I mentioned early last November that Spin Street, a well known local music and video store here in Memphis, was closing. That event finally happened on the 25th of January – right at the end of the financial year. On that day, Spin Street closed its doors after 2 months of some quite intense liquidation sales.
I mentioned in my previous article that I would go into just why the store closed, but that I shouldn’t have to; that the fact that the store was basically a FYE with local flare should have been enough information for a person to put 2 and 2 together.
For those who can’t, though, let me go all in on just what’s up. If this article seems like a bit of a rant, that’s because it is – pure stream of thought. Let’s get to it.
Spin Street was, as I mentioned, an FYE. It was purchased a few years ago by Trans World Entertainment, the company responsible for FYE stores, among other brands. It maintained it’s unique identity but was run as a part of the company, not as it’s own store.
Trans World, of course, is trying to maintain profitability in a world where physical media is dying. There’s an irony in one of the main comments people gave when FYE in Wolfchase closed that’s also true of Spin Street, but wasn’t brought up as much from what I’ve seen. People complained that prices were too high, not realizing that the lower sales of physical media – DVD’s, Blu-Ray’s, CD’s, and the like – mean an increase in prices thanks to a lack of sales volume. That not withstanding online sales options and other lesser used media stores existing.
That’s just one facet I wanted to touch on early on, though. I say in the title that, on a whole, Spin Street closing doesn’t surprise me in the least, and I mean it – I saw it coming. The moment FYE in Wolfchase closed, I knew it was a matter of time before Spin Street went the same way. I gave it only a year or two at most, and it looks like I was right on that – it was just shy of a year from when FYE in Wolfchase closed before the plug was pulled on Spin Street.
The reasons for the decision to close Spin Street certainly are the same as FYE, but in some cases, on an even grander scale. Theft was higher at Spin Street than it was at FYE, for starters. It’s funny, people want to point out how obvious theft is as a factor, yet always seem surprised when a store closes – like they can’t see that it’s entirely possible to cross a point where it’s more profitable to close the store than keep it going.
I’m not saying theft was the only factor – far from it – but it’s hard to make a profit when you have to sell 5 DVD’s to make up for each one stolen; and that’s just to break even on money lost, let alone make a profit.
The location was both good, and bad. It’s kind of right in the middle of Memphis which means everyone is close enough to it, but the way this city is, as any local can attest, actually getting to certain “easy” areas isn’t easy. It’s an annoyance, really, in some cases, so it’s perfect location was also, in an odd way, out of the way for most people so, those who did go often shopped there irregularly, and those who were regulars, well, that’s good – they kept the store going as long as it was, but the volume simply wasn’t there. When you can shop online, too, well, that doesn’t help a physical location much, now does it?
It’s also rather bad that the store tended to attract people with nowhere else to go – sometimes a drifter would be sleeping in the entryway, or people would go around asking for money. It doesn’t create the best shopping experience, and even though store staff did what they could to alleviate this, it was a regular enough thing, be it in the store or outside it, to deter some customer traffic.
Memphis is a strange city….
As much as many in Memphis loved Spin Street, there’s just no way that people popping in spending 10 bucks every few month could keep it going for too long. Once the stores lease on the property came up for renewal, the decision was made to close the store, much like they did the FYE in Wolfchase. It’s business – once a store is no longer profitable, the best course of action is to close it.
The atmosphere of Spin Street certainly is why it’s so fondly thought of – the very unique store design alone made it an experience to shop at. Even better, it was one of the few places that dealt with vinyl records. Sure, prices were still a little high, it was a place that had a selection, both new and vintage. I can’t think of too many other places in Memphis that deal as heavily in records as Spin Street did.
The video and music selection was quite impressive – given the larger space, it’s natural that the store would have even more than FYE did. Then again, this also meant it had more shirts, Pop Vinyl figures, and other expected trending items, but that’s to be expected – the fact remains if you wanted it, there is a good chance Spin Street probably had it.
I’m not going to lie, it was a nice place, and I’ll miss it, but this event didn’t surprise me in the least. It was bound to happen, given the ownership of the store. If it had stayed independent, it’s possible it would still be around… or, that it would have closed years ago.
Memphis is odd, in that we love what we have, but can’t ever actually seem to keep anything. That’s another story for another time, though.
If I have more thought, I’ll throw out a follow up. I really do hate this, but that’s how things happen. Progress is a double edged sword…
I worked there for 4 years during college… worked my way up to manager. I left a few years before it closed. I loved this place! Trans World definitely ran it into the ground. You sound like you worked there as well perhaps, given that your take on the place is so spot on.