Trans World Entertainment, parent of Suncoast and FYE stores, reported its first quarter earnings on Thursday, and found a few bright spots among declining sales and higher losses.  Music sales continue to crater, with 23% declines year over year.  Total revenue was down only 19%, due to improvements in other categories. 

DVD sales were up 4% on a same store basis, with Blu-ray sales helping to boos the category. 

TWE has reduced the space it devotes to music by 10% in its stores, and allocated that space to DVDs, videogames, and trend merchandise.  The company also reduced the number of stores handling videogames, due to the unavailability of sufficient consoles, and sent more product to the 400 stores still in the videogame business. 

The company lost $11.7 million in the quarter, compared to a $9.1 million loss in the year ago period.  This continues a long string of losses (see “Trans World’s Losses Continue”).