Overstock.com 2002 Annual Report Download - page 4

potential government regulation;
our future capital requirements and our ability to satisfy our capital needs;
the anticipated addition of key personnel;
possible expansion into international markets;
the potential for additional issuances of our securities;
the continuation of warehouse store sales;
our plans to devote substantial resources to our sales and marketing teams;
our belief that our current investors will continue to support the business if and when cash needs arise;
the possibility of future acquisitions of businesses, products or technologies;
our belief that we can continue to attract customers in a cost-efficient manner;
our strategy to develop strategic business relationships with additional wholesalers and distributors;
our belief that current or future litigation will likely not have a material adverse effect on our business;
our belief that certain of our stockholders are unlikely to exercise any rights of recission or certain other remedies that they may possess;
the anticipated anti-takeover effects of certain provisions of our charter documents;
the ability of our online marketing campaigns to be a cost-effective method of attracting customers;
possible technological improvements to existing inventory management systems, distribution and order fulfillment, network infrastructure and
website features;
our ability to meet customer service needs;
our belief that manufacturers will recognize us as an efficient liquidation solution; and
our ability to improve our customer acquisition costs.
Furthermore, in some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as may, will, could, should, expect, plan, intend,
anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, potential or continue, the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions.
Actual events or results may differ materially. In evaluating these statements, you should specifically consider the risks outlined in this Form 10-K, including
those described in Item 1 under the caption "Risk Factors." These factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking
statement. Except as otherwise required by law, we expressly disclaim any obligation to release publicly any update or revisions to any forward-looking
statements to reflect any changes in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any of our forward-looking statements are
based. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements.
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
The following description of our business contains forward-looking statements relating to future events or our future financial or operating performance
that involve risks and uncertainties, as set forth under "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements." Our actual results could differ materially from
those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere
in this Form 10-K.
Overview
We are an online "closeout" retailer offering discount, brand-name merchandise for sale primarily over the Internet. Our merchandise offerings include
bed-and-bath goods, kitchenware, watches, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods and designer accessories. We offer our customers an opportunity to shop for
bargains conveniently, while offering our suppliers an alternative inventory liquidation distribution channel. We typically offer approximately 5,000 non-
media products and over 100,000 media products (books, CDs, DVDs, video cassettes and video games) in seven departments on our Websites,
www.overstock.com, www.overstockb2b.com and www.worldstock.com. We continually add new, limited inventory products to our Websites in order to
create an atmosphere that encourages customers to visit frequently and purchase products before our inventory sells out.
Closeout merchandise is typically available in inconsistent quantities and prices and often is only available to consumers after it has been purchased and
resold by disparate liquidation wholesalers. We believe that the traditional liquidation market is therefore characterized by fragmented supply and fragmented
demand. Overstock utilizes the Internet to aggregate both supply and demand and create a more efficient market for liquidation merchandise.
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