Hastings Tries Out Used Books

by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 4/4/2005

Hastings Entertainment has become the latest retailer to enter the used book market. The company is testing the sale of used books in six stores and hopes to add used book sections to all stores by the summer. "We're playing with the model now," said Hastings CFO Dan Crow. If the test is successful, used books will become a part of the chain's rebranding effort that will be centered around the theme, "Buy Sell Trade Rent." There are no immediate plans to add used books to the company's gohastings.com Web site.

Same-store sales of books rose 1.5% at the company for the year ended January 31, the slowest growth among all product segments. The fastest selling categories were DVDs and video games.

Sales for the entire company rose 8.9%, to $440.6 million, but net income fell to $5.8 million from $8.3 million. Hastings attributed the decline in earnings to higher expenses tied to the integration of a new warehouse management system.