Amazon expects further growth

Jan 29 2010 By nebusiness

The UK boss of retail giant Amazon today predicted further strong growth this year as cautious shoppers hunt out the best bargains online.

The group - whose best-selling item in 2009 was the smash video game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - took two million UK orders on its busiest day in the run-up to Christmas, with 23 items bought every second.

Managing director Brian McBride said: "I’m not saying we’re recession-proof but when times are tough, people are looking for value."

His comments came as the US-based firm posted a 71% hike in profits to US$384m (£238m) in the three months to December 31 and forecast sales up to 43% higher than a year ago in the current quarter.