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Strategies & Market Trends : Can you beat 50% per month? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (10114)	6/6/2006 4:30:25 PM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 19256

SHRP - cut another slice today-12.28 close $lap $lap, $lap- yep! Sharper Image 1Q Loss Expected to Widen Tuesday June 6, 4:03 pm ET Sharper Image Expected to Post Significantly Wider 1Q Loss As Sales Continue to Sag NEW YORK (AP) -- Sharper Image reports its fiscal first-quarter results on Thursday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period. OVERVIEW: The San Francisco-based retailer of high-end gadgets has been struggling in recent quarters as mainstream retailers have cut into its market by offering many similar items at lower prices. In early May, Sharper Image said its same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, plunged 30 percent in the first quarter. Total sales also declined, losing 26 percent to $104 million. While the poor sales performance was not unexpected, Sharper Image's continued struggles led to a shareholder revolt. In March, Knightspoint Group, which owns about 13 percent of the company, said it would nominate new directors in a move to depose Richard Thalheimer, the founder, chairman and chief executive. Knightspoint accused the company of being slow to respond to changing market dynamics. Sharper Image avoided a proxy battle in May by agreeing on a slate of directors that includes three Knightspoint representatives, weakening Thalheimer's influence. The stock got a boost earlier in the quarter when Thalheimer said "the cycle in our business is turning back toward a more positive direction." But he gave little reason for hope in the first quarter, saying it will be a low point in the cycle. However, he predicted reduced expenses and better products will drive a turnaround in May and June. BY THE NUMBERS: Sharper Image does not issue quarterly guidance. The average estimate of nine analysts polled by Thomson Financial is a loss of 76 cents per share. The company reported a loss of 30 cents per share in the year-ago period. ANALYST TAKE: Caris & Co.'s Jason Kremer, who rates the stock "Below Average," expects the quarterly loss to reach 79 cents per share, citing heavy dependence on sales of massage chairs and the company's Ionic Breeze air purifiers. Those "have only been compounded by the rising interest rates and higher prices at the pump," he wrote in a recent note to investors. Lehman Brothers analyst Scott Nesson also expects a disappointing first quarter. "Sharper Image still faces significant challenges in regaining relevancy in an increasingly commoditized retail segment with growing competition," he said in a March research note. WHAT'S AHEAD: Sharper Image plans to increase the rate of new-product introductions, targeting first Father's Day in June and then the holiday shopping season later in the year, in an effort to boost sagging sales. But Caris' Kremer remained skeptical, saying, "We caution investors on the upbeat comments by management on the back half of the year." STOCK PERFORMANCE: The company's shares added 67 percent in the first quarter, rising sharply in the middle of April on the company's upbeat sales forecast for the second half. The stock has since fallen 24 percent from its 52-week high to close Tuesday at $12.28.