percent off of retail prices. Its innovative MyCatalog feature is designed to eliminate the "hit-or-miss hit-or-miss adj. Marked by a lack of care, accuracy, or organization; random. hit or miss adv. " aspect of off-price off-price adj. 1. Of, relating to, or being a retail store that sells merchandise at prices lower than usual. 2. For sale at prices lower than usual: off-price assortments of women's clothing. shopping by allowing shoppers to see only those products that are available for sale and match their interests. The online merchant has established strategic alliances with many of the most visited Web Sites and portals including AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. , Excite, Go Network, Lycos (Lycos, Inc., Waltham, MA, www.lycos.com) One of the major Web search and content sites on the Web. In 2000, Lycos and Terra Networks, S.A., the leading provider of content and Internet access to the Spanish and Portuguese markets, merged to become Terra Lycos. , MSN (1) (MicroSoft Network) A family of Internet-based services from Microsoft, which includes a search engine, e-mail (Hotmail), instant messaging (Windows Live Messaging) and a general-purpose portal with news, information and shopping (MSN Directory). , Netcenter An earlier name for Netscape's home page and Web portal. There were so many visitors to Netscape's home page that it was turned into a full-service Web portal, providing Web search, news, white and yellow pages, classified ads, free e-mail and a variety of features. The www.netcenter. , Tripod, Women.com and Yahoo!.
Bluefly, Inc.
Summary Financial Highlights
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
1999 1998(a) 1999 1998(a)
---- ------ ---- ------
(Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Unaudited)
Net sales $802,000 -- $1,143,000 --
Cost of sales 683,000 -- 979,000 --
---------- ------------ ----------- -----------
Gross profit 119,000 -- 164,000 --
Marketing and
advertising expense 2,028,000 -- 2,482,000 --
Other operating
expenses 1,187,000 436,000 2,084,000 675,000
--------- ------- --------- -------
Operating loss from
continuing
operations (3,096,000) (436,000) (4,402,000) (675,000)
Interest and
other income 112,000 39,000 183,000 81,000
---------- ---------- ---------- -----------
Loss from continuing
operations (2,984,000) (397,000) (4,219,000) (594,000)
---------- ---------- ---------- -----------
(Loss) Income from
discontinued
operations -- (1,119,000) 63,000 (1,200,000)
---------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Net loss $(2,984,000) $(1,516,000) $(4,156,000) $(1,794,000)
============ ============ ============ ============
Basic and diluted
(loss) income per share
Continuing
operations (.61) (.15) (.90) (.22)
Discontinued
operations -- (.41) .01 (.44)
--------- -------- -------- ----------
Net loss
per share $ (.61) $ (.56) $ (.89) $ (.66)
======== ======= ======== =========
Weighted average
shares outstanding 4,866,343 2,700,000 4,692,587 2,700,000
========= ========= ========= =========
(a) Bluefly.com opened its virtual doors to the public on September
8, 1998. Prior to the launch of Bluefly.com, the Company
designed, sourced and marketed a full collection of golf
sportswear. In June 1998, the Company decided to discontinue the
operations of its golf sportswear division and devote all of its
energy and resources to building Bluefly.com. As a result, the
majority of financial results for 1998 relate to the discontinued
golf sportswear division, and comparisons of 1999 figures to 1998
figures should be regarded accordingly.
SELECTED BALANCE SHEET DATA
June 30, 1999
Cash $ 7,102,000
Inventories 2,308,000
Other Current Assets 573,000
Property and equipment, net 664,000
Total Current Liabilities 1,118,000
Shareholders' Equity 9,502,000
KEY METRICS Second First
Quarter Quarter
1999 1999
Unique Visitor Sessions 5,100,000 2,100,000
Page Views 52,300,000 28,000,000
Registered Users 85,370 48,609
Average Order Size $104 $103
This press release may include statements that constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe", "project", "expect", or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. Forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Forms 8-A, 8-K, 10-QSB, and 10-KSB. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the competitive nature of the business and the potential for competitors with greater resources to enter such business; risk of litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. for sale of unauthentic or damaged goods DAMAGED GOODS. In the language of the customs, are goods subject to duties, which have received some injury either in the voyage home, or while bonded in warehouses. See Abatement, merc. law. and litigation risks related to sales in foreign countries; consumer acceptance of the Internet as a medium for purchasing apparel; the Company's limited working capital and need for additional financing; recent losses and anticipated future losses; the startup nature of the Internet business; the capital intensive nature of such business (taking into account the need for advertising to promote such business); the dependence on third parties and certain relationships for certain services; the successful hiring and retaining of personnel; the dependence on continued growth of online commerce; rapid technological change; year 2000 issues; online commerce security risks; governmental regulation and legal uncertainties; management of potential growth; and unexpected changes in fashion trends. |
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