Wayfair registry business on the way

Q2 revenue up, loss widens

Home Textiles Today Staff //News & Commentary//August 9, 2016

Boston – As Wayfair aims to capture more market share, the online home furnishings retailer is preparing to compete in the registry business.

“The soft launch coming up soon and it will fully launch in the fall,” said Niraj Shah, ceo, co-founder and co-chairman.

Speaking during the company’s second quarter investor call this morning, he re-iterated that Wayfair believes it is already gobbling up one-third to 40% of U.S. online growth in its categories. He also described private label efforts launched earlier this year as “something that’s ramping up nicely.”

Wayfair’s typical customer is a 35- to 65-year-old woman with an annual household income (HHI) of $50,000 to $250,000. The median HHI for a Wayfair customer is $82,000, according to the company’s Q2 presentation.

During the quarter ended June 30, net revenue jumped 60% to $786.9 million. Direct retail revenue ballooned 71.6% to $755.7 million.

Net loss widened to $48.3 million or 57 cents, compared to a net loss of $19.3 million or 23 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Analysts had expected a loss of 41 cent per share.