buy.com Expands Into Sporting Goods Category

buy.com has launched a new sports store, extending its already significant range of merchandise

The new store is powered by Global Sports, a leading developer and operator of online sports stores for a variety of retail brands.

According to Forrester Research, the e-commerce sporting goods category reached $165 million in 1999 and is expected to grow to $4.2 billion by 2004.

The new sporting goods category on buy.com will feature nearly 1,000 brands of sporting goods and will encompass hundreds of categories, including baseball, basketball, exercise equipment, camping, fishing, tennis, scooters, in-line skates, bicycles, and licensed team apparel.

Greg Hawkins, CEO of buy.com commented, "Our relationship with Global Sports allows us to extend a wide sports product offering to our customers. This new category fits nicely with buy.com's demographic, which is largely higher income males, ages 25-49. Sporting goods is a natural extension of our online golf store, and is expected to deliver strong gross margins to our virtual operating model as we drive our business toward profitability.''

buy.com offers over 850,000 SKUs in a broad range of categories including computer hardware and peripherals, software, office supplies, consumer electronics, books, videos, DVDs, games, music, golf, clearance equipment, and travel booking services.

buy.com, the recipient of a four- and-a-half star rating from BizRate.com, was recently named ``Best of the Web'' in the computer and electronics category by Forbes Magazine (Spring 2000) and #1 on the Gomez Advisors Internet Computer Scorecard for the third time (Summer 2000).

buy.com has expanded Internationally into Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Global Sports, featured in the 2000-1 report from eRetailNews, develops and operates the e-commerce sporting goods businesses of specialty retailers, general merchandisers, Internet companies, and media companies under exclusive long-term agreements. BlueLight.com, Broadband Sports , buy.com, Dunham's Sports, FOXSPORTS.com, Healtheon/WebMD, MC Sports, Oshman's Sporting Goods, Sport Chalet, The Athlete's Foot, and The Sports Authority.

See related story on Sportsrus.com.

Post your comment - click here

08/01/00 SOURCE: Global Sports, Inc.