IN BRIEF
THE MADDEN-ING CROWD: Steven Madden said Richard Olicker has added the title of president to his current role as chief operating officer. He succeeds Rhonda Brown, who resigned from the posts of president and director. In the position, reporting directly to chief executive Jamieson Karson, Olicker will oversee all of the company’s management and operational functions. Also, Robert Schmertz, president of the David Aaron division, assumed the new post of president of the Steve Madden women’s wholesale division.
BLUEFLY’S BOUNCE: Shares of Internet off-pricer Bluefly Inc. added 14 cents, or 25 percent, to close at 71 cents Monday — with nearly 29,000 shares changing hands on the Nasdaq versus about 8,000 on an average day. The reason? The dot-com simply announced strong monthly sales gains, saying its volume in July jumped 43 percent over year-ago levels to tally $1.7 million and advanced 97 percent in August to total $1 million. By Oct. 31, Bluefly expects to report its results for the third quarter ending Sept. 29.
E-COMMERCE’S COMEBACK: Internet researcher BizRate.com said Monday that online sales transacted with U.S. consumers have returned to roughly 85 percent of levels realized just prior to the Sept. 11 attacks on America, emitting a flicker of hope for the critical selling period ahead. Consumers in the U.S. generated Internet sales of $82.5 million on Sept. 17, compared with sales of $92.4 million on Sept. 10, reported BizRate, which cited sporting goods, apparel and food as among the strongest-selling categories last Monday.
VIRTUAL ADS DRYING UP: Online ad dollars declined 7.8 percent in the first half of 2001, against the prior-year period, totaling $3.76 billion, the Interactive Advertising Bureau said Monday. However, the percentage decline online was slighter than the falloff suffered by other media on short buy-time cycles, including national spot radio, off 22.4 percent in the first six months; spot TV, down 14.7 percent, and Sunday newspapers, 10.4 percent below year-ago levels.