CA-based online sporting goods store Fogdog Sports is
profiled by the WALL STREET JOURNAL's Andrea Petersen, who
writes that the company "is gunning to be the leader" of the
"hotly contested" online sporting goods and outdoor gear e-
commerce category. Fogdog, which has $30M in funding from
"high-profile investors" Intel and Donaldson, Lufkin &
Jenrette's Sprout Group, has "inked agreements" with America
Online and Yahoo! to "get Fogdog products in front of the
portals' millions of customers." In addition, the company
"plans to launch" an $8M TV and print ad campaign next week.
Fogdog President & CEO Tim Harrington: "We want to be the
biggest player in the market." However, Forrester Research
Senior Analyst David Cooperstein said that Fogdog "has seen
some of the downsides to being a virtual retailer,"
including customers not being able to use the "try it on,
try it out" theory, which is "big with sporting goods."
Petersen adds that Fogdog has "also had problems getting
products to customers on time" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/10).
