Tough times for Tweeter (TWTR)

As per the recent stock dive and articles like this one from the Fool, Tweeter's home audio and video business is having some major problems. Both sales and profits are way down, as they are continually getting their heads bashed in by not only Best Buy and Circuit, but Target, Walmart, Amazon, and many others.

So, why don't people want to spend extra cash on a fancier TV? Simple - who the heck can tell the difference? The big retailers stock TVs at may price points , so there is very little reason for consumers to head to a specialty consumer electronics retailer, when their Best Buy has all they need. Yes, you'll find actual assistance at Tweeter (rather than some drone who can only answer questions by reading the box), but the amount of online info affords everyone almost equal levels of reviews and comparisons. Thus, once they arrive at the store, all they need to do is ask, "Do you have the Samsung 46" DLP?", "How much is it?", and "Do you accept Diner's Club?" Easy.

Same goes for the audio end of things. My dad's worked for a series of top-end manufacturers of speakers and electronics, so I've been accustomed to some serious firepower. But, most people haven't. In addition, decent to semi-high quality electronics and speakers have proliferated throughout the chains. Can you tell the difference between a $2,000 Marantz receiver and a $500 Onkyo. Does the $800 Polk Audio home theater system sound good to you? Great! Sold!
To make matters worse, our MP3 culture of using iPods with this garbage further decreases consumer's desire for good quality audio.

Tweeter's future is grim. It's sad that a 35-year old can't maintain its reputation with the current generation of iTuners and Bose-heads.