Electronics Boutique

Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp. (West Chester, Pa.) announced a 36.2 percent increase in total revenues for the first quarter ended April 30, 2005.

Same-store sales rose 14.5 percent, with double-digit gains in all markets and particular strength in European stores and domestic strip center locations. The retailer said sales growth was driven by strong demand for hardware, particularly Sony’s PSP and PS2, as well as a 30.4 percent increase in total software sales.

Excluding costs related to the pending merger with GameStop Corp. (Grapevine, Texas), net income increased 22.6 percent.

“We continued to successfully execute our key business initiatives, as evidenced by our double-digit comparable store sales and the announced acquisition of Spanish retailer, Jump,” said president and ceo Jeffrey Griffiths. “During the quarter, we generated strong hardware growth that was driven primarily by sales of the PS2 slim and the Nintendo DS as well as the successful launch of the Sony PSP. At the same time, we also drove growth in our software business, which was led by Sony’s ‘Gran Turismo 4’ and continued increases in our pre-played business.”

During the quarter, the company opened 106 new stores, increasing the total store count to 2071 as of April 30, in the United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico and Sweden, primarily under the names EB Games and Electronics Boutique. That compares with 1623 stores in operation a year earlier.