I've never been to a Tweeter store. I work for Best Buy in a NSO in a developing suburban area in Northern Nevada. But I do know how to read. When I first heard that Tweeter was buying chains to expand its territory I was struck by how little the company actually knew about the markets they were entering. (Perhaps one shouldn't buy a failing CE chain and expect to turn it around. Maybe the stores were in poor locations, and they would remain in poor locations even with new names.) Add bloated management, multiple (failed) business strategies, employee defections, and you get a chapter 11 filing as a reward. I sympathize with the employees who lost their severance because of the BK filing. But, unfortunately, that's the way business is run nowadays. Management seeks to protect its position, and too often employees suffer.


I think Tweeter will be sold to a hedge fund and dismantled before Christmas.

Tweeter's high prices isn't what hurt this company, It's rapid growth into multiple markets and it's direction as a overall company has changed drastically from when the former CEO and president Jeff Stone was there. The fact that walmart and best buys sell plasmas doesn't hurt them , but the fact that there is a 2 to 4 best buys between 1 tweeter store hurts because alot of ppl are willing to go to the closest store available first and customers will go to tweeter after they have been to those stores.

I agree that there is more to blame than decreasing margins and wider product availability. The top-heavy management structure has had five years to assess business practices and "go forward" operations.

The number of Directors and Vice Presidents is staggering. In January 2007, 70 corporate and regional level employees were let go. As of May 2007 there were still 21 Directors and 12 Vice Presidents plus the Executive staff.

When asked about a change in management during the corporate restructuring of Chapter 11 bankruptcy the response was, "Tweeter will continue to operate under it's current management structure". I can't say I'm surprised.

A brief history using publicly available information:

In 2001, when a 32” plasma TV retailed for $6,000, Tweeter’s Annual Report included the aggressive statement, “Our Goal: $2 Billion in Revenue by 2006, 340 Stores.” At that time they were operating 147 stores.

In 2002, with 167 stores in 22 states and -3.3% comp store growth, the annual report commented that the lull in sales would be used “as an opportunity to strengthen the ‘internal organs’ of the company and to get the company’s operating infrastructure in line for more rapid growth when the economy turns around.”

The 2003 Annual Report stated “Comparable store sales have declined for ten successive quarters” with 174 stores operating. Also mentioned was that “Wal-Mart and Target are selling entry-level consumer electronics products and they are pushing competent retailers like Best Buy up the food chain”

2004 was marked by the contracting of several consultant agencies and the hiring of three Vice Presidents all of whom were seen as the cure for an ailing company. The Annual Report boldly noted that “2004 was the year that Tweeter learned how to run the company that it has become” as they operated 176 stores. Three years later, none of the superstar VPs remain employed by the company.

2005 brought the Vegas prototype “Consumer Electronics (CE) Playground” model which took attention away from the fact that 19 “underperforming” stores were closed and 200 employees were laid off. Compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations was seen as an opportunity to “reap real economic value through operating efficiencies made possible by our enhanced understanding and documentation of our business processes.” Operating 159 stores, Tweeter posted a net loss of $74.4M for 2005.

Store count dropped to 153 in 2006 while the Annual Report boasted “Fiscal 2007. Continuing the Turnaround.” Four years after “One company, one way” was the corporate catch phrase, Tweeter continued to operate under four different names, Tweeter, Sound Advice, Hifi Buys and Showcase Home Entertainment.

Which brings us to 2007, the closing of 49 stores and 2 distribution facilities in another attempt at convincing consumers, investors and, most of all, themselves that things will improve.

As for the timing of the bankruptcy filing, I have no doubts about it coinciding with the commencement of severance pay that was promised to 650 employees in March. In effect, 650 people, many of whom have been working for the company five years or more, were let down by the very people that boasted a "family feel" to the company.

Of particular interest is Tweeter's reluctance to part with an 18.75% ownership interest with Tivoli Audio, who's President and COO is Tweeter's former CEO and Board of Directors member until 2010. It was stated that the stake in Tivoli is to be used as collateral for future lending. Better "future lending" than "current lingering disaster" I suppose.

In a time when more and more executives are sacrificing base salary in exchange for performance based incentives, it's disheartening to see a company steadily decline as it's executives reward themselves with salary increases that are quite a bit more than an hourly employee’s maximum raise of 3%. I encourage everyone to read Tweeter's Annual Reports and SEC filings making special note of executive compensation.

Look here:

“Annual Reports and Proxy Statements” available under “Investor Relations” at Tweeter.com.

Search for “Tweeter” on Salary.com’s “Executive Compensation Wizard”.

Search SECInfo.com for “Tweeter” or SEC #1060390.

As a laid off former employee, Tweeter was a great place to work, key word WAS. Price is not what lead to the fall of Tweeter. Know the availability to buy a plasma from Walmart that was an inferior product for half the price of what Tweeter sold a good product, yes this is part of it. But like previously stated one does not go to Lexus looking to buy a Yugo and expecting it to be a Lexus. When a company hiers multipule individuals from a non related industry that just finished running its retail business into the ground, of which these individuals lack the passion and at least half a clue about home and car audio and video as the rest of the employees, and expect them to care about the business I think not. And make decisions about changing the empolyees pay for the better for the company and try to pass it off as great for the salespeople and is called out on her enthusiastic giving the salespeople the Shaft and smiles and laughs and tells everyone to have a great day. Or the idea of pulling all the schedualing and warranty call staff into the corp offices so that they are so out of touch with whats going on in the field that it take an act of congress to get the smallest thing done. You know what. I would quit to after running the second company into the ground. BUT MOST IMPORTANT I LOVE HOW TWEETER HAS FILED FOR CHAP.11 AND DECIDED TO SCREW ALL LAIDOFF AND SOON TO BE LAIDOFF EMPLOYEES OUT OF SEVERANCE PACKAGES THAT THEY WERE PROMISED. I would hope that any and all companies would stop any and all business with a company that obviosly does not care about the employees that are making the money that corp. spends.

sorry stepping off the soapbox now

Tweeter has always had the same prices on similar product as any other retailer in the business. They carried higher-end stuff than places like Best Buy and Circuit, but saying they're doing poorly because of "high prices" is like saying BMW isn't successful because they sell expensive cars. Tweeter is having problems for a plethora of other reasons, but "high prices" is certainly not one of them.