PW: Media Play/On Cue Sales Fall 8%

Feb 09, 1998

[ PW Home ] [ Bestsellers ] [ Subscribe ] [ Search ]

News

Media Play/On Cue Sales Fall 8%
-- 2/9/98
Sales at Musicland's superstore division, comprised of Media Play and On Cue, fell 8.4%, in 1997 to $589.5 million. The decline was due primarily to the closing of 19 Media Play outlets in the year as comparable store sales rose 4.1%. The company ended 1997 with 68 Media Play stores and 157 On Cue outlets. A spokesperson for Musicland said that the number of Media Play outlets will stay at about 68 in 1998, while the company may open a few new On Cue stores.
Jack Eugster, Musicland chairman, noted that during the year the Media Play stores had the biggest bottomline improvement. Indeed, the bottomline for the entire company was much improved over 1996 as Musicland reported net earnings of $14 million last year, compared to a net loss of $194 million in 1996. Sales fell 3%, to $1.77 billion. During 1997 Musicland, which at one point had tettered on the edge of bankruptcy, improved its liquidity by more than $100 million, putting the company on a much better financial footing compared to one year ago. And its stock price, which at one time sold for less than $1 per share, is now at more than $8.
Back To News
--->

A version of this article appeared in the 02/09/1998 issue of Publishers Weekly under the headline: