A spike in mobile sales helped fuel a strong fourth quarter online for TV and web merchant Evine Live Inc.
Evine Live, No. 118 in the Internet Retailer 2015 Top 500 Guide, does not break out online sales figures in its earnings reports, but does report online sales as a percentage of overall sales. In its Q4 2015 earnings filing, Evine Live reported online sales accounted for nearly half—49.7%—of the retailer’s overall revenue during the fourth quarter, or $105.1 million. That’s up 13.3% from $92.8 million during the same time last year, when e-commerce accounted for 46.1% of revenue.
Driving that growth was a 47% year-over-year spike in sales completed on mobile devices. Evine Live reported mobile sales of $46.8 million during the quarter, which based on data the company reported, would mean the retailer generated $31.8 million in mobile sales last year.
Mobile accounted for 44.5% of e-commerce revenue in Q4 2015 compared to 34.2% last year.
Bob Rosenblatt, who took over as interim CEO of Evine Live last month, told investors on the retailer’s Q4 2015 earnings call the company is planning on investing more in mobile technology to continue that momentum.
“We plan to scale this business profitably by utilizing new technologies in all disciplines, especially in mobile and logistics as well as capitalizing on our expertise on video-based e-commerce,” he said, according to a transcript from Seeking Alpha. “While offering authentic proprietary and exclusive brands remains an important part of our strategy, we have more work to do to maximize our performance and fully capitalize on the omnichannel opportunities as the ways that people choose to transact business continue to evolve.”
During 2015, e-commerce accounted for 46.9% of total revenue, or $325.1 million. That’s up 8.1% from $300.8 million last year, when e-commerce accounted for 44.6% of revenue.
Rosenblatt is the third person to hold the title of CEO for Evine Live in the past three years. He addressed his own job status on the call with investors.
“I will remain CEO until we find the right candidate and until I’m comfortable that our business is delivering the shareholder value growth that we all expect,” he said, declining to provide a timeframe as to when that change may occur. “Furthermore, when that candidate does come aboard, it’s my intention to continue to have an important hand in our continued success, as an active member of the board of directors.”
For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, Evine Live reported:
- Total sales increased 5.1% to $211.5 million from $201.2 million.
- A net profit of $700,000 compared with a net profit of $3.5 million in 2014.
For 2015, Evine Live reported:
- Total sales increased 2.8% to $693.3 million from $674.6 million last year.
- A net loss of $12.3 million compared with a net loss of $1.4 million last year.