BlueLight.com CEO Resigns
BlueLight.com CEO Mark Goldstein has resigned, the company said late yesterday. The announcement came one day after reports that the Internet service provider and retailer had laid off an undisclosed number of employees as a result of a reorganization.In a statement, BlueLight said Goldstein would remain aboard as an Internet adviser to Kmart Corp., which owns 60 percent of the Web firm and reportedly will now assume some of its operational duties.
Randy Allen, chairman of the BlueLight.com board of directors, said in the statement that his company was happy with Goldstein but that the former CEO was leaving to attend to other interests.
However, an unidentified source in a story published yesterday at CNET News.com said Goldstein had "stopped overseeing the day-to-day operations a while ago."
On Wednesday, BlueLight spokesman Dave Karraker said the company would lay off employees, but he would not specify how many, according to reports. The layoffs resulted from a reorganization in which Kmart will assume responsibility for most of BlueLight's marketing and merchandising.
The developments come only a few months after BlueLight.com was revamped. Marketing for this effort included TV spots; links on sites such as CBS.MarketWatch.com and Walt Disney Internet Group's Family.com; and a bolstered attempt to collect opt-in e-mail addresses at BlueLight.com.
