Movie Gallery said it signed a management deal with Hilco Real Estate to restructure leases for more than 1,100 Movie Gallery and Hollywood Video stores. Terms weren’t disclosed. Movie Gallery said the deal doesn’t include the previously announced locations marked for subleasing and downsizing. The video rental chain said it won’t publish the list of stores included in the Hilco deal. Keith Cousins, Movie Gallery’s exec. vp and chief development officer, said the Hilco program is part of his company’s “ongoing initiative to restructure approximately 70% of the company’s real estate portfolio” to boost operating results and “enhance shareholder value.” Separately, Movie Gallery said that based on preliminary first-quarter results, it expects to be in full compliance with the financial covenants in its senior credit facility for the reporting period ended April 2. The company plans to announce final results for the quarter by May 12.
New Products: Take-Two Interactive didn’t respond to a request for comment by our deadline about why it decided to shift the launch of its PS2 version of its PSP game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories to June 6 in N. America and June 9 in Europe. Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter said in a research note that the publisher “originally planned to release the game during the April quarter.” The game was originally expected to sell for $29.99 in the U.S. but Take-Two said the price will be $19.99 instead -- likely as a reaction to slow sales of games for current-generation systems… Infinium Labs said it signed a deal with Itron Technology to manufacture the upcoming Phantom Lapboard keyboard/mouse peripheral for enhanced game playing on PCs. The terms weren’t disclosed… The PS2 version of The Godfather from Electronic Arts (EA) was again the #1-rented videogame in the U.S., according to Rentrak’s preliminary Home Video Essentials data for the week ended April 16… Tomb Raider: Legend from Eidos was again the #1- selling game in the U.K., according to Chart Track data for the week ended April 15. The only new game in the top 10 was EA’s Battlefield 2: Modern Combat at #10… EA’s The Sims 2 Open For Business Expansion Pack became the top-selling PC game in the U.S. its first month, according to NPD data for March. LucasArts Entertainment’s Star Wars: Empire at War - - Feb.’s #1 title -- slipped to #3.
While there’s no time limit for the judge in the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) electronic surveillance case against AT&T to decide whether he'll unseal key documents, the group expects U.S. Dist. Court, San Francisco Judge Vaughn Walker to decide “fairly soon, but not likely this week.” Meanwhile, he has asked both sides to file briefs on whether they think he should recuse himself because he’s a former AT&T customer and so is technically part of EFF’s class action. Those documents are due on Fri. and after that, Walker said he will rule on motions: (1) EFF’s requests to unseal 2 declarations and for a preliminary injunction. (2) AT&T’s bid to require EFF to return all copies of the documents and forbid them from relying on or referring to them.
Better data reporting by industry on the state of telecom infrastructure, launch of a national repository for the data and development of federal guidelines for credentialing telephone repair crews are among preliminary recommendations of the FCC’s Hurricane Katrina Independent Panel, disclosed at a meeting of the group Wed. The task force is to file a report on its recommendations at the FCC by June 15.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its preliminary results of the following antidumping (AD) duty administrative reviews:
Attendance at the NAB convention next week in Las Vegas is expected to be unchanged from last year’s at about 104,000, said a spokesman. Exhibitor space is expected to rise 4.9% to 860,000 sq. ft. from 2005, according to preliminary figures. Companies are buying less space on average, but the number of exhibitors is expected to rise 7.5% to 1,440. Attendance at NCTA’s show last week fell 8.8% from 2005 (CD April 12 p5).
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has made a preliminary affirmative antidumping (AD) duty determination that certain lined paper products (CLPP) from India are being, or are likely to be, sold in the U.S. at less than fair value. The period of investigation is July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005.
The International Trade Administration (ITA) has issued its preliminary results of the following antidumping (AD) duty administrative reviews:
The Commerce Department's Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) has posted to its Web site the following five monthly reports containing official February 2006 trade data from the Department of Census for imports and exports of textiles and apparel: