SkyMall Files for Bankruptcy Protection
Posted on January 23, 2015
SkyMall's parent company Xhibt has filed for bankruptcy protection. In a release the company warned shareholders trading its securities is "highly speculative and involves substantial risks." The SkyMall catalog is distributed on airplanes and is known for its unique gifts..
The bankruptcy filing comes as SkyMall is celebrating its 25th anniversary, which it calls "Twenty-Five Years of Cool Stuff." The future of SkyMall is in doubt, but the CEO is hopeful. Scott Wiley, CFO and Acting CEO of Xhibit, says in a statement, "We are extremely disappointed in this result and are hopeful that SkyMall and the iconic 'SkyMall' brand find a home to continue to operate as SkyMall has for the last 25 years."
The catalog is under pressure from the Internet itself according to Wiley. On airplanes people can now easily browse the Internet with their smartphones and ignore the SkyMall catalog located directly in front of them. Before the Internet the SkyMall catalog had an audience that was far more bored than today's travelers. The Wall Street Journal reports that Wiley said in the bankruptcy filing that fewer people are reading the catalog. Plane passengers with Internet access also have considerably more places to shop from than the SkyMall catalog.
Wiley says, "With the increased use of electronic devices on planes, fewer people browsed the SkyMall in-flight catalog."
The Wall Street Journal says SkyMall generated $15.8 million in revenues through September 28, 2014. They had $33.7 million in revenues in 2013. Since they filed for bankruptcy the company likely did not have a great fourth quarter to make up the difference.