Musicland

The Musicland Group, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Entertainment retail
Predecessor	Heilicher Brothers, JL Marsh, Pickwick International
Founded	1955 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Founder	Grover Cleveland Sayre II
Defunct	2006
Fate	Acquired by Best Buy in 2001; later sold to Sun Capital Partners; filed for bankruptcy and assets acquired by Trans World Entertainment
Successor	Trans World Entertainment (for remaining stores)
Headquarters	Minnetonka , United States
Area served	United States
Key people	Jack Eugster (CEO 1980–2001)
Products	Music and entertainment retail (music, movies, video games, books, electronics)
Number of employees	Approximately 2,000 (at peak Media Play operation) (1990s)

The Musicland Group, Inc. was a prominent entertainment corporation that operated several retail chains, including Musicland, Sam Goody, Discount Records, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, On Cue, and the Media Play Superstore Chains. At the peak of Musicland's prominence in 2001, Best Buy acquired the company, a move that eventually contributed to its downfall. Jack Eugster served as CEO from 1980 until February 2001. The company's main offices were located in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

History

The inaugural Musicland store was established in Minneapolis in 1955 by Grover Cleveland Sayre II. The company maintained its headquarters there throughout its existence. Initially founded by Heilicher Brothers—a regional record distributor based in Minneapolis and owner of the Soma Records label—Musicland underwent several mergers: it combined with JL Marsh in 1964 and later with Pickwick International in 1968. In 1977, the American Can Company acquired Pickwick International and followed up by purchasing the Sam Goody chain—a well-established record store brand since 1951 in New York—in 1978. Shortly thereafter, Musicland started rebranding most of its outlets under the Sam Goody name, though a number of stores continued to operate under the Musicland brand into the early 2000s.Template:Fix/category

By 1997, the remaining Musicland locations were fully converted to Sam Goody stores.

During the mall retail boom of the 1980s and continuing through the 1990s, Musicland expanded aggressively and held the position as the largest specialty retailer of entertainment products in the United States for many years. The majority of Sam Goody stores were situated within shopping malls. The company played a role in launching the careers of numerous notable artists, including Michael Jackson.Template:Fix/category In 1986, the first store under the Suncoast Motion Picture Company banner opened—originally named Paramount Pictures until it was rebranded in 1988—focusing on films and related memorabilia and also located primarily in malls. In 1992, Musicland introduced its large-scale retail concept with Media Play superstores. These outlets combined sales of movies on video, laserdiscs, music recordings, electronics, video games, books, toys, and games all within one location across the United States. Each Media Play store functioned as a hybrid bookstore, movie retailer, music shop, and video game outlet. At their peak operation, Media Play ran 72 stores across 19 states and employed approximately 2,000 individuals. The first Media Play opened in Rockford, Illinois in 1992.

Although plans called for hundreds of new stores nationwide, only 89 locations ever materialized. Typically freestanding structures averaging about 45,000 square feet (4,200 m²), these stores were generally found in metropolitan markets. Concurrently, Musicland developed smaller-scale Media Play outlets known as On Cue stores distributed throughout smaller towns across the country. These "small town Media Plays" offered music, books, movies, musical instruments, and other entertainment products—providing communities distant from major urban centers access to a broad selection.

In 2001, Best Buy Inc. acquired The Musicland Group Inc., aiming to diversify its retail portfolio and appeal to a broader audience interested in consumer electronics and entertainment merchandise. At that time, Musicland operated more than 1,300 stores nationwide. Best Buy sought to reposition Sam Goody as a trendy destination catering to younger consumers interested in cutting-edge electronics. This strategy involved a significant merchandising overhaul and converting rural On Cue locations into Sam Goody outlets, reducing emphasis on book sales while increasing focus on video games and DVDs. However, many employees within Musicland’s management ranks expressed dissatisfaction with both Best Buy’s acquisition and their strategic approach.

Following a settlement in 2002 involving allegations of CD price fixing, The Musicland Group joined retailers such as Tower Records and Trans World Entertainment agreeing to pay a $3 million fine (~$Template:Format price adjusted for inflation). It was estimated that between 1995 and 2000 consumers were overcharged by nearly $500 million total—sometimes up to $5 extra per album.

Downfall

Best Buy was unable to achieve the desired outcomes with Musicland, incurring losses amounting to $85 million (approximately adjusted for inflation in 2002). The company acknowledged that operating mall-based retail outlets differed significantly from managing their traditional Best Buy stores, and they recognized their shortcomings in effectively overseeing The Musicland Group. Consequently, Best Buy decided to put the chain up for sale and came close to liquidating the entire operation before securing a purchaser in Sun Capital Partners, located in Boca Raton, Florida. Sun Capital took ownership through a cashless deal by assuming Musicland's outstanding debts and lease obligations. While Sun Capital aimed to refocus the business on core principles, the combined challenges of digital music downloads and competition from large-format retailers ultimately proved insurmountable. In December 2005, Sun Capital announced the shutdown of all remaining Media Play outlets. Subsequently, the Musicland Group, under Sun Capital’s ownership, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2006. The following month, they revealed plans to close 226 Sam Goody stores, 115 Suncoast Motion Picture Company locations, and all Media Play branches.

In March 2006, Trans World Entertainment declared its acquisition of Musicland's remaining portfolio of 400 Sam Goody and Suncoast stores from Sun Capital, including their associated online platforms. Trans World opted to keep 345 stores operational while closing 55. The company initiated a rebranding effort by converting many Sam Goody mall locations into FYE stores, their flagship retail brand; however, approximately 170 Suncoast Motion Picture Co. outlets retained their original name.

Recent years

Template:Unreferenced section By January 2007, over 100 Sam Goody locations were still active. Nevertheless, due to underwhelming financial performance during the fourth quarter and throughout 2006 at Trans World Entertainment, CEO Robert Higgins announced during the quarterly earnings call that numerous remaining Sam Goody stores would be shuttered. Beginning in late 2006, Trans World commenced transitioning Sam Goody outlets into FYE-branded stores.

In popular culture

File:Musicland - North DeKalb Mall (Fear Street Set) Atlanta, GA May 2019.jpg

The store facade recreated for R.L. Stine's Fear Street

A Musicland outlet was among several retail storefronts recreated for the production set of R. L. Stine's Fear Street Part One: 1994 at the North DeKalb Mall in Atlanta, Georgia.

The late drummer of Slipknot, Joey Jordison, was formerly employed at a Musicland store located in Iowa.

External links

• Official Suncoast website
• Sam Goody website now redirects to FYE website
• Trans World Entertainment corporate site