Home goods company Wayfair posted a bigger-than-anticipated loss Tuesday sparking a nearly 20 percent drop in its stock price.

The Boston-based company reported a 60 percent increase in sales in its second quarter, but it wasn’t enough to cover expenses, which rose nearly 70 percent. It reported a loss of $48.2 million for the three months ending June 30. Overall revenue was $787 million for the quarter.

The news sent the company’s stock price spiraling to $38.80, a loss of $9.49 from its Monday closing price of $48.29.

The company, which is in the midst of hiring nearly 1,000 workers here in Maine, attributed the loss to infrastructure changes to increase delivery speeds and intense hiring. The company added nearly 800 employees in the quarter, bringing its total to 5,398, an 89 percent increase from June of 2015.

“Our exceptional growth is fueled by a steadfast commitment to exceeding customer expectations through innovation,” said Niraj Shah, CEO, co-founder and co-chairman, in a company release. “We are leveraging our expertise in technology and data across all areas of the business with a strategic focus on the expansion and optimization of our warehousing, transportation and logistics infrastructure. As a result of these key initiatives, we are speeding up delivery times and reducing damage rates to make the retail experience for home more seamless and satisfying than ever before for our customers.”

Shah told investors that the company is capturing 30 to 40 percent of online dollar growth in U.S. retail categories.

It is trying to staff two large customer service operations — one in Brunswick and the other in Bangor – to handle orders. Last week a spokeswoman said the company’s hiring of 500 in Brunswick and 450 in Bangor was on track, although she declined to give firm numbers of hires.

A hiring fair is planned for Wednesday in Bangor, where Wayfair is especially interested in hiring bilingual representatives. The Tri-County CareerCenter, part of the Maine Department of Labor, is hosting Wayfair for an employer recruitment at the center from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday. Recruiters will hold interviews for French-bilingual customer service support specialists from 1 to 3 p.m., followed by a group information session from 3 to 4 p.m.

The company is trying to expand its presence in Canadian and European markets, according to the release.


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