Ebay reported sales in its Enterprise segment, which includes the acquired GSI Commerce business, rose 7.1 percent in the first quarter to $288 million.
Gross merchandise Sales (GMS) in the segment rose 8.3 percent to $1.01 billion. Ebay said Enterprise enabled its clients to grow same-store sales by 10 percent.
“We continued to expand the Enterprise relationships, and are pleased to announce that Enterprise is now the number one e-commerce platform, as measured by the 2015 Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide,” said Bob Swan, Ebay’s CFO, on a conference call with analysts.
Segment margin for Enterprise came in at 4.8 percent, relatively flat from last year.
Ebay Enterprise provides omnichannel sales, fulfillment and marketing services to North America's largest sporting goods retailers, including Dick's Sporting Goods, Sports Chek and Sports Authority, as well Eastern Mountain Sports and such brands as Helly Hansen, Quiksilver and Timberland, as well as others. Ebay acquired GSI in 2011. Enterprise also includes Magento, an e-commerce platform acquired in separate transactions in 2011.
As reported, Ebay in January said it plans to divest its Enterprise business through a sale or IPO. The transaction will need to be consummated before Ebay spins off its legacy Marketplace business and fast-growing PayPal business later this year as part of a broader restructuring. Ebay said in its statement, “We continue to explore strategic options for eBay Enterprise. It is a strong business and a leading partner for large retailers, managing mission critical components of their e-commerce initiatives.”
