Virgin Megastore

[oftheheartofthesoul]

They are about two steps to the left from going out of business entirely. Will they come back to Coachella? If not, will there still be a music store?

[moomoo]

FYE replacing them I believe.

[prisss]

yeaa I know...

there's only one left on hollywood/highland in LA

[BrettShipes]

There's one in SF but I never went there because Rasputin is down the street. Amoeba Hollywood is by far my favorite.

[beartrash]

The SF location is closing in April.

[shakermaker113]

woah really? does this mean clearance sales?

but fuck, virgin SF is sometimes the most convenient place for me to go. rasputins is close but it closes too early. damn.

[iloveorangejuice]

They were having a 40% clearance sale at the Virgin inside the Ontario Mills Mall. But the prices weren't that good. Pretty sure they raised the original price a bit then marked them down. But I went in November so I dont know how it is now.

[emtgreg]

the overhead in retail is too high to support record stores anymore...

the only reason the indies are staying up right now is because they have such dirt cheap rent and labor...

virgin way overpays in rent...their locations are amazing, but the only things that can survive in those locations are restaurants and/or super high fashion retail with 1 thousand dollar plus average ticket sales...

[emtgreg]

fye will be cheaper for us anyways...so its better....

[Ardentbiscuit]

Is FYE that one that is a conglomeration of Sam Goody, Wherehouse and Nickelodian Record stores?

The reason is I ask is because there are none near me so I don't know much about them.

[Cdubby]

FYE in my area are the dumb fucks who carry nothing good and sell the new Creed and Nickleback albums for 19.99 apiece.

[emtgreg]

NICKLEBACK FOR 19.99!! SWEET I CAN ROCK AND SUPPORT BUSH AND THE USA AT THE SAME TIME!!!

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

There's one in SF but I never went there because Rasputin is down the street. Amoeba Hollywood is by far my favorite.

whenever i'm in SF I buy records at Resputin's, but that Virgin is fun as hell to roam around because it's fucking huge and they haver great books. The coffee in their cafe upstairs is really good too, and it's a nice view from the window there to chill and relax

But ya, Amoeba Hollywood is my mecca for purchasing music (RIP Aaron's Records though)

[shakermaker113]

FYE is fucking awful. I can't believe that place is going to survive while virgin goes out of business.

[NightGoat]

I thought all the FYE's closed. The one down the street from me has been out of business for two years, as well as the one in the nearest mall. Can't say I'll miss 'em though.

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Thank GOD.

I would never step foot in a virgin megastore again.. Not after the last time. But that is what happens when you get waaaay too loaded. (You make the wall of shame.) =P

FYE ain't bad for a giant retail chain. Much better then virgin...

[stuporfly]

whenever i'm in SF I buy records at Resputin's, but that Virgin is fun as hell to roam around because it's fucking huge and they haver great books. The coffee in their cafe upstairs is really good too, and it's a nice view from the window there to chill and relax


I was in San Francisco a few weeks ago, and I stopped by that Virgin Megastore to look for deals. I don't think the cafe is open anymore. The book selection in the Borders in Union Square isn't half bad, so you're not losing too much there.

As long as I'm able to shop the Amoeba on Haight Street, I'll be okay. I'd love for them to open a place in NYC, though we've got plenty of indies that are worth their salt.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

I was in San Francisco a few weeks ago, and I stopped by that Virgin Megastore to look for deals. I don't think the cafe is open anymore. The book selection in the Borders in Union Square isn't half bad, so you're not losing too much there.

As long as I'm able to shop the Amoeba on Haight Street, I'll be okay. I'd love for them to open a place in NYC, though we've got plenty of indies that are worth their salt.

if you're ever in San Fran and on Haight and like crazy books, be sure to check out Giant Robot

[BakForMore]

What's a record store?! Haha!

I never like Virgin's, I always went to a local record store. Here in Phoenix, AZ I always went to Zia or shopped for used online.

[Blinken]

the overhead in retail is too high to support record stores anymore...

the only reason the indies are staying up right now is because they have such dirt cheap rent and labor...

virgin way overpays in rent...their locations are amazing, but the only things that can survive in those locations are restaurants and/or super high fashion retail with 1 thousand dollar plus average ticket sales...

Actually Virign underpays in rent for some of their better locations for example at their Time Square location, which is closing too, they only pay $54 per square foot, yet in that area the market rate is around $700 per square foot. They are not getting a renewal on their lease because they don't want to pay the market rate. Basically they used to get a discounted rate because they help neighboring bussiness with extra traffic to their store. They were considered an anchor store, and that is why they were paying such cheap rent. Now that they don't bring as much traffic the good deals on rent are not coming anymore, and they can't pay for higher rent. They still have strong sales at that location though, around $55 million anually.

[psychic friend]

snapchella

[Sleepingrock]

snapchella

You havent replied to my email PF D=

[beavington]

(RIP Aaron's Records though)

always my favorite store. could spend hours there. The staff tried a bit too hard i felt but good selection, and great used selection.
That is the only grudge I have against amoeba, but I think it was going downhill for a bit before amoeba anyway...

[jockeyfullofbourbon]

Amoeba should take virgin's place.

[oftheheartofthesoul]

uh oh (http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/all-u-s-virgin-megastores-to-close-by-june-1003951620.story)

All U.S. Virgin Megastores To Close By June



March 16, 2009 05:37 AM ET

Ed Christman, N.Y.
The planned U.S. closure of the Virgin Megastore chain by mid-June will mark the end of the British music retail invasion.

HMV was the first to land in November 1990, with an East Coast incursion, followed soon by Virgin's entry on the West Coast and W.H. Smith's focus on the country's heartland malls.

The three chains came in thinking they could teach the Americans a thing or two about merchandising music. But their high-handed attitude wasn't directed at their competitors, like Tower Records, Camelot Music, Record World and other long-dead music chains. Rather, it was targeted at the record labels.

"They were arrogant," a label sales executive told Billboard about the British chains before Virgin confirmed its U.S. closings. "They thought they knew everything. They thought they were going to take the U.S. by storm. But I grew to love them. They were all good music guys and their stores were great."

The British merchants were especially known for championing certain kinds of artists and genres. But their fatal flaw was a failure to understand the U.S. real estate market. HMV and Virgin had a history of overpaying for locations, which meant both chains usually had more unprofitable stores than profitable ones.

At its peak, the Virgin Megastore chain had 23 stores and revenue of $280 million annually, but at least 12 of those stores weren't profitable. After a four-year store-closing spree, the chain was down to six stores by January, all of them profitable, and combined they were doing a very respectable $180 million in annual sales. The chain's New York Times Square location generated $55 million, with $6 million in profit, while its Union Square store downtown had $40 million in sales and a few million dollars in profit, according to sources.

SALES SLIDE INSURMOUNTABLE

With CD sales sliding, "I tried my hardest to come up with a new model, and we were making a lot of headway with it before the holidays," said Virgin Entertainment Group North America CEO Simon Wright.

Virgin outlasted HMV and W.H. Smith, with the former pulling out in 2004 and the latter selling out to Camelot Music in 1998. But Virgin couldn't withstand the combined blows of big-box loss leaders, chain-store exclusive releases and digital cannibalization.

"We have made a great contribution to music retailing, but it's time to move on," Wright said.

In August 2007, Virgin Entertainment Group North America was bought by two real estate companies, the Related Cos. and Vornado Realty Trust, which hold stakes of 51 percent and 49 percent, respectively. In June 2008, a Vornado executive told Reuters that the Times Square store would shut down in first-quarter 2009 because the company could make more money on the real estate.

Virgin was destined to lose its Times Square space, but it might have been given a shot next door in the much smaller Vornado-owned space formerly occupied by the Bar Code bar and gaming arcade, sources said.

"But the holidays were what they were and the economy is what it is since then," Wright said. "The economy is so bad, it's all about batten down the hatches."

Just as Tower Records once helped transform Broadway from a warehouse district into a top-notch retail street, the Virgin Megastore was key in revitalizing the Union Square area, which 10 years ago was filled with bargain stores and pot dealers.

"We changed the face of Union Square," Wright said. "What will happen there now with both us and Circuit City leaving at the same time?"

[fatbastard]

"We changed the face of Union Square," Wright said. "What will happen there now with both us and Circuit City leaving at the same time?"



Less advertisment blinking in our face.

[ivankay]

One of my favorite jobs was as a seasonal (Christmas 97') dj for the Virgin Costa Mesa store. They had to drag me out of the booth to go on my breaks. i loved mixing songs and videos. One time i thought it would be cool to play the "Come to Daddy" video by Aphex Twin. Manager came in to express why he didn't think it was an appropriate video to play for holiday shoppers. i loved trying to figure out how i was going to go from the current song i was playing to a song that was representative of one of the sections a customer was hanging out in (like how would i go from that Aphex to some Squirrel Nut Zippers in a smooth and logical way). Thanks for those few months Virgin. It was great having a whole store as a record crate.

[M Sparks]

Is FYE that one that is a conglomeration of Sam Goody, Wherehouse and Nickelodian Record stores?

I'm not sure about all that, but we had a Wherehouse here that changed into FYE, though it looked exactly the same. It's closed now.

Never heard of Nickelodian Records, but I know that Wherehouse took over The Record Shop chain around '93.

[morelifefucker]

i`m glad virgin record stores are closing, they charged to much for everything.

[shakermaker113]

the sale is currently 30%.

not enough to warrant buying cds. and it doesn't look like anybody is. some of the dvds (especially box sets) are starting to fly though. I bought some dvds today that might not last. now I'm going to hold off until the sale is at least 60%.

[BKsaysAction!]

It's a shame all these record stores are closing. I really miss tower records and I go to amoeba's as much as i can. The problem is when these record chains close nothing replaces them so your stuck either hoping theres a decent indie record store near by or have to buy shit online or worse at best buy.

[MeowMixer]

This really, really depresses me.

[microcuts]

FYE is a HORRIBLE alternative to Tower, in both selection and price. I'm disgusted that they're still going to be around.

[shakermaker113]

I don't mind the chains closing down. we could use more indpendent places though. in the bay area we're pretty well equipped though. streetlight, amoeba, rasputin. we could do with a few smaller places scattered about though.

I don't expect FYE to last more than another year.

I suppose the collapse of the chains will also make it easier for target and best buy to get their exclusives.

[TheWatcher]

The Tower records here had a decent selection but was horribly overpriced. I would not think of buying music at Best Buy, Walmart or Target, but Border's actually has better prices than Tower records did. Tower records closed and was replaced by FYE, I have not been to the store yet. Wherehouse also closed a couple years back (it was open for at least 30 years!). I think the Sam Goody in the local mall may be closing as well. I hope Amoeba continues to make money so they can stay open.

[oftheheartofthesoul]

Thank you to all the people of Coachella land for eventually answering my question. Sounds like a plan!