Electronics Boutique reports record Q1 sales
Key US retailer Electronics Boutique has announced a 23 per cent climb in revenues in the first quarter of FY2005, with the company continuing to grow its market share in North America and predicting a strong growth year for the industry.
Key US retailer Electronics Boutique has announced a 23 per cent climb in revenues in the first quarter of FY2005, with the company continuing to grow its market share in North America and predicting a strong growth year for the industry.
The strong performance in the three months to May 1st is attributed to a 28 per cent jump in sales of software, along with a 19 per cent rise in hardware sales, and comes despite the strength of the equivalent quarter last year - which saw the GBA SP and Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker being launched in the USA.
The company's market share continues to grow, largely due to an aggressive store opening programme which has seen 104 new retail locations being opened during the first quarter, with over 400 store openings planned by the end of the 2005 fiscal year.
Despite the rise in sales, a jump in operating costs saw the company's bottom line figure shrink marginally - with quarterly profits of $3.05 million reported, as compared with $3.17 million in the previous year.
For the full year, which ends on February 1st 2005, Electronics Boutique expects sales to rise between 17 and 21 per cent - giving it overall sales of between $1.87 billion and $1.94 billion.
"We believe that our industry will continue to grow in the coming quarters," commented EB president and CEO Jeffrey Griffiths, "fuelled by the recent price drop of Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox, as well as an exciting lineup of new software titles in the latter half of the year."