Trans World Entertainment, operator of the fye chain, lost $23.2 million in its most recent quarter ended November 2, the company announced Tuesday.  The losses came as the fye chain continued its efforts to pivot away from packaged media to merch, with merch sales approaching 50% of sales.

Sales at fye were $40.8 million for the quarter, down 14.7% from $47.9 million in the same period last year.  That’s an improvement from the 17.4% decline in sales in the company’s Q2 (see "Trans World Sales Down 25.6%").

Comparable store sales were down 5.2%, with the remaining declines primarily due to store closures.

Sales in the company’s "lifestyle" category, which includes licensed merchandise and games, were up 6.3%, with the category accounting for 46.2% of sales.

Fye lost $21.5 million in the quarter, with a $16.0 million asset impairment charge pushing the loss well above the $9.5 million in the same quarter last year.

Overalll sales for Trans World, which include ecommerce company etailz, were down 24.5% to $69.5 million from $92.0 million in the year ago quarter.  The quarterly loss of $23.2 million compared to a loss of $14.1 million in its Q3 2018.