Tweeter will file for bankruptcy if it cannot meet its debt and equity needs and isn't able to reach settlements with landlords where the stores it is closing are located. So far, management has reached agreements with one third of the landlords of the shut stores.
Thus far, management does not foresee additional store closings, even if Tweeter does file for bankruptcy. The company has closed six locations so far and management looks to close two more this month. "We're pretty pleased with the way the existing store closings are going," says Joe McGuire, the company's president and chief executive officer.
The store closures are leading to the exit of California, Tennessee, Alabama, New York, and parts of Georgia. For the second quarter, which ended March 31, Tweeter took a write-down of $25.4 million due to costs related to the shutting of units.
Same-store sales during the quarter fell 11% year over year, while revenue fell 13%, to $163 million. The company reported a $38-million operating loss compared with last year's Q2 gain of $1 million.
Stores were hit by a 44% revenue drop in for projection televisions and a 35% plunge for plasma sets, says company officials.
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