ELBO's PR, looks very good! Congrats longs.
Wednesday January 5, 10:30 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp.
Electronics Boutique Holiday Sales Exceed Expectations
Comp Store Sales for the Nine-Week Holiday Period Increased 12.2%
WEST CHESTER, Pa., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: ELBO - news) today announced that for the nine-week holiday
period ending January 1, 2000 total sales were $261.4 million. This represents an increase of 25.6% compared with holiday sales of $208.1 million for the
comparable period of 1999. Comparable store sales for this nine-week holiday period increased 12.2%.
Electronics Boutique attributes the highly successful holiday season to a combination of strong product demand and good execution on the part of the Company.
Hot items included Dreamcast products, color Game Boy and Pokemon products, which combined with excellent customer service to produce the record holiday
sales. The Company's buying practices throughout the year enabled it to consistently have 'wanted' products available for customers.
Sales for the Company's Internet subsidiary, EBWorld.com, have more than tripled last year's holiday period reaching revenues of $7.5 million. EBWorld.com's
architecture, customer service and fulfillment capabilities performed to expectations during this period, allowing orders placed as late as 10:00 p.m. on December
23 to be shipped for Christmas Eve delivery.
The Company also announced that performance to date at its prototype EBKids store has exceeded expectations and plans for a broader roll-out have begun. The
Company now expects to open 10-15 EBKids stores during fiscal 2001.
``The entire Electronics Boutique team has once again pushed its performance to the next level and I couldn't be more proud,' commented Joseph J. Firestone,
President and Chief Executive Officer. ``We attribute our highly successful holiday season to a combination of twenty years of experience in the gaming industry,
strong product demand, and impeccable execution within all divisions of the company. We have once again demonstrated that EB's distribution and merchandising
expertise combined with dedication to our mission 'it's all about the customer' works. Commitment to this philosophy affords us growth far beyond any single
holiday season and we look forward to the coming year.'
Mr. Firestone also commented that, ``EBWorld.com is another example of our dedication to systems and people for making shopping a positive experience. A
sentiment reiterated often through the many e-mails received from our customers worldwide.'
Electronics Boutique is one of the leading specialty retailers of video and computer games and also sells video game hardware, PC productivity software and
accessories. The Company currently operates 622 stores in 46 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, Australia and South Korea under the names Electronics Boutique,
EBX, Stop 'N Save Software, EBKids and BC Sports Collectibles. The Company has also established a separate e-commerce subsidiary, EBWorld.com, Inc.
This press release may be deemed to contain ``forward-looking statements.' Electronics Boutique (``EB') is including this statement for the express purpose of
availing itself of the protections of the safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to all such forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks include, but are
not limited to, EB's dependence on the continued introduction of new and enhanced video games and PC hardware and software; the cyclical nature of the video
game market; the rapid technological changes which occur in the video game and PC industry; EB's ability to open and operate new stores on a profitable basis;
the intensely competitive nature of the electronic game industry and its rapid changes in consumer preferences and frequent new product introductions; the seasonal
nature of the retail industry; EB's dependence on its suppliers for products; risks inherent to conducting international operations; and consumer spending patterns
and prevailing economic conditions. Please refer to Electronics Boutique's Annual Report on Form 10-K on file with the SEC for a more detailed discussion of
these and other risks that could cause results to differ materially.
SOURCE: Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp. |
