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| Company type | Public (Nasdaq: TWMC) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | December 1972 |
| Headquarters | Albany, New York |
| Products | CD, Blu-ray, and DVD stores |
| Website | http://www.twec.com |
Trans World Entertainment Corporation is a chain of entertainment media retail stores in the United States. It currently operates over 500 freestanding and shopping mall-based stores under several brand names.
Based out of Albany, New York, Trans World was founded in 1972 by Robert Higgins. It opened its first store, called Record Town (formerly Record Land), in 1973. The company went public in July 1986 and has expanded through acquisitions of a number of smaller or failing companies including Strawberries, Camelot Music, and Wherehouse Entertainment.
In February 2006, Trans World acquired the Musicland Group, which owned Sam Goody, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, and former online store Media Play.
In September 2006, Trans World made bid for the bankrupt Tower Records[1] but lost to Great American Group, a liquidator which closed the chain.
On January 7, 2009 Trans World announced same-store sales decreased 14 percent for the nine-week period that ended January 3, 2009 and total sales dropped 24 percent in the period. Some of the overall decline came as a result of closing 35 stores earlier in the year. Trans World was also in the process of closing another 69 stores during the holidays said Chief Financial Officer John J. Sullivan, "We would expect more closures to be announced soon." Trans World's holiday sales projections already were glum, but with the actual results now in, company officials are projecting losses for fiscal 2008 in the range of $20 million to $25 million.
On May 10, 2010, Mike Honeyman was appointed as President and Chief Operating Officer of the company.[2]
Chains
- Saturday Matinee: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania
- Suncoast Motion Picture Company: Nationwide (mall-based)
- f.y.e.: Nationwide (mall-based and freestanding)
Defunct
- Camelot Music
- CD World and Streetside Records: New Jersey and Missouri
- Coconuts: Chicago area, Indianapolis area, New Jersey, New York, and Mid-Atlantic States (some stores still operate as Coconuts)
- Disc Jockey: Southern U.S. (mall-based)
- Harmony House: Michigan
- Media Play: Nationwide (closed in 2006)
- On Cue: Nationwide
- Record Land: Nationwide (mall-based)
- Record Town: Nationwide (mall-based)
- Sam Goody: Nationwide (mostly freestanding; most mall-based stores have been re-branded as f.y.e. stores)
- Spec's Music Inc.: Florida
- Strawberries: Texas, Maryland, New England and Mid-Atlantic States
- Tape World: Nationwide (mall-based)
- The Wall: Mid-Atlantic States
- Wall To Wall Sound & Video / Listening Booth: Mid-Atlantic States, later converted to The Wall
- Planet Music: Virginia Beach
- SecondSpin.com: California, Colorado (still in operation but now owned by someone else)
- Wherehouse Music: Arizona, California, Colorado (formerly Rocky Mountain Records), Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington