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Virgin Megastore closings mark the end of a retail era

March 15, 2009

Reuters: 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.

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