Tweeter Home Entertainment Group Inc.,
the fifth-largest U.S. consumer electronics chain, said it will
consolidate all five of its retail chains under the Tweeter name
to establish a single brand nationwide. The shares rose
10 percent recently.
Tweeter said the names will change on all of its acquired
stores, such as Sound Advice in Florida and Hillcrest High
Fidelity in Dallas, within the next 18 months.
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The move will allow Tweeter to advertise its 175 stores in 21
states under the one name, putting the Canton, Mass.-based
company on par with larger electronics retailers Best Buy Co.,
RadioShack Corp. and Circuit City Stores Inc. Tweeter plans to
spend half its marketing budget in the next fiscal year on radio
and television advertising.
“I say it’s about time,” said Robert Straus, an analyst at
New York-based Independent Research Group who rates the shares
“buy” and doesn’t own any. “Clearly, the company will
experience economies of scale in national advertising.”
Tweeter spent one-third of its advertising budget on
broadcast ads last fiscal year and $13 million on full-page
newspaper ads, company spokeswoman Kate MacKinnon said in an
interview. It will trim the amount of newspaper advertising.
“Newspapers don’t allow us to target specific audiences,”
she said.
The company said it will open a new prototype store in Las
Vegas in January. Tweeter trails Best Buy, RadioShack, Circuit
City and Rex Stores Corp. in market capitalization.
Bloomberg News
