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Blue Nile Stock Price Takes A Hit As Sales Decline.
Blue Nile reported a fourth-quarter profit that beat Wall Street's expectations, but a sharp decline in its outlook for the first quarter and full year was described by one analyst as a "real shocker."
Blue Nile, the Internet's largest diamond retailer, says 2008 is off to a disappointing start as consumers pull back on buying top-of-the-line jewelry.
Shares of Blue Nile plunged more than $10 in after-hours trading Tuesday to $43 as the Seattle company warned of "tremendous uncertainty in the luxury retail sector."
"Consumers are holding back," Blue Nile founder Mark Vadon told analysts during a conference call after the close of regular trading. "We're in a very, very transitional time right now, and the market is relatively weak."
Mark Vadon, Blue Nile Chairman
Dan Geiman, who follows Blue Nile as an analyst at McAdams Wright Ragen in Seattle, said the company's outlook surprised him.
"Their last couple of quarters have been perhaps their strongest quarters as a public company, and that was in the midst of a consumer environment that was weakening," Geiman said.
"Now, it appears that they're feeling the pinch. Maybe they're not as immune as some of us thought," Geiman said.
No doubt the Diamond and Jewelry Manufacturers and Wholesalers that are locked in by Blue Nile to exclusive contracts that limit their ability to sell their merchandise in other venues are probably reaching for the Maalox right about now.
Stay tuned.
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Comments
Blue nile is a giant company in diamond Jewelry market. No doubt, they are performing better than other online jewelry retailers.
Posted by: Alexa on March 13, 2008 3:02 AM