Ultimate Electronics names new president

THORNTON, Colo. Jim Pearse has been named president of Ultimate Electronics. Pearse has been with the company since 1993, most recently serving as senior vp of merchandising.

Bruce Giesbrecht, ceo of Ultimate Electronics commented, "This promotion recognizes Jim's contribution to Ultimate Electronics' successful turnaround. Before the acquisition by Wattles Capital Management in April 2005, Ultimate Electronics stores experienced years of deteriorating sales performance and declining EBITDA caused by problems in merchandising, marketing and store operations. Since then, we have fixed the product assortment, rationalized the pricing and promotional strategies, and rebuilt a sales culture in the stores. As a result, same store sales and EBITDA have improved each year since the acquisition."

Giesbrecht reported that during the company's most recent quarter it experienced a 3% increase in same-store sales, and significant improvement in both gross margin and EBITDA.