Tuesday, January 22, 2008

snapshot 1/22/08

Trans World closing Johnstown facility and Ohio distribution center; 80-plus jobs being added in Albany
Trans World Entertainment Corp. is closing its distribution center in North Canton, Ohio, and a fixture facility in Johnstown, N.Y., as it cuts costs following another disappointing holiday shopping season. Trans World will rely on its distribution centers in Albany, N.Y., and Carson, Calif., to supply its 800-plus retail stores, most of which operate under the f.y.e. (For Your Entertainment) brand. The company expects to hire 80 to 100 new employees at the Albany distribution center to handle the increased workload, said Chief Financial Officer John Sullivan. Trans World has been struggling with declining sales as more consumers turn to computer downloading and big-box stores to purchase music. Total sales for the 11-month period that ended Jan. 5 fell 12 percent, to $1.19 billion. Comparable store sales fell 9 percent during the period, the company has reported.


gBox Gets Angel Funding For Distributed Music Store
Cupertino-based gBox, the maker of a music download widget, has raised unspecified angel funding from Swiss firm b-to-v, reports Alarm:Clock Euro. The gBox widget can display a wishlist of music tracks that third parties can then purchase. The company has a deal with Universal to distribute DRM-free music and it plans to expand into non-music items in the future. It also plans to establish a digital currency that marketers can use for promotions. gBox is a spin-off of content/rights vendor Navio.


Apple sells more than 22 million iPods during Q1
Reporting its first quarter financial results today, Apple said it sold 22.1 million iPods during the holiday quarter — a 5 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year, and a new single-quarter record for iPod sales. It also sold 2.315 million iPhones in the quarter, bringing the total number of units sold up to above 4 million. The company posted revenue of $9.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.58 billion, or $1.76 per diluted share, compared with revenue of $7.1 billion and net quarterly profit of $1 billion, or $1.14 per diluted share in Q1 2007.

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