Multimedia retailer Hastings Entertainment and bookstore chain Books-A-Million both reported sales declines in Q4, 2008, but both companies managed to post profits during one of the worst retailing environments in memory. 

Hastings reported net earnings of $4.1 million for Q4 2008, a nearly 30% decline from the $5.8 million the company earned in Q4 2007.  Same store sales were off 4.1% for the quarter.

Total revenues for Hastings for fiscal 2008 were down $9 million or 1.6% from the previous year.  Sales of music CDs were down 16.3% for the year with DVDs off 2.4%, video games flat, books up 1%, electronics up 12.9%, consumables up 14.6% and "trends" (plush, movie memorabilia, licensed toys & t-shirts, etc.) soaring by 22.6% as Hastings moved aggressively to diversify its product mix by de-emphasizing music in favor of other categories.

Books-A-Million’s fourth quarter profits slipped 3.6% from $11.9 million in Q4 2007 to $11.4 million.   Q4 sales were down just 2.5% from the previous year, but same store sales (a better measure of performance) fell 5.3%.  Books-A-Million managed to blunt the effects of the same store sales decline somewhat by reducing Q4 expenses by 1.3% and reducing its inventory by 2.5 million versus Q4 2007.