TWICE News

• Fedders Q1 Sales Flat, Loss Follows Charge
  
  By TWICE Staff, April 26, 2004
  Liberty Corner, N.J. — Air conditioner-maker Fedders reported flat sales in the first quarter, hitting $122.6 million, compared with $123.4 million in the year-ago period. Sales in the company’s AC/air treatment products segment totaled $111.4 million, compared with $114.9 million in the prior-year period.
  
• Majap Vendors Post Financial Reports
  
  By Jeff Malester, April 23, 2004
  New York - Four major appliance companies reported strong first quarter sales this week.
  
• Maguire Leaving Circuit
  
  By Alan Wolf, April 23, 2004
  Richmond, Va. — Circuit City’s top merchant, Kim Maguire, is leaving the company effective April 30.
  
• Amazon Q1 Profits, Sales Surge
  
  By Alan Wolf, April 23, 2004
  Seattle — After years of steady losses, Amazon.com posted its sixth consecutive pro forma profit on April 22, which it attributed to lowered prices, expanded selection and its limited free shipping offer.
  
• HE 2004 Show Sets Seminar, Event List
  
  By TWICE Staff, April 23, 2004
  New York - The Home Entertainment 2004 Show (HE2004), to be held at the New York Hilton from May 20 to May 23, has outlined its list of educational seminars.
  
• PARA: AV Specialists Must Reinvent Themselves Again
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, April 23, 2004
  Scottsdale, Ariz. – Pronounced changes in technology and retail distribution will force AV specialists to reinvent themselves one more time, outgoing PARA executive director Deborah Smith told dealers at PARA’s 25th annual management conference.
  
• LG Electronics CE Segment Sales Climb
  
  By Jeff Malester, April 22, 2004
  Seoul, South Korea — Strong demand for flat-panel televisions pushed up first quarter sales in the display and media segment at LG Electronics to $2.1 billion, compared with $1.5 billion in the year-ago period.
  
• PalmOne Zire Sales Hit 3 Mil. Mark
  
  By Amy Gilroy, April 22, 2004
  Milipitas, Calif. - PalmOne announced that it has sold more than three million Zire handheld computers.
  
• Office Depot N.A. Retail Sales Rise 5%
  
  By Jeff Malester, April 22, 2004
  Delray Beach, Fla. — Strong first quarter sales of technology products at Office Depot helped the office supply chain register its first positive retail comp-store quarter in the last four years, with North American retail sales increasing 5 percent and comps 3 percent.  
  
• Maytag Majap Sales Increase 14%
  
  By Jeff Malester, April 22, 2004
  Newton, Iowa — Successful implementation of new Maytag product models resulted in strong overall first quarter sales growth and market share improvement, said the major appliance maker, with majap movement offsetting declines in the company’s housewares segment.
  
• Sony Debuts Luxury CE Brand, Qualia
  
  By Steve Smith, April 21, 2004
  New York - What do a $3,900 two-mega pixel digital camera, a $2,600 pair of headphones, a $1,900 handheld MiniDisc player and a $30,000 HDTV projector have in common? They are all part of Sony’s ultra-high end Qualia line that was introduced by Sony here, on April 21.
  
• Sears Q1 CE Results Strong, But Domestic Sales Flat
  
  By Jeff Malester, April 21, 2004
  Hoffman Estates, Ill. — Although hard lines, such as consumer electronics, provided strong first quarter growth for the Sears home group, overall domestic segment sales were flat and the retailer reported an operating loss.
  
• Sirius Expands Wal-Mart Presence, Adds 90,000 subscribers
  
  By Amy Gilroy, April 21, 2004
  New York - Sirius satellite radio service will be available in the majority of Wal-Mart stores starting later this year via a Jensen plug-and-play radio, and the company said it hopes to bring an additional radio brand to market through Wal-Mart sometime in the second half.
  
• Sirius Loss Increases On Better Sales
  
  By Jeff Malester, April 21, 2004
  New York — Satellite entertainment provider Sirius Satellite Radio posted a total revenue of $9.3 million in the first quarter, up from $1.6 million in the year-ago period; however, the company’s operating loss climbed to $119.5 million, compared with a loss of $99.1 million in the same three months last year.
  
• DTV Shipments Flying High
  
  By TWICE Staff, April 21, 2004
  Las Vegas - The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) reported today at the National Association that digital television product unit shipments for January and February of 2004 rose more than 124 percent year over year representing $1.3 billion in revenue.
  
• MP3 Player Sales Up 200%: In-Stat
  
  By Joseph Palenchar, April 21, 2004
  Scottsdale, Ariz. – Worldwide factory-level sales of compressed-music portables rose more than 200 percent in units and dollars in 2003 to hit more than 24 million units and more than $3 billion, In-Stat/MDR reported.
  
• Jasc Intros New Imaging Software
  
  By Greg Scoblete, April 21, 2004
  Eden Prairie, Minn. — Jasc Software introduced the fifth version of its Paint Shop Photo Album program, which is targeted toward the growing market of digital photo scrap-bookers and mainstream camera owners in search of organizing software.
  
• Motorola Cell Segment Sales Increase 67%
  
  By Jeff Malester, April 21, 2004
  Schaumburg, Ill. — In a sales and earnings surge that battered preliminary industry expectations, cellphone maker Motorola turned in its best quarter in years, more than tripling its overall net and posting revenue nearly $2 billion above forecasts.
  
• Whirlpool Sales Rise 10.7%
  
  By Jeff Malester, April 21, 2004
  Benton Harbor, Mich. — A strong sales and shipment performance in North America helped drive up first quarter sales at Whirlpool by 10.7 percent to $3 billion, compared with the $2.7 billion posted in the same period last year.
  
• Electrolux Q1 U.S. Majap Shipments Rise 10%
  
  By Jeff Malester, April 21, 2004
  Stockholm, Sweden —Electrolux enjoyed a 9.9 percent shipment increase in the United States during the first quarter, with "particularly good growth" for refrigerators, washers, dryers and cooking products.