In case you haven’t heard, here’s the article.
The question is why? I’m sure plenty of execs at Musicland (the parent company of Media Play) are asking themselves the same question but haven’t found an answer. I just happen to have the answer, and it’s because I don’t shop there.
No, I don’t spend that much money on media, whether it’s books, DVDs, music, or what have you. I don’t spend enough to support the local Gray Whale music store, let alone a Media Play. But I still believe that Media Play is going out of business because I don’t shop there, because if I don’t shop there, that means a lot of other people don’t shop there as well.
Case in point, last Christmas I bought the Napoleon Dynamite DVD for everyone in my office. Where did I go? I went to Best Buy. Why? I can’t remember. I think it was just the first place that came to mind, plus there’s one within two miles of where our office is. Now that I think about it, I think I also heard on the news that they had a bunch of copies and were selling out fast.
Where would I have gone after that? Probably to Wal-Mart, because I often assume, perhaps incorrectly, that things at Wal-Mart cost less than at other places.
And if I had been thinking ahead I probably would have purchased online at Buy.com or Amazon.
Media Play never came to mind. I don’t know where one is located. I haven’t heard about them in years. True, I’m just one man, but if they’re not reaching me, chances are they aren’t reaching people like me, and there may be quite a few people like me out there.
To sum it in general, I shop at successful stores. You could say they are successful because I shop there, or I shop there because they are successful, and both statements would be true. I suspect the reason why I shop at certain stores are because they are doing things in the right way to get me to shop there, and I’m probably part of the majority in these cases.
What could Media Play have done to be the first thing to come to mind last year when I went and bought 15 DVDs? On average I watch less than an hour of TV per month, but I do listen to about 5 hours of talk radio per month. I’m not into podcasting yet, but I do go to news websites at least once per day. In this specific case, one of the things that influenced my decision to shop at Best Buy was reading about how mad sales were going in the local paper (the online version…do people really read the paper version anymore with the folding and the black fingers and not being able to search?). That’s a plug for PR firms.
My point is that traditional advertising on TV and newspapers probably wouldn’t have worked on me. Radio might have. PR probably would have. Certainly other factors, like having a Best Buy down the street, are circumstantial and can’t be entirely controlled for.
In the end, I don’t know exactly why Media Play didn’t come to my mind, but they didn’t. Maybe with some more research I could find out. All I know is that I’ve never shopped there, and I believe their announcement that they’re going out of business is a direct result of that.
I used to shop at MediaPlay quite often in my teenage years. They had better selection and prices than places at the malls, and I got used to going there first. Then they opened up a BestBuy nearby, and things changed. MediaPlay’s prices were lower than the mall shops, but they weren’t even close to BestBuy’s. Now, I buy a LOT of CDs… I mean, I have a collection of at least 500 stuffed in my house… so I need good prices. I’m also lazy, so I need it to be nearby. The closer the store, the better. Nowdays, I live close to a MediaPlay, but where do I shop for music? Orion’s, which is marginally closer, but a lot more likely to stock the music I listen to.
I for one won’t be crying for MediaPlay.
I grew up near media play, and I still go there all the time. But, I don’t buy things there because they are too expensive.
DVDs are always about $15 at Wal-Mart the first week they come out. They are generally $18 to $20 at Media Play. Movies that have been out a month or two are often $22 to $29 at MediaPlay. Last year I wanted to get Napoleon Dynamite. It think it was like $29 at Media Play. I got it for about $15.
Media Play is going out of business because it is too expensive. Way too expensive. You can always find media cheaper somewhere else.
The Media Play’s in Utah were actually the most successful stores in the chain. They were making a profit and always have. Digital downloading started the fall of the compact disc industry and it hurt MP badly in 2002. They could never recover. Media Play had the best “in house” DVD selection in the United States and unfortunately had to pass that on to the consumer. MP had to make a profit off of its software, so they could not offer loss leaders like BB, Target and Walmart.
The reason they are closing is simple: Their merchandise is too darn expensive. The last CD I purchased from Media Play was during the 2002 Olympics. I buy about 2 -3 CD’s per week as well as about 6 DVDs per month. Why pay $27.99 for Sin City when I can pay $16.99 at Target or $17.99 at Best Buy? The funny thing is, even with Media Play’s 40% off clearance sale they are barely competitive with Target and Best Buy. What a joke.
You people really need to readerch Wal-mart and the companies you shop at. Wal-Mart is the Devil. It completely destroys economies.
What does wal-mart do when it opens a new store? It looses money on purpose. that’s right. the first year a wal-mart store is open it is completely losing money. It makes it’s prices so low that near-by compeditors (mom and pop shops) can’t compete and so have to close down thier stores! and what happens to the unions inthe area? well, with all of it’s unionized businesses closing becasue of Wal-mart, they go to!
What about all those great job opportunities? Why don’t you ask one of the employees? no overtime pay, no benifits, they treat them all like crap. on top of it all? there’s no union to support the employees to protect thier rights!
When you support Wal-Mart you are killing our economy.
Wal-Mart is the Devil… research it for yourself.
I loved Media Play, it was where I used to buy all my DVD’S, CD’S, and books and video games. I was very, very upset (and still am) that they closed it’s doors to me forever. A new Best Buy went up across the street from where Media Play was, and it wasn’t long after that Best Buy went up, Media Play closed. Now, I like Best Buy, but I liked Media Play WAY….. BETTER. The main problem i have with the Best Buy near me ( The one that went up across the street from Media Play) is that on FOUR seperate occasions they have not had what I went in the store to buy, sold out. So I was forced to buy from somewhere else, Best Buy’s loss, LOL… I went to buy the new Bone Thugs N Harmony CD when it came out, GONE. The new Young Buck CD, GONE. Unrated Rob Zombie’s Halloween DVD, GONE. Most recently, Stephen King’s The Mist Collectors Edition DVD, GONE!!! I never except ONE time, over years and years of shopping at Media Play ever had that problem, they always had what I wanted and plenty of it. They were always the same price as Best Buy too, or cheaper. Best Buy is not all what is hyped up to be, I would take Media Play over them anyday for my music and movie items. I miss Media Play.