Business Segments

9 Months Ended

Oct. 29, 2011

Business Segments [Abstract]

Business Segments

7. Business Segments

The Company has two reportable operating segments: retail trade and electronic commerce trade. These reportable operating segments reflect the manner in which the business is managed and how the Company allocates resources and assesses performance internally.

Our chief operating decision maker is our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. The Company is primarily a retailer of book merchandise. The Company’s two reportable operating segments are two distinct business units, one a traditional retailer of book merchandise and the other a seller of book merchandise primarily over the Internet. The electronic commerce trade segment is managed separately due to divergent technology and marketing requirements. The retail trade segment also includes the Company’s distribution center operations, which predominantly supplies merchandise to our retail stores. Through the distribution center operations the Company also sells books to outside parties on a wholesale basis. These sales are not material.

The Company evaluates the performance of the retail trade and electronic commerce trade segments based on profit and loss from operations before interest and income taxes. Certain intersegment cost allocations have been made based upon consolidated and segment revenues. Shipping income related to Internet sales is included in net sales, and shipping expense is included in cost of sales.

Both the retail trade and electronic commerce trade reportable operating segments derive revenues primarily from the sale of book merchandise through sales in our retail stores and over the Internet, respectively.

	Thirteen Weeks Ended						Thirty-nine Weeks Ended
	October 29,			October 30,			October 29,			October 30,
Segment Information (in thousands)	2011			2010			2011			2010
Net Sales
Retail Trade	$	92,355		$	102,804		$	293,235		$	333,600
Electronic Commerce Trade		6,082			4,292			18,708			15,009
Intersegment Sales Elimination		(4,063	)		(4,402	)		(10,357	)		(13,279	)
Net Sales	$	94,374		$	102,694		$	301,586		$	335,330
Operating (Loss) Income
Retail Trade	$	(8,095	)	$	(2,700	)	$	(15,369	)	$	4,463
Electronic Commerce Trade		160			5			(79	)		(177	)
Intersegment Elimination of Certain Costs		(195	)		(236	)		(586	)		(764	)
Total Operating (Loss) Income	$	(8,130	)	$	(2,931	)	$	(16,034	)	$	3,522

	October 29,		January 29,
	2011		2011
Assets
Retail Trade	$	306,800	$	273,074
Electronic Commerce Trade		4,628		1,728
Total Assets	$	311,428	$	274,802

For the thirteen and thirty-nine week periods ended October 29, 2011 and October 30, 2010, respectively, sales by merchandise category, as a percentage of net sales were as follows:

	Thirteen Weeks Ended						Thirty-nine Weeks Ended
	October 29,			October 30,			October 29,			October 30,
	2011			2010			2011			2010
Books and Magazines		77.4	%		81.9	%		77.1	%		81.6	%
General Merchandise		9.9	%		8.4	%		9.9	%		8.7	%
Café		5.2	%		4.5	%		4.9	%		4.3	%
Other		7.5	%		5.2	%		8.1	%		5.4	%
Total		100.0	%		100.0	%		100.0	%		100.0	%

General merchandise consists of gifts, cards, collectibles and similar types of products. Café consists of coffee, tea and other edible products, as well as gift items related to our Joe Muggs cafés. Other products include music, DVDs, E-Books and other products.