VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Online eyewear provider, Coastal Contacts, Inc. (NASDAQ: COA) (TSX: COA) (Stockholm: COA) reported net sales of $54.9 million for the first fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, 2013, up 17 percent when compared with the same period last year. Eyeglasses sales increased 35 percent to $13.9 million from the same period last year, and contact lens sales increased 12 percent to $41 million from the same period last year. Net loss totaled $3.4 million in the first quarter.

In the U.S., eyeglasses sales increased 95 percent from the same period last year. “We continue to build on sequential growth in our early stage glasses business,” said founder and CEO, Roger Hardy. “A year ago, we launched a plan to accelerate growth in the United States, and our plan is on track. As expected, our financial results reflect the cost of these investments. We have experienced an increase in the number of returning glasses customers which reaffirms our overall strategy.”

Overall, orders during the first quarter of 2013 totaled 601,167, an 18 percent increase when compared with the same period last year, with the average order size $91.32 when compared to $92.19 during the same period of 2012. For contact lenses, 70 percent of revenue was from repeat customers. Contact lens orders totaled 362,130, a 7 percent increase year over year. Of those, 5 percent of contact lens units were comprised of Coastal’s house brand, Splash.

The average contact lens order size was $113.28 compared to $107.58 during the same period last year. Eyeglasses orders totaled 239,037, a 43 percent increase year over year. The average eyeglasses order size was $58.04 compared to $61.05 during the same period last year. Frames shipped were 277,159 compared to 195,513 in the same period in 2012. Private label frames represented 70 percent of frames shipped during the quarter.

In addition to its first pair free promotion, recent highlights of Coastal’s eyeglasses marketing include signing a multi-year licensing agreement with actress Alyssa Milano to develop a line of eyeglasses and sunglasses called “Touch by Alyssa” and product placement of its new Derek Cardigan Grammar Collection frames in Alicia Keys “Brand New Me” and Flo Rida’s “I Cry” music videos.

Coastal Contacts will also present at two investor conferences this month. Hardy is scheduled to present on Friday, March 15, at 8:50 a.m. at Janco Partners and Genesis Select Institutional Investor 2013 Winter Conference at the Westin Riverfront Resort in Beaver Creek, Calif., and Monday, March 18, at 8:30 a.m. at the Roth Capital Partners 25th Annual Conference at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, Calif.