FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Zaldiva, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ZLDV), (Xetra/Frankfurt Exchange: UZ8) a specialty and online retailer of new and vintage Pop Culture collectibles, comic books and memorabilia reported today that it is reviewing expansion opportunities for its online auction business to handle the tremendous increase in demand for listing items from local consumers.
The worldwide auction market is booming. According to eBay's last 10K filing, they "... had approximately 83 million active users at the end of 2007, compared to approximately 82 million at the end of 2006." Revenue generated by eBay's Marketplaces segment increased 24% in 2007 as compared to 2006 as its core business generated $59.4 billion in GMV in 2007, representing a 13% increase over the prior year. 2008 figures were not available at the time of this press release.
"It's unreal how busy we are on the auction side of the business," stated Nicole Leigh, President of Zaldiva, Inc. "We are working seven days a week to keep up with the demand for listing products via our authorized eBay reseller business. Consumers are coming in with merchandise they want to sell, many times just to pay the every day bills, rent and food for their families."
"We believe that we have a unique opportunity to replicate our business model, using a 'franchise' like approach, yet keeping the stores company owned," added Leigh. "The success of the model - a collectibles and comic retailer - with an auction component, is what is driving this initiative. The concept is simple, yet our unique knowledge of the market is what separates us from other auction outlets and resellers."
According to figures quoted from online monitoring firm HitWise, visits to classified advertising sites in the US are up 84% compared to last year. This shows that while the traditional advertising market may be in decline, the online classifieds are bucking this trend and thriving.
Leigh added, "We are considering physical expansion of our existing facility first, which we own, in Ft. Lauderdale. There are also commercial spaces directly adjacent to our property that would be potentially available for purchase or lease, which would give us the ability to continue to expand this important segment of our business. Having proven the concept, we are now moving to the stage of planning the strategy for an expansion into multiple urban areas."
Zaldiva offers merchandise for sale in its Fort Lauderdale, FL retail location, online at http://www.zaldiva.com/ and through its fully licensed auction house & eBay drop off center within the retail location.
About Zaldiva, Inc.
Zaldiva is a distribution system unique to the specialty retail industry, focusing its product orientation on the comics and collectibles genre. The company combines a highly visible brick and mortar location in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida with an e-commerce website and portal (http://www.zaldiva.com/) which operates in conjunction with a series of ancillary websites and online auctions.
Zaldiva podcasts can be found in the iTunes(TM) store by searching Zaldiva podcasts. The podcasts are also available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrdA-IDXFR0 .
Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Zaldiva, Inc.
CONTACT: Nicole Leigh of Zaldiva, +1-954-938-4133, or visit Zaldiva at
http://www.zaldiva.com/
Web Site: http://www.zaldiva.com/
