Egghead.com Inc.s investor relations firm, Seattle-based Rockey Co., has released conflicting statements in recent days about whether Egghead.com might move its headquarters office from Spokane to Portland.


Erica Perez, an Egghead spokeswoman who works for Rockey, said Friday and again Monday that the Spokane company is seriously considering such a move. It would make sense because its major subsidiary, Surplus Direct, is located in Hood River, Ore., she explained.


Perezs boss, John Hough, however, said later on Monday that the company isnt considering moving its headquarters. He says that the company will continue to employ between 40 and 50 people here and that the office of George Orban, the companys chairman and CEO, will remain here as will such departments as information services, real estate, and human resources.


Hough did say that some of Egghead.coms Spokane employees relocated to Portland recently. The companys buying, marketing, and other distribution functions now are located there, he says.


If the company left Spokane, that would draw down the final curtain on a Spokane corporate drama thats been playing out since the now 15-year-old, company opened a center here in early 1995 and later that year moved its headquarters here from Issaquah, Wash.


The company employed 500 people in Spokane just two years ago, but then sold its corporate, government, and education division and suffered losses. Most recently, Egghead decided to close its remaining 80 retail stores and shift its business emphasis to Internet sales.