Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: OSTK) has moved well beyond its original model as a premier online discount seller of excess inventory. Overstock, founded in 1999, now has over a million on-site products, ranging from furniture and home décor to automobiles, all controlled by 1,500 employees. The shift in strategy is seen in the company’s 2011 acquisition of a new URL (www.O.co), which is especially suited to Overstock’s growing mobile presence. The company, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, has succeeded by offering a balanced mix of superior customer service and associated innovation.
Recognizing the developing demand for consumer-friendly mobile access, Overstock developed a mobile shopping experience for customers that was recently named the Web Marketing Association’s Best Shopping Mobile Application at the 2015 Mobile Web Awards, the fourth consecutive year in which the company’s mobile app has been honored. Today, 76 percent of Overstock’s mobile users become repeat customers, with the company’s app being downloaded over five million times.
Overstock’s growing operational success shows in its financials, with last year’s revenues coming in at $1.7 billion, an 11 percent increase over the previous year, and feeding a net income of $2.4 million. The company has seen profitable results for the past four years and reports cash and cash equivalents of $170.3 million.
The company is now moving into the use of blockchain technology, the key that enables bitcoin transactions, and has announced plans, through majority-owned subsidiary t0.com, to complete the world’s first public offering using this technology. Earlier, the company was the first to issue a private blockchain crypto-bond.
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