FashionMag.com Singapore - 'Twilight' weighs on Hot Topic's January sales miss

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08-02-2010

'Twilight' weighs on Hot Topic's January sales miss

By Nivedita Bhattacharjee

BANGALORE, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Hot Topic Inc (HOTT.O) missed same store estimates for the third month in a row as it continued to look for a replacement for its popular 'Twilight' franchise.

Photo: www.hottopic.com

This month, merchandise from the Twilight series was responsible for half the decline in comparable sales at its namesake division, a spokesman said in a pre-recorded call.

The company also said it will not sell DVDs of the sequel 'New Moon' as it would not be able to compete on pricing with big box retailers.

"If Twilight hadn't been there at all, their comps would have been down 8 or 9 pct," William Blair & Co analyst Sharon Zackfia said, pointing to the difficult year-over-year comparisons, due to the success of the franchise.

Hot Topic, which sells rock 'n' roll-inspired clothing as well as music and accessories to teenagers, was one of the few retailers that saw strong sales in 2008.

But more recently, the company has been under pressure to prove itself 'fashion-right,' and not just driven by the success of hot licenses.

"Such difficult comparisons, arising from success with the Twilight license, are being met this time with lower-tier licenses like 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Percy Jackson'," Brian Sozzi, analyst with Wall Street Strategies said.

For January, the company reported a 13.1 percent drop in same-store sales and forecast fourth-quarter earnings at the low end of its previous outlook of 18 cents a share to 20 cents a share.

Analysts on average were expecting January same-store sales to drop 12.1 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data.

For the fourth quarter, the company reported total sales of $214.2 million, while analysts were looking for $215.9 million.

Shares of the California-based company were down slightly at $5.38 Wednesday 3 February after market. They closed at $5.40 on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal, Anthony Kurian)

archives Hot Topic

11-03-2010	Hot Topic fourth quarter profit in line, shares fall on first quarter EPS view
Teen clothing retailer Hot Topic Inc forecast a first-quarter loss that could be wider than market estimates, partly as it expects comparable store sales to continue to fall, sending its shares down 6 percent. See complete article
04-03-2010	Hot Topic February sales ahead of estimates
Teen clothing retailer Hot Topic Inc's same-store sales came in ahead of estimates, after three straight months of missing analysts' expectations, driven by strong sales at its Torrid division that caters to plus-size women. See complete article
03-02-2010	Hot Topic January sales miss estimates
Hot Topic Inc reported a 13.1 percent drop in same-store sales for January, missing market estimates for the third straight month, and the teen clothing retailer posted fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations.
07-01-2010	Hot Topic December same-store sales fall
Teen clothing retailer Hot Topic Inc posted a bigger-than-expected 10.9 percent drop in December sales at stores open at least a year and cut its fourth-quarter earnings outlook, sending its shares down 7 percent.
02-12-2009	Hot Topic November comp sales fall more than expected
Teen clothing retailer Hot Topic Inc posted a bigger-than-expected drop in same-store sales in November, sending its shares down 4 percent in pre-market trade.
19-11-2009	Weak holiday views drag on Hot Topic, Gymboree shares
U.S. teen clothing retailer Hot Topic Inc and Gymboree Corp, which caters to children, both forecast holiday quarter earnings below market estimates, sending their shares down in trading after the bell.
19-08-2009	Hot Topic Q2 loss widens; sees Q3 profit below Street
Hot Topic Inc posted a bigger quarterly loss and forecast third-quarter earnings below Wall Street expectations, sending its shares down 4 percent.
05-08-2009	Hot Topic July comp sales beat Street, second quarter sales miss
Hot Topic Inc posted a slightly narrower-than-expected 8.5 percent drop in July sales at stores open at least a year, while second-quarter net sales trailed market estimates.
09-07-2009	Hot Topic June comp sales fall; widens second quarter loss view
Hot Topic Inc widened its second-quarter loss forecast citing lower-than-expected sales performance till date, and posted a 7.9 percent fall in June sales at stores open at least a year, sending its shares down 5 percent.
03-06-2009	Hot Topic May same-store sales fall 6.4 pct
Hot Topic Inc posted a worse-than-expected 6.4 percent drop in May sales at stores open at least a year, hurt by lower transactions and a fall in average transaction amount, sending the mall and web-based retailer's shares down 8 percent.
21-05-2009	Hot Topic tops Q1 estimates, but forecasts Q2 loss
Hot Topic Inc, which had so far bucked weak trends in apparel, forecast a second-quarter loss due to a slowdown in traffic post Easter, sending its shares down as much as 9 percent in trading after the bell.
06-05-2009	Hot Topic shares tumble as April same-store sales miss estimates
Teen-clothing retailer Hot Topic Inc posted April same-store sale results that missed estimates, even though monthly sales rose, as sales at its Torrid stores and women's segments weighed down on performance.
08-04-2009	Hot Topic March same-store sales rise
Teen-clothing retailer Hot Topic Inc posted a 7.1 percent rise in March same-store sales, riding on strong DVD sales of the popular teen vampire movie "Twilight," and raised its first-quarter earnings outlook.
09-03-2009	Hot Topic's Feb same-store sales beat Street; shares up
Teen-clothing retailer Hot Topic Inc reported a February comparable-store sales rise of 10.8 percent that handsomely beat the Wall Street estimate of a 4.8 percent increase, sending its shares up as much as 9 percent.
04-02-2009	Hot Topic Jan same-store sales top Street
Teen clothing retailer Hot Topic Inc posted January same-store sales that handily beat Wall Street estimates, and it said fourth-quarter sales rose 8 percent.
07-12-2008	Teen retailer Hot Topic expands music focus
Music doesn't account for a large portion of Hot Topic's overall business. In fact Betsy McLaughlin, the CEO of the teen apparel and lifestyle retailer, says music CDs and DVDs are only "a single-digit part of what we sell."
06-11-2008	Hot Topic Oct same-store sales up 8.3 percent
Teen clothing retailer Hot Topic Inc reported an 8.3 percent rise in October same-store sales, helped by Halloween shopping, and raised its third-quarter profit view, sending its shares up 12 percent.
20-08-2008	Hot Topic Q2 loss narrows; shares fall on weak outlook
Hot Topic Inc, a teen-clothing retailer, posted a narrower-than-expected loss for the second quarter, helped mainly by strong sales at its Torrid stores, and forecast weaker-than-estimated earnings for the rest of the year, sending its shares down more than 6 percent.