Daniel Dematteo: Our used margins should range between 49% and 51% depending on the sales mix within the use and on promotional activity, so our used rate is where we wanted it.
David Carlson: Our new hardware and software margins were down slightly from the prior year, mostly due to the amount of brand advertising we are spending our co-op income on.
William Armstrong (C.L.King & Associates): Does the increase in hardware systems being viable sellers place any physical strain on your stores?
Daniel Dematteo: It represents a challenge for us. The spring relay was a great first step in addressing that issue and the fourth quarter relay going into the holiday season will be even more important. It’s almost adopting the growth restore model of productivity per linear shelf square foot merchandise mix that is being analyzed by our field force.
We kept the Louisville facility we opened several years ago and have the facility here in Dallas. We do a lot of just in time delivery, so the stores do not have a lot of product in the back rooms.
William Armstrong (C.L.King & Associates): Please explain on gross margins, interest expense, and average shares outstanding for the second quarter?
Daniel Dematteo: Gross margins will decline in the second quarter because of the hardware mix expected. We’ve retired $150 million of notes so far this year, so we are looking at a similar number there. There will be a 2 million share increase for the second quarter in comparison to the first quarter.
William Armstrong (C.L.King & Associates): Are the debt extinguishment costs non-cash?
Daniel Dematteo: The 50% to do with the write-off of the deferred fees are non-cash, but some of the actual cost of buying back the debt is cash.
Michael Hickey (Janco Partners): Which install base of the three next gen consoles PS3, the 360 and the Wii is more inclined to purchase used product? And what percentage of your total used sales for the quarter or trailing six months represents next-gen gamers?
Daniel Dematteo: The Xbox 360 used games are in supply but we don’t have many PS3 and many Wii games right now, because it’s fairly new platforms. I would expect that platforms will trade fairly equally.
The more avid gamers buying the Xbox 360 and to some degree the PS3 are more knowledgeable about our trade model and our job is to introduce the new consumers to our trade model. So, to that degree, we probably have a little bit more of an early challenge in front of us.
Michael Hickey (Janco Partners): Was your product mix for the quarter truly in line with what you guys are expecting? How is that turning for your fiscal 2007 and for your SG&A as well?
Daniel Dematteo: Hardware was a bit higher than expected, but the other categories were on plan. We will have a very strong hardware mix in the second quarter versus the prior year. Used and new software will grow fairly similarly in the second quarter but I cannot predict the full year numbers at this point.
SG&A leverage in the second quarter will not be as dramatic as in the first quarter because in the prior year the Electronics Boutique’s general office and distribution center were open for the entire quarter, while it was only open for a portion of the second quarter of last year. |