29 April 2009

SALES SLOW AT AMAZON

International sales at Amazon.com slowed in the first quarter, according to recent results. Partly due to the impact of exchange rates and a slowing down of sales growth of its core media products

Sales at the websites, which include its UK, German, Japanese, French and Chinese sites, rose from $2bn to $2.3bn, representing growth of 15%, or by 28% after excluding currency fluctuations. A year earlier Amazon reported international growth of 44%, or 31% excluding currencies. The international division saw its profitability grow by some 34%, with the unit's operating income recorded as $172m, compared with $128m a year earlier.

media sales grew from $1.3bn to $1.4bn, representing growth of just 6%, compared with growth in the same segment last year of 34%. Growth in media excluding the effect of exchange rates would have been 17% this quarter, compared with 22% a year earlier. Media sales remain the unit's largest product category, though its "electronics and other general merchandise" reported sales growth of 34% this quarter.