Virgin Megastore Times Sq- 'Must Close Soon'- Page 2
Virgin Megastore Times Sq- 'Must Close Soon'
#25re: Virgin Megastore Times Sq- 'Must Close Soon'
Posted: 1/15/09 at 11:34am
Richard Branson had a 100 year lease for that space at $54 per square foot. Now the new owners can get $700 per square foot.
When I first started going to New York in the late 1970s's the Times Square area was rife with record stores: J&R Music World, King Karol, Sam Goody's, and Disc-O-Mat which had the cheapest prices in town for general in print titles. (If memory serves, Disc-O-Mat was about where Virgin is now.)
Then there were the used record stores catering to collectors. Colony with its bins of rare Lp's sorted by label. (Broadway shows: RCA Victor cut outs, Columbia cutouts etc) and The Record Exchange on 7th ave, which even as late as 1977 was still dealing in 78's.
And Music Masters on 43rd St where you could buy Lp transfers of long out-of-print 78's as well as audiotapes of complete live performances, often of shows that closed with no cast album.
Now Colony will be the only one in the area.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
MamasDoin'Fine
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/28/08
#26re: Virgin Megastore Times Sq- 'Must Close Soon'
Posted: 1/15/09 at 11:37am
I cant believe Colony still stay open! Do people buy theatre related CDS there when they charge $30 or more for what's available in Virgin for around $15?
Such rude staff too.
#27re: Virgin Megastore Times Sq- 'Must Close Soon'
Posted: 1/15/09 at 11:40amI'm surprised that Century 21 would want the space. Seems like tourists waiting around in the theater district would be much more apt to buy CDs and DVDs than 60% off winter coats...
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#28re: Virgin Megastore Times Sq- 'Must Close Soon'
Posted: 1/15/09 at 12:06pm
It's not Century 21 going in. It's Forever 21.
www.forever21.com
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#29re: Virgin Megastore Times Sq- 'Must Close Soon'
Posted: 1/15/09 at 12:25pmForever 21, that makes SO much more sense.
#30re: Virgin Megastore Times Sq- 'Must Close Soon'
Posted: 1/15/09 at 12:48pmOf all the times I've been to Times Square, I've never gone into Virgin. I figure since there's one where I live, why bother.
1183
Understudy Joined: 5/19/06
#31re: Virgin Megastore Times Sq- 'Must Close Soon'
Posted: 1/15/09 at 1:53pmWhy in the world does anyone care about a CHAIN music store closing. Give me a break. If this were Colony, that would be another story.
#32virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/15/09 at 2:01pmi judge stores by ther restrooms and as such this place should have been burnt to the ground and then had every memory of it erased by mass lobotomy if necessary.
r.i.p. marco, my guardian angel.
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
#33virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/15/09 at 2:37pm
"Why in the world does anyone care about a CHAIN music store closing. Give me a break. If this were Colony, that would be another story."
I'd much rather support a chain with great prices and good selection than an independent store where everything goes for 50 times its MSRP.
I'm also probably one of the few who's sad that Disney didn't get the Virgin space.
gnosis404
Swing Joined: 5/17/06
#34virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/15/09 at 2:44pmIsn't Times Square already the World of Disney Store? I hate that the Virgin store is closing in Times Square. It is so convenient to my work location...but I guess I'll be saving money not going in there.
#35virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/15/09 at 9:44pmEw, Forever 21 is so disgusting.
"Get mad, then get over it." - Colin Powell
Parks
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/5/04
#36virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/16/09 at 12:31pm
They have a limited selection for guys!...
I hate Forever 21. They have like 3 shirts for guys. I bet it will do well though. Girls LOVE it. Do they have Forever 21s in NY already? I've always thought H&M was leagues better than Forever 21... Do you think Forever 21 will really hurt H&M's sales?
"If it walks like a Parks, if it wobbles like a Parks, then it's definitely fat and nobody loves it." --MA
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#37virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/16/09 at 12:35pmThink of all the healthcare professionals that will be put out of work because they won't have staph infections picked up from multi-use headphones to treat.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#38virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/16/09 at 12:38pm
I'm not much of a fan of Forever 21 myself so I don't go in. I don't care for their return policy. 30 days and you get store credit whether you have your receipt or not.
And what I'd heard is that it's not an actual Disney Store going in there but more of a theme park type place with games and such.
"All our dreams can come true -- if we have the courage to pursue them." -- Walt Disney
We must have different Gods. My God said "do to others what you would have them do to you". Your God seems to have said "My Way or the Highway".
#39virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/16/09 at 2:45pmThis closing, along with the just-announced closing of all the Circuit City stores, really limits places for browsing. Looks like I'll be visiting J&R with more regularity.
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#40virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/16/09 at 3:56pm
And what I'd heard is that it's not an actual Disney Store going in there but more of a theme park type place with games and such.
There was one of those in Chicago called DisneyQuest when I first moved here and it was a massive failure. Now it's a Room and Board.
Do you think Forever 21 will really hurt H&M's sales?
Judging from the amount of traffic in the ones practically next to each other on State Street in Chicago...no. They are both still extremely popular for those in the market for cheaply made trendy clothes that people want simply because they are on the racks. Certainly not because they are attractive. In my day, they were called "Chess King".
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
Updated On: 1/16/09 at 03:56 PM
#41virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/16/09 at 4:20pm
Am I old?
A) I LOVED Chess King!
B) I think of the Times Square Virgin Store as "that new record store across from where they built that Marriott."
Oh, dear........
#42virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/21/09 at 4:17pmChess King had great sweaters.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
#43virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/21/09 at 4:27pm
This is a shame. This store was pretty much the only place I would frequent either before or after seeing a Broadway Show.
Their DVD prices are the best next to Amazon. I always went there around Tonys time to purchase some $10 cast albums.
Sometimes I stop in Colony to browse, but I never buy anything there.
I wouldn't mind if something equally appealing were taking its place; but Forever 21? Really?
Thanks, but no thanks.
"It's the little things; the details, that distinguish the Barbra Streisands from the Rosalyn Kinds."~Gilmore Girls~
joeybiltmore1
Leading Actor Joined: 2/22/05
#44virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/22/09 at 11:18am
I am sad this store is closing as I am sad that ANY store or business is closing due to the economy, but I must say that my past several visits to that particular store have been no less than unbearable.
Loud, crowded, flithy dirty, poorly laid out in an ever-changing labyrinth of lost, agonizingly deafening DJ and, most importantly, a jaw-droppingly rude staff who could give a flying you-know-what about you or what you're looking for. I have fled there many times vowing never to return.
Wondering if that constant wall of kids selling candy for their "teams" will loiter outside 21 as well.
Fosse76
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/05
#45virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/22/09 at 12:46pm
"I am sad this store is closing as I am sad that ANY store or business is closing due to the economy, but I must say that my past several visits to that particular store have been no less than unbearable."
It's not closing because of the economy...it's closing because the greedy landlord chose not to renew the lease so the rental rate could be increased.
#46virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/22/09 at 1:17pm
It's not closing because of the economy...it's closing because the greedy landlord chose not to renew the lease so the rental rate could be increased.
Really? I thought it was just strategic repositioning. Virgin closed it stores in Chicago, Salt Lake City, Grapevine and Los Angeles last year.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
dg22894
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/08
#47virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/22/09 at 5:12pmThat was one of the first thing I did when I got to NY went there right before a show. I will miss it.
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#48virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/22/09 at 5:16pmI stopped in last week when I was in the city. So far, not too impressed with what's "on sale". In the B'way selection only a few cd's were marked down.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#49virgins must report to times sq
Posted: 1/22/09 at 10:35pmYou can't beat Virgin for its collections of DVD's. I love it. I all but live in there before and after I go to Broadway shows. I've missed the little cafe they used to have in there. A POX UPON THE LANDLORD for forcing the store to close!
"Omigod, it's the Queen of Rumania!" --from "Mame"
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