StORES Magazine - August 2007 - (Page S6)

HOT1OO HOTTEST OF THE HOT EARNINGS Earnings of $10.2 million on sales of nearly $1.5 billion usually isn’t considered performance to brag about. For TransWorld Entertainment, however, it’s a case of accentuating the positive as it battles the downloading of music and video content with its line-up of bricks-and-mortar stores bearing the f.y.e., Sam Goody, Coconuts, Suncoast and Music Wherehouse banners. TransWorld’s performance is a case of being less than meets the eye. Earnings for the year totaled only about $1 million, but extraordinary gains related to its 2002 acquisition of Musicland Holdings pushed net earnings up to eight figures. (Well after the close of the fiscal year, the final settlement of the Musicland deal added another $1.8 million in extraordinary income.) Sbarro is one of two restaurant operators among the Hottest Earnings group. The Italian specialties and pizzeria chain boosted income through operational controls, COMPANY 8 upgraded field and store management and selective price increases in preparation for its year-end merger with an affiliate of MidOcean Partners. Ruth’s Chris Steak House, which has grown rapidly from a single location in the News Orleans suburb of Metairie, La., bounced back from the damage and disruption in its home operating territory caused by Hurricane Katrina. Casual Male’s is a corporate history written in red ink, including two bankruptcy filings. Turnaround has been effected over the last five years, however, under the direction of David A. Levin. While it’s true that 2006 net profits were driven by a $29.9 million tax benefit primarily related to the company’s valuation allowance for deferred tax assets, Casual Male has posted 14 consecutive quarters of positive comparable-store sales through Q1 2007. With its new-found economic muscle, Casual Male acquired Rochester Big and Tall and this year is exploring the launch of a new collection of private-label apparel. SIZZLING SEGMENT 2006 EARNINGS 2005 EARNINGS CHANGE (000) (000) TransWorld Entertainment $10,200 Sbarro Casual Male Duckwall-ALCO Syms Saks Charlotte Russe Birks & Mayors Ruth’s Chris Steak House Dillard’s All dollar figures in thousands $600 1,351 10,760 1,949 3,436 22,348 10,801 5,712 10,933 121,500 1,600.0% 629.7 296.2 192.7 177.9 140.5 132.7 129.7 117.6 102.1 9,858 42,632 5,704 9,548 53,742 25,138 13,123 23,790 245,600 53 S6 STORES / AUGUST 2007 plates on its stores — Berg- The Bon-Ton Stores 164.3% ners, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Federated Dept. Stores 20.5% Scott, Elder-Beerman, Her- Kohl’s 16.0% 15.3% berger’s, Parisian, Younkers Stage Stores 10.8% — are a graphic reminder of Nordstrom the consolidation in the department store industry over the past two decades. Most of those entities were once part of the portfolio accumulated by Brad Martin, when he used Proffitt’s as an acquisition vehicle. His crowning purchase — and presumptive crown jewel Hot 100 Retailer — was Saks Fifth Avenue. The dis(PriceSmart) parate assemblage quickly developed with no stores in stress faults, however, and Martin’s the United States dream conglomerate was put asunder. Department Stores 21.5% 1 WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of StORES Magazine - August 2007

Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Upfront NRF News Retail People Concept2Watch Supermarkets Cover Story Online Marketing In-Store Marketing RFID Data Management Payment Systems Software Loss Prevention E-Commerce Risk Management Communications Loyalty Marketing Human Resources Mobile Commerce Loeb Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View Advertising Index Retail Industry Calendar

StORES Magazine - August 2007

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