HSN.com Webs Sales Up 4% but Fall 3% for HSN, Inc.

Web sales grow 4% in Q1 at HSN.com, but fall 3% for parent company HSN Inc.  Online sales grew at HSN.com in the first quarter, but fell for parent company HSN Inc., dragged down by poor performance by the Cornerstone group of web sites and catalogs selling high-end home furnishings.

Sales at HSN.com increased 4% to $142.5 million in Q1 from $137.0 in the same period last year. But web sales for the Cornerstone group fell nearly 14% to $88.8 million from $102.9 million. Total web sales declined 3.3% to $231.3 million from $239.9 million.

For both units of HSN Inc. the web performed better than other sales channels. Sales were down 1% at the HSN unit and 22% at Cornerstone. HSN.com accounted for 30.0% of Q1 sales for the HSN unit, up from 28.6% last year. The seven Cornerstone brands, which include Ballard Designs, TravelSmith and Smith+Noble, garnered 57.4% of their sales online in the first three months of this year, vs. 52.0% a year ago.

Overall, HSN Inc., No. 25 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, reported Q1 sales were down 7% to $629.6 million from $676.9 million. The web accounted for 36.8% of the company’s sales in the first quarter of this year, compared to 35.4% a year ago.

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