Drugstore.com's revenues rise with help of OTC sales

BELLEVUE, Wash. Drugstore.com experienced a net sales increase of more than 27%, reaching $113.1 million, for the second quarter ended July 4, the online health-and-beauty-aids retailer announced Tuesday.

"In a softer consumer spending environment, we were pleased to deliver 27% year-over-year revenue growth and strong gross margins of 30.4%," stated Dawn Lepore, CEO and chairman of Drugstore.com.  "Revenue growth was driven by OTC sales up 35%, including solid contributions from our recent acquisition, Salu, which added over $11.5 million. During the quarter, we generated new customer growth of 34%, offering further evidence that we are a clear leader in one of the least penetrated markets in ecommerce."

For the third quarter 2010, the company is targeting net sales in the range of $107 million to $111 million.

For fiscal year 2010, which compares a 52-week year with a 53-week year, the company expects OTC revenue growth between 24% and 28%, inclusive of $16 million to $20 million from partnerships, and vision revenue growth in the low single digits.