Annual Report Update: Coldwater Creek

A few tidbits from Coldwater Creek's Annual Report:

• Continuing recognition that retail is where the growth is, Coldwater Creek plans on nearly doubling the number of retail stores over the next five years. Wow.

• The e-mail database grew from 2.9 million addresses in 2005 to 3.1 million in 2006.

• Circulation increased from 113 million in 2005 to 119 million in 2006 to nearly 130 million in 2007. Increases are in a newer title that serves a primary purpose of driving customers into stores.

• Total net sales increased from $473 million in 2002 to almost $1.1 billion in 2006, mostly due to dramatic retail expansion. This doubling in sales resulted in a 6x increase in net income. Sounds like somebody is figuring out the right multichannel equation here.

• Total direct sales have barely grown over the past four years. What a great lab for Multichannel Forensics, huh? Telephone sales have decreased from $200 million to $127 million over four years. Online sales have increased from $145 million to $264 million over four years. Management believes a large portion of the huge increase in online sales in the past year ($264 million vs. $198 million in 2005) is due to enhancements in the e-mail program (increased frequency & bigger list helped drive increases).