Bellevue, Wash.-based drugstore.com Inc. , which is still
looking for that first-ever profitable quarter, found some help when it
re-upped its deal with Seattle-based Amazon.com .
The renewed marketing partnership, extending through the first quarter of
2003, means that Amazon.com shoppers continue to have easy access to health,
beauty, wellness and pharmacy products. Financial arrangements were not
disclosed.
“Drugstore.comdrugstore.com was the first
Amazon.com partner to be an integrated part of our navigation, and we’re
thrilled to continue to offer our customers the quality products and unique
services that drugstore.com provides,” said Eric Broussard, Amazon.com’s vice
president of partnerships.
Amazon has a sizable
stake in drugstore.com, which will continue to be the “Health and Beauty”
link on the Amazon.com main page. Amazon shoppers will continue to navigate
throughout the drugstore.com site with a “Return to Amazon.com” link always
available.
Drugstore.com lost 22 cents a share in the first quarter on rising revenues
of $43.9 million.
Meanwhile, Amazon stock was dipping after an article in the current issue of
Barron’s magazine questioned the stock’s strength in 2002. The article
compares the Internet merchandiser to traditional retailers and suggests the
valuation of its estimated 2003 earnings would justify a $4.42 share price.
The stock was at $17.48 in mid-morning trading, down $1.10. Amazon shares
Shares have climbed steadily over the past eight months from a low of $5.51