A vacillating economy and tentative consumer buying habits did much to darken fiscal fourth-quarter and year-end sales at specialty retailer Good Guys.
Net sales for the three months, ended Feb. 28, reached $229.5 million, down about 12 percent from the $259.2 million recorded in the fourth quarter of the previous year. The drop reflects the closing of seven stores and an 8 percent decline in comp-store sales, said Good Guys. Comp-store sales for continuing categories decreased 7 percent.
The retailer said it continued to experience strong growth in sales of digital products, including flat panel and high definition televisions, digital cameras, HD set-top boxes and wireless phones. Sales of flat-panel TVs, which include plasma and liquid crystal displays, increased more than 350 percent from a year ago. Good Guys said average transaction size, gross profit per transaction and items per transaction for the fourth quarter also increased.
For the 12 months, net sales hit $750 million, off about 8.5 percent from the $819.7 million recorded in the prior year. Comp-store sales for the fiscal year decreased 5 percent. However, when Good Guys reports fiscal year results, chairman/CEO Ken Weller believes the chain will return to profitability.
