Weak pound sparks surge in export sales at Amazon
- Added:
- Apr 24, 2009
Online retailer Amazon UK has seen a surge in exports as consumers in continental Europe take advantage of the weak pound.
The trend, reported by UK managing director Brian McBride, emerged as Amazon UK’s parent company posted a 24% rise in first quarter earnings to £122m.
The results exceeded analyst expectations and indicate that the online retailer is faring well despite the ongoing recession.
Amazon does not issue break-out figures for the UK, but in the international division sales rose 15% to £1.6bn in the first three months of this year.
McBride said: “With the weakness of the pound we are seeing exports rising – a lot of people are buying products from Europe in the UK.”
Top sellers in the UK included Mamma Mia! The Movie, which became Amazon.co.uk’s biggest selling product of all-time, overtaking the seventh book in the Harry Potter series.
James Bond film Quantum of Solace was the biggest seller of the quarter, while three books by Stephenie Meyer also appear in the top 10, Amazon reported.
McBride said sales growth was seen across its sales departments, including in music after downloads from its new MP3 store exceeded five million tracks.
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