[James Tanner]

Sad news  - a sign of things to come me thinks.

http://www.avrevforum.com:80/showthread.php?t=171

james

[Phil A]

I noticed the story the other day.  Tweeter had spent a long time buying various little chains.  I used to shop many moons ago at a chain with a half dozen or so stores (Bryn Mawr Stereo) around the Philadelphia area.  I think Tweeter bought them about 10 yrs. back.  A few yrs. back they expanded to the suburbs of DC where I am.  I picked up my Sony 2000ES SACD changer in the bedroom system from them.  I think a bunch of factors hurt them.  One was obviously too much expansion too fast.  The internet tends to hurt traditional stores as well.  In this area, we already had a Tweeter-like chain (Myer-Emco) that has been in business for something like 50 years and probably has 6 or so stores.  Then Best Buy opened their more upscale sections in selected stores and essentially is like have a mini-Tweeter in the store with similar levels of equipment (they sell stuff like Denon, Martin Logan, Vienna Acoustics, etc.).  It's pretty hard to compete against a Best Buy type store that draws people in there looking at other things from appliances to DVDs to CDs to PCs, etc.  Smaller stores are closing to do home theater custom installs too.  It's much cheaper to get office space in an industrial type office park vs. a prime retail location.

[Phil A]

Here's a story from today:

"Jun 15, 2007 15:15

Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Receives Delisting Notice from NASDAQ Due to Chapter 11 Filing

CANTON, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- Jun. 15, 2007 As previously reported, on June 11, 2007 Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWTR) announced that it had filed voluntary petitions for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
On June 12, 2007, the Company received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department (the "NASDAQ staff") of The NASDAQ Stock Market indicating that, as a result of the Company's having filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, the NASDAQ staff has determined, using its discretionary authority under NASDAQ Marketplace Rules 4300, 4450(f) and IM-4300, that the Company's securities will be delisted from the NASDAQ Stock Market and that trading in the Company's common stock will be suspended, unless the Company files an appeal of the determination.

The Company does not intend to appeal the NASDAQ staff's determination. Accordingly, trading of the Company's common stock will be suspended at the opening of business on June 21, 2007 and a Form 25-NSE will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will remove the Company's securities from listing and registration on The NASDAQ Stock Market.

Tweeter Home Entertainment Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWTR) was founded in 1972 by the Company's Chairman, Sandy Bloomberg. Based in Canton, Massachusetts, the Company is a national specialty consumer electronics retailer providing home and mobile entertainment solutions. The Company's fiscal 2006 revenues were $775 million. Tweeter has been named the 2006 Retailer of the Year by Sound and Vision Magazine and a "Consumer Electronics Retailer of the Year" by Audio-Video International every year since 1979. The company operates 130 stores under the Tweeter, hifi buys, Sound Advice and Showcase Home Entertainment names. The Company's stores are located in the following markets: New England, the Mid-Atlantic, Chicago, the Southeast (including Florida), Texas, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Further information on Tweeter Home Entertainment Group can be found on the Company's websites at http://www.twtr.com and http://www.tweeter.com.
"

[BachToRock]

Stopped by the local Showcase Home Entertainment today and the "sales guy" seemed secure that they would stay afloat on their own sails...  maybe they had better sales?

But... the showroom looked pretty "Omega Man-ish" with lots of empty spaces where big TV's used to reside... I was looking over my back for Charlton Heston sporting a rifle...

[Phil A]

The problem with many of these type stores is that they have a decent amt. of floor space to display TVs.  On video products there is not generally as big a mark-up as audio.  One of the former managers at a local chain of a similar nature told me at the end of the day they end up making a little or losing a little on TVs (flat screens and rear proj.).  Their stores (local chain) have a bit smaller area than most Tweeter stores where they have TVs alone vs. in a system.  The TVs help sell surround systems but they really can't compete with the volume that Best Buy or similar stores.  I was somewhat friendly with a former sound room mgr. from a custom installer.  They had some space in an office park in an industrial type area with offices, a few HT sytems with projectors, etc.  They just did custom installs and HT starting at $25k (projector, speakers, rec'r, video sources, etc.) for that reason.  Not worth their time for less.  You walk into many Tweeter stores and besides the few sound rooms they ususally have an area out front with perhaps 30 - 60 TVs.  That's a lot of retail rent space taken up by products that at best they make make a drop of money at the end of the day.