Freewheeling Numbers From High-Flying Zappos.com
Online shoe seller Zappos.com has been a runaway success in its first nine years of business. The company, which thrives on wowing customers with over-the-top customer service, also tends to wow people in the multichannel business with its open-book policy when it comes to inside company details. Below are some figures its Chairman/COO/CFO Alfred Lin revealed at a luncheon presentation during last week’s National Conference on Operations & Fulfillment in Orlando, Fla. When questioned by Catalog Success during his presentation whether the company was profitable, Lin said that after breaking even during its first six years, it did post profits in 2006 and ’07.
* The company sells more than 1,200 brands, more than 200,000 styles and houses more than 4 million items in its warehouse;
* it has a housefile of 7.6 million customers;
* its 12-month housefile contains 3.4 million customers; and
* 75 percent of Zappos’ sales are made by returning customers.
And then there’s Zappos’ sales growth. Since its first full year in 2000 when it posted $1.6 million in annual sales, Zappos’ sales have steadily risen.
* $8.6 million in 2001;
* $31.9 million in 2002;
* $70.1 million in 2003;
* $181 million in 2004;
* $370 million in 2005;
* $597 million in 2006;
* $840 million in 2007; and
* $1 billion (projected) for 2008.
- People:
- Alfred Lin
- Zappos.com
- Places:
- Orlando, Fla.