Tweeter’s Not-So-Sweet Sound

Tweeter Home Entertainment Inc. (Canton, Mass.) has announced plans to close 19 stores and cut more than 200 jobs.

The announcement followed a report that the audio and video equipment retailer had posted a $27.6 million first quarter loss.

The cuts will leave Tweeter with 158 stores nationwide (under the retail names Bang & Olufsen, Electronic Interiors, HiFi Buys, Hillcrest, Showcase Home Entertainment, Sound Advice, NOW! Audio Video and Tweeter). The stores to be shut down accounted for 32 percent of Tweeter’s operating losses over the past year.

Plans to close underperforming stores are expected to result in costs of $25 million to $30 million during the third quarter. “We did not achieve our internal plans for profitability for the quarter and fell about $2 million short of our internal earnings before taxes goal,” said interim ceo Joe McGuire. “By rationalizing our store base, we move much closer to a return to profitability.”

Tweeter has said plans to have all of its stores operating under the Tweeter brand name by 2006.