Grace Leong

An Amarillo, Texas multimedia entertainment superstore chain is looking at eight cities along the Wasatch Front including three in Utah County for its planned expansion.

Brian Dausses, Hastings's director of real estate, could not immediately specify how many of the five stores will be in Utah. But the company, along with its real estate agent, Commerce CRG, will start looking at possible sites in Provo, Spanish Fork, American Fork, Salt Lake City, Cedar City, Murray, Sandy and St. George at the end of the month.

Hastings already has two stores in Utah. Its first store opened in Logan in 1988, while its second store relocated to Harrisville from Ogden seven years ago.

"We're very much a college town retailer. Utah has lots of captive book audience, a good family atmosphere, a growing population, a solid economy that's not experiencing the same sort of fluctuations as some of the other Western states," Dausses said. "We like growing in states where we already have stores. We also like neighborhood power centers and community centers."

Ben Brown, retail specialist with Commerce CRG in Salt Lake City, agreed.

"People still have a little disposable income here. Utah isn't as hard-hit as some of the other Western states like Arizona and Nevada," he said. "Utah is also considered an underserved market. The multimedia rental market is very very soft, but when you can diversify your product, that allows you to stay strong." About 60 percent of Hastings's superstores have a coffee drive-through area.

"That's a new concept introduced in the past seven years and it proved a very successful complement to the books department," Dausses said. "We offer used products, books, videos, electronics and coffee. It's like taking a Blockbuster, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble and rolling it into one location, and on top of that, add used products and coffee."

Companywide, Hastings has 155 superstores, averaging about 20,000 square feet each. The company also operates www.gohastings.com, an e-commerce Web site.

Hastings, in an earnings report in May, reported net income of $3 million, or 28 cents per diluted share, for the first quarter ended April 30, up from a net income of $2.5 million, or 22 cents per diluted share a year ago.

Driving the company's first-quarter earnings was a 36.8 percent increase in sales of trend items including Webkinz plush products, and strong apparel and seasonal sales, the May report said. Also helping is a 30 percent increase in video game sales, including that of new hit titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV, Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Army of Two, and Turok, as well as increased sales of used games, gaming systems and gaming accessories including Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii controllers.