Jim Litwak has rejoined Trans World Entertainment, the company where he was previously an executive VP, as president/COO. From 1996 to 2000 Litwak was executive VP of merchandising and marketing, and will now oversee merchandising, marketing and operations. He will report to chairman/CEO Bob Higgins.
Litwak left the Albany, N.Y.-based chain when he was passed over as president, with the appointment of Mike Madden to that post. Madden, who is now with Musicland, left the chain about a year later and the post has been vacant since then.
For the past five years Litwak was a senior VP of Columbia House but lost his job when BMG Direct bought the company. Prior to joining Trans World, Litwak held senior retail executive positions including 14 years at Macy’s, culminating in being president of Macy’s West.
In other company news, Trans World, which runs 800 stores, has revised its earning guidance for the second time in 14 weeks. Yesterday, the company said it expected earnings of 25-30 cents per share for the year. Initially, the company said it expected earnings of 85-90 cents per share, but in July it reduced its guidance to 80-85 cents per share, when its second quarter loss looked like it was going to be greater than expected.
Now the company says that its third quarter loss also will be greater than expected, with red ink expected to be in the 33-38 cents per share range. It also says it expects a comparable-store sales decline of 6-7%.
