Trans World Entertainment CEO Saw 79% Compensation Hike in 2016, Despite Company's Fiscal Challenges

31 May, 2017 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Trans World Entertainment, which operates the f.y.e. (For Your Entertainment) retail chain and owns Etailz.com, operates in a declining retail market ecosystem buttressed lately by tax and insurance windfalls.

CEO Michael Feurer, who joined the company in 2014, realized a 79.4% increase in total compensation in the fiscal year (ended Jan. 28). Feurer earned $700,000 in salary, $215,000 in stock options, $349,500 in option awards, and $10,700 in other compensation for total compensation of $1.27 million, according to a May 31 filing.

The company posted net “income” of $3.2 million for the fiscal year. When eliminating a $6.7 million income tax benefit, the company actually posted an operating loss of $3.5 million.

New York-based TWEC reported Q1 (ended April 29) net income of $3.5 million after an $8.8 million life insurance payout on the death of founder/chairman Bob Higgins, who died March 1. Without the settlement, the company would have had a $5.2 million net loss.

Etailz.com, acquired last year for $75 million, generated a Q1 operating loss of $821,000, while f.y.e. reported an operating loss of $4.4 million.

Feurer earned $710,000 in total compensation in the previous fiscal year (ended Jan. 30, 2016) — when TWEC posted actual income of $2.8 million.

As of June 1, TWEC stock was trading at $1.71 per share, down from about $4 a share a year ago. Feurer's compensation, as well as other senior executives and board members’ pay, is up for a vote at the annual shareholder meeting June 28.

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