Buy.com execs step down

February 13, 2001: 10:33 a.m. ET

Online retailer's top management team resigns amid company revamp

NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Buy.com, an online retailer that has watched its stock drop more than 97 percent over the past year, said Tuesday that its chief executive and chief financial officer have resigned.

Gregory Hawkins, formerly CEO, is being replaced by James B. Roszak, who has been a member of the company's board of directors since August 1998, until a permanent replacement is found, Buy.com said.

Roszak is the retired president of the life insurance division of Transamerica.

Meanwhile, Mitch Hill, formerly CFO, has been replaced by Robert Price, who joined Buy.com from PairGain Technologies.

The news of the executive departures comes on the heels of a disappointing quarterly earnings report and amid a revamp of the company's business model.

Earlier this month, Buy.com (BUYX: Research, Estimates) logged a fourth-quarter loss of $27.4 million, or 20 cents per share, which narrowly missed Wall Street's expectations. At the same time, the company outlined a new business plan under which it hopes to become cash-flow positive in 2001.

In addition to laying off roughly 10 percent of its workers, the Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based company sold its U.K. operation, discontinued a joint venture in Australia, and announced plans to shut a Canadian Web site.

Buy.com also has backed away from its previous strategy of selling merchandise at low margins in an effort to garner more market share.

"The realities of the marketplace demand that we drive vigorously toward profitability," Roszak said in a statement. "We've proven our ability to attract customers and sell product; now we need to prove that we can make money."

Amazon.com (AMZN: Research, Estimates), the leading online retailer, said it is taking a similar approach to its business in 2001 shortly after it reported its latest quarterly results earlier this month.

Shares of Buy.com were up 9 cents at 66 cents in Nasdaq trade early Tuesday. They have fallen from a 12-month high if $22.38.