Vitacost.com Inc. reported strong Q2 sales, but profits fell.
For the second quarter ended June 30, Vitacost.com reported:
- Sales of $65.9 million, a 22.1% increase from net sales of about $54.0 million for the second quarter of 2010.
- Net loss of $3.7 million compared with a net loss of $1.4 million in the prior year quarter.
The company’s long-term sales growth strategy includes expanding its customer base and product offerings, converting its proprietary NSI product line of nutritional supplements to the new Vitacost label, and bringing more than 12,000 former outside-manufactured products in-house, the company says in its latest earnings release SAYS WHO?
By expanding its customer base, Vitacost, No. 90 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, expects to reach more repeat shoppers. That expansion means reaching beyond its e-commerce site to selling products through online marketplaces and testing daily deal sites and offline magazines, the company says. In the second quarter, Vitacost says it added 157,200 new customers, bringing total active customers to 1.2 million at June 30, up 10.2% year over year.
Year to date, the company has launched approximately 88 new private label products, 40 of which rolled out in the second quarter of 2011. Vitacost has raised its target of new proprietary product launches in 2011 from the previously announced 100 to 150 by year-end. An estimated 135 of these are scheduled to be launched under the Vitacost label. The company says it continues to focus on faster-growing categories such as personal care, sports nutrition and food.
The company also named Robert Wegner as chief operating officer. Wegner has more than 20 years of logistics experience and was formerly director of operations, North America, at Amazon.com from 2006 through 2010. He served in other senior operational and managerial roles at Amazon from 1999 through 2006. His initial responsibilities at Vitacost.com include fulfillment, manufacturing and customer service.
“We are making progress on our initiatives to drive the top line as we look to grow sales at a faster pace in order to leverage our fixed cost structure,” says Jeffrey J. Horowitz, CEO
In February Vitacost.com named Horowitz CEO. He replaced CEO Ira Kerker who also resigned as company director.
For the first six months, Vitacost.com reported:
- Sales of $129.7 million, a 16.6% increase from sales of $111.2 million for the first half of 2010.