Hastings Entertainment had a mixed start to 2012 as revenue fell 7% to $115.5 million in the quarter ended April 30, 2012, but net income improved to $833,000 from $413,000 in the first quarter of 2011. Book comps dipped 0.8% in the period.
Hastings attributed the decline in book comps to a weaker new release schedule for new books, primarily mass market and trade paperbacks, partially offset by an increase in sales of used books and sales of the Nextbook Premium 7 e-reader tablet and related accessories. Hastings started selling the Nextbook Premium 7, in stores and online at www.goHastings.com, during November 2011. Book comps, excluding sales of the Nextbook Premium 7 and related accessories, decreased 2.2% for the quarter.
The company’s best performing segment was electronics, which had a 13.1% increase in comps led by higher sales of headphones and MP3 and phone accessories and strong sales of new iPods. Trend comps rose 12.7% and café comps rose 6.8%. The worst performing category was games where comps declined 21.3%.
Hastings operated eight fewer stores at the end of the most recent quarter than the period a year ago and the smaller footprint allowed Hastings to reduce selling, general and administrative expenses by 5.5% in the quarter.
