By Jessica Mintz
The Sam Goody music store at 390 Sixth Ave. is closing as part of a company-wide effort to get rid of unprofitable stores, according to a spokesperson for Musicland, the Minnesota-based Sam Goody parent company.
Musicland was bought by Best Buy in December 2000, but was sold in June 2003 after failing to show a profit, according to spokesperson Laurie Bauer. Now, Sun Capital Partners, based in Boca Raton, Fla., is trying to turn struggling Sam Goody around.
“We have, in the state of New York, 47 stores. Of those 47, we are closing nine,” including Manhattan’s Sixth Ave. and South Street Seaport locations, said Bauer. The company is shuttering 150 of the 1,119 Sam Goody and Sun Coast (another Musicland company) locations across the country.
For approximately the next eight to 10 weeks, all merchandise at Sam Goody will be on sale for increasingly deep discounts, according to Bauer.
“Our plan is to shed the very unprofitable stores, and then next year begin growing again,” said Bauer. She also said that 50 possible new locations have been identified, but she declined to say whether any were in Manhattan.
Larstrand Corporation, the management company for 390 Sixth Ave., did not return phone calls to comment on the future of the space.
