Online Shoe Store Zappos.com Purchases Luggage Retailer 6pm.com

Zappos.com, one of the most popular online shoe stores, announced today in a press release that it will by purchasing 6pm.com, the world's largest online luggage retailer.

Details of the transaction were not provided, but the deal is expected to close in three months. Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh says of the deal: "We recognize there are a variety of different types of consumers out there. Through Zappos.com and 6pm.com, we want to provide them with the online shopping experience that reflects their unique needs. 6pm.com has done a terrific job attracting a significant customer base. We recognize that success and plan to continue to operate 6pm.com as a separate website."

CEO Jon Nordmark of eBags.com, 6pm.com's parent company, said, "6pm.com quadrupled in size during the three years we owned the website, We feel confident in our decision to sell 6pm.com to an outstanding company like Zappos.com, as this move will allow eBags to concentrate our energy towards continuing to be the Internet's premier luggage and handbag e-tailer."

The press release boasts significant statistics of both companies. eBags.com has currently sold other 6.7 million bags among over 500 brands and 30,000 individual products. The name brands include Samsonite, Kenneth Cole, Kathy Van Zeeland, kate spade, Cole Haan, JanSport, and Nike. The press release also mentions that eBags contains customer tools and reviews.

Zappos.com had a similarly impressive resume in the press release. The site stocks over 3 million shoes and other apparel items, featuring over 1,000 brands. The company was ranked #79 in Inc. magazine's fastest growing companies of 2006 and was named "Best of the Web" by Internet Retailer in 2006.

Zappos.com's website projects $800 million in earnings for 2007 after 2006's impressive $597 million. Their purchase of 6pm.com will most likely propel them further towards this goal.

The future is looking bright for the online store. According to their website, shoes are a $40 billion market in the U.S., and as of now, Zappos.com is the largest and most popular online shoe store. The site also mentions that in many brick and mortar stores, "about 1 in 3 sales are lost due to the customer's size not being in stock," which provides a lot of incentive for consumers to purchase their shoes online after trying them on in a store.

The company also allows to send back items that don't fit free of charge, securing their popularity.

Zappos.com currently employs over 600 people, most of them involved with shipping the shoes out of their 905,000 square feet of warehouse.

Sources:

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-09-2007/0004622311&EDATE=

http://www.zappos.com/about.zhtml