The retailer's operating income also took a hit, dropping to $2.8 million from $15.5 million during the same year-ago period. Meanwhile, executives have not made a decision as to how to proceed with 20 to 30 identified underperforming stores in the company's 153-unit portfolio.
"Our first quarter earnings were defined by the intense competition in the television category," says Tweeter's president and CEO Joe McGuire, in a statement. "We sold 33% fewer projection TV sets and experienced a 17% decline in their average selling price.
Management is now considering strategic alternatives to meet "short-term capital needs," including the "monetization of a federal tax refund or the sale of our investment in Tivoli," according to a company statement. Tweeter has owned a minority interest in electronics company Tivoli Audio since 2002.
On a brighter note, management says that prototype destination stores that the company is rolling out are outperforming expectations. The latest ones to open, the fourth and fifth in the chain so far, were in Houston and Wilmington, DE; in November.
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