Worcester, Mass., —September 9, 2002—bulbs.com, a privately held B2B e-commerce lighting distributor, announced today that profitability was in sight as it completed a recent $1million round in debt and equity financing. The management team contributed 50% of the round in cash and debt financing while previous investors Arbor Partners LLC, Hexagon Investments and Grand Haven showed continued support with their 50% participation in the round.

The company celebrated its third year in business on August 3rd. According to CEO, Steve Rothschild, the company expects to record their first profitable month later this year. "As our business continues growing at an annual rate of over 100%, we believe that we have built a solid logistics infrastructure and go-to-market methodology backed by state-of-the-art technology. We stock over 5,000 SKU’s in our Massachusetts distribution center, service 6,700 commercial clients nationwide and we take great pride in our ability to meet our promise of delivering great products at everyday low prices." Rothschild goes on to say that the additional funding will provide working capital for continued growth of receivables and inventory. "While our goal is to reach profitability soon, we measure our success by outperforming our competition in as many sales, operational and financial categories as possible. So far, revenue growth, gross margin and inventory turn rate are key measures where bulbs.com is setting records among other distributors in the lighting industry. Going forward, we’ll use our cash to build inventory and provide credit terms for the growing list of commercial clients who purchase from us every month."

The round included funds coming from the management team in the form of cash and debt financing. "I am particularly pleased with the commitment and confidence shown by the bulbs.com team, " says Rothschild. "Every member of management has a substantial personal stake in the success of the company and each brings a unique blend of experience and energy to the business."

bulbs.com recently moved its national distribution center from Detroit, Michigan to Worcester, Massachusetts. The move has further strengthened the ability to offer superior service as well as reduce warehousing and distribution expenses by over 30%. At the close of 2001, bulbs.com had completed its second record-breaking year in business. While the national average for growth in the lighting industry was only 1.4% according to the National Association of Independent Lighting Distributors, bulbs.com experienced sales growth of 175% in 2001. In 2002, the company has grown at a rate of over 100% while it continues to gain new commercial clients at a rate of over 250 per month. Included among its growing list of over 6,700 corporate clients are VoiceStream Wireless, Beacon Hill Furniture Stores and Samsonite Company Stores; and over 350 repeat commercial customers every month. These companies are all benefiting from bulbs.com’s fast, easy, and complete purchasing system.

About bulbs.com
bulbs.com, headquartered in Worcester, Mass. is the only online light bulb supplier to offer an easy, complete purchasing process with the eSpec searchable database and BulbTrack™ smart reordering technology. Launched in August 1999, bulbs.com recently celebrated its three-year anniversary with record revenues adding to a growing list of over 6,700 commercial customers in the hospitality, retail, property-management and manufacturing sectors. The company is located at 40 Jackson Street, Worcester, Mass., 01608, and can be reached by telephone at 508-363-2800 or on the Web at www.bulbs.com.