Rich Fiscus
20 Nov 2007 10:14
Retailer Hastings Entertainment is reporting a third quarter profit for the first time since becoming a publicly traded company nearly a decade ago in 1998.
Like many retailers, Hastings' third quarter revenue was boosted by the release of Halo 3 for the Xbox 360. This also spurred increased sales of the Xbox 360 console.
Another good sign for the company was an increase in DVD revenue, with sales of both new and used titles improving. At the same time rentals took a hit, which Hastings executives blame partially on the titles being released and partially on consumer preferences shifting away from rental in favor of purchasing DVDs.
Not surprisingly, music revenue was down due to declining CD sales.
“For the first time in Hastings’ history as a public company, we earned a profit in the third quarter,” Hastings CEO John Marmaduke said. “In what continues to be a challenging retail environment in music and rental, we were able to improve pre-tax profits by $3.7 million from the third quarter of last year. Our merchandising and buying teams have produced greater margin rates in new and used products for the third consecutive quarter. We will continue our focus on margin and inventory management. This, coupled with a continued focus on cost controls, has positioned us for continued revenue and income growth in the fourth quarter.”
Source: Video Business