Media Play
Encyclopedia
Media Play was a chain of retail stores founded in 1992 by Musicland
that sold movies on video, DVD
s, music, Electronics
, video games, books, and games in the United States
. Each store essentially contained a book store, a movie store, a music store, and a video game store under one roof. At their height, they operated 72 stores in 19 states with 2,000 employees. The first store opened in Rockford, Illinois
, in 1992. Hundreds of stores were slated to be opened, but only 89 ever were.
Their Replay program was a loyalty program
that allowed members to earn points for purchases which can earn members gift certificates. The same Replay card also worked at Sam Goody
and Suncoast Motion Picture Company
stores.
In 2001, Musicland was purchased by Best Buy
Co. Inc. for $696 million as part of its initiative to diversify its retail holdings to reach a larger demographic with its consumer electronics and entertainment products. By then, Musicland numbered over 1300 stores. Their intention was to transform Sam Goody into a destination for young people looking for hip electronics. They launched a major remerchandising campaign and converted Musicland's On Cue concept of rural stores to the Sam Goody brand, reducing its position in books and moving more into video games and DVD.
Despite Best Buy's major efforts, they failed to generate the results they were looking for with Musicland, losing $85 million in 2002. As a result, they put the company up for sale and were likely just weeks away from liquidating the entire chain when they found a buyer in Sun Capital Partners of Boca Raton, Florida. Sun Capital Partners acquired the company in a cash-free transaction in exchange for acquiring Musicland's debt and leases. Sun Capital attempted to get the company back to basics, but in December 2005 they announced the closure and liquidation of all remaining Media Play stores.
In December 2005, Minnetonka, Minnesota
-based Musicland Group, which owned Media Play, announced it would close all 61 stores by the end of January 2006 and refocus on its Sam Goody and Suncoast chainshttp://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/13372231.htm.
Media Play had been unprofitable for a number of years. In late 2005, it increased its advertising and sales promotions, but to no avail. It is thought that the unprofitability, caused by competition from Wal-Mart
, Best Buy
, and online retailers such as Amazon.com
, was the major factor in the decision to close the retail chain.
The Musicland Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2006, and in February announced the closing http://www.musicland.com/mediainfo.asp of 226 Sam Goody and 115 Suncoast Motion Picture Company stores, and all Media Play locations. Just months after the chain closed, the website Media Play.com was all that remained. In February 2006, Trans World Entertainment Corp. acquired the Musicland Group, which owned Sam Goody, Suncoast, and Media Play.com. Some former Media Play stores became home to F.Y.E. Superstores beginning in June 2006.
Musicland
The Musicland Group, Inc. was an entertainment company which ran Sam Goody, Suncoast Motion Picture Company and the Media Play Superstore Chain. Musicland filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in January 2006. Trans World Entertainment which runs FYE, and sells CDs, DVDs, and video games, purchased...
that sold movies on video, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s, music, Electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, video games, books, and games in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Each store essentially contained a book store, a movie store, a music store, and a video game store under one roof. At their height, they operated 72 stores in 19 states with 2,000 employees. The first store opened in Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
, in 1992. Hundreds of stores were slated to be opened, but only 89 ever were.
Their Replay program was a loyalty program
Loyalty program
Loyalty programs are structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore encourage, loyal buying behavior — behavior which is potentially beneficial to the firm....
that allowed members to earn points for purchases which can earn members gift certificates. The same Replay card also worked at Sam Goody
Sam Goody
Sam Goody was a music and entertainment retailer in the United States and United Kingdom, and was owned and operated by Trans World Entertainment which also runs FYE, Saturday Matinee, and Suncoast Motion Picture Company. It specialized in music, video, and video game sales...
and Suncoast Motion Picture Company
Suncoast Motion Picture Company
Suncoast Motion Picture Company is an American chain of retail stores specializing in recorded videos, particularly movies but also carried television series. The stores have sold them in the VHS, Laser Disk, DVD, HD, and Blu-ray formats. The stores also carry various other items, including...
stores.
In 2001, Musicland was purchased by Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
Co. Inc. for $696 million as part of its initiative to diversify its retail holdings to reach a larger demographic with its consumer electronics and entertainment products. By then, Musicland numbered over 1300 stores. Their intention was to transform Sam Goody into a destination for young people looking for hip electronics. They launched a major remerchandising campaign and converted Musicland's On Cue concept of rural stores to the Sam Goody brand, reducing its position in books and moving more into video games and DVD.
Downfall
In December 2005, Minnetonka, Minnesota
Minnetonka, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 51,301 people, 21,393 households, and 14,097 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,893.0 persons per square mile . There were 22,228 housing units at an average density of 818.9 per square mile...
-based Musicland Group, which owned Media Play, announced it would close all 61 stores by the end of January 2006 and refocus on its Sam Goody and Suncoast chainshttp://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/13372231.htm.
Media Play had been unprofitable for a number of years. In late 2005, it increased its advertising and sales promotions, but to no avail. It is thought that the unprofitability, caused by competition from Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
, Best Buy
Best Buy
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...
, and online retailers such as Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
, was the major factor in the decision to close the retail chain.
The Musicland Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2006, and in February announced the closing http://www.musicland.com/mediainfo.asp of 226 Sam Goody and 115 Suncoast Motion Picture Company stores, and all Media Play locations. Just months after the chain closed, the website Media Play.com was all that remained. In February 2006, Trans World Entertainment Corp. acquired the Musicland Group, which owned Sam Goody, Suncoast, and Media Play.com. Some former Media Play stores became home to F.Y.E. Superstores beginning in June 2006.
External links
- Official website (Archive)
- Ex-Official website