How many hastings stores are there

In mid Hastings launched a new site on the Internet to sell a broad selection of multimedia software to the electronic global marketplace. Hastings developed from an enterprise named Western Merchandisers, Inc. Regarded as an pioneer in the wholesale industry, Marmaduke started his career as a rackjobber in when he arrived in Amarillo, Texas, to take over the wholesale business left to him by his late father.

In his mids at the time, Marmaduke transformed his father's small business, West Texas News Agency, into a family fortune, creating an expansive wholesaling business that later spawned Hastings, the retail arm of his wholesale business.

Initially, Marmaduke achieved success by keeping operating costs down, an important aspect of his managerial approach and a characteristic Hastings would later inherit.

More significantly, it was Marmaduke's diversification into other product categories that propelled his wholesaling company forward and cemented his reputation as an industry maverick. The bold, innovative move succeeded, however, leading to the incorporation of Western Merchandising, Inc. Marmaduke, who later confessed he made a belated entry into retail, succeeded in retail as he had in wholesale, cross-merchandising decades before other bookstores or music retailers.

Along with Tower Records, Hastings was among the first chains to offer books and music within it stores. Marmaduke's unique approach was emulated by his son John, who was named president of the Hastings business in and watched over the company's first decade of expansion.

By the end of the s, there were 22 Hastings stores in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Kansas, all situated in small towns--a trademark of Hastings that the company employed as its expansion strategy in the years to come. Growth picked up pace for Hastings at end of the s as John Marmaduke and his father decided to expand by acquiring other retail chains.

In Hastings purchased 29 stores that sold music exclusively and that were located in regional shopping malls. Converted to the company's cross-merchandising strategy, the stores acquired in were followed by other acquisitions in , , and Expansion through acquisitions was coupled with internal expansion, as the Marmadukes used their profits to establish additional retail outlets, both freestanding units and stripmall stores. The first chapter of Hastings's corporate history ended at this point, with dozens of retail units located in small towns scattered throughout the Southwest and Midwest.

The next era began in the mids, when strategic changes were implemented that altered Hastings's business philosophy and changed the characteristics of the chain that had developed between and The strategic repositioning of the company stemmed from the influence of Western Merchandisers' biggest customer, Wal-Mart. As Hastings developed into a regional retail chain, Western Merchandisers achieved prominence and robust financial growth by becoming a primary supplier to the Wal-Mart chain of discount retail stores.

Hastings was similar to Wal-Mart in that both formats sold a variety of merchandise rather than a single product category, although Wal-Mart's merchandise diversity was greater, to be sure. In , however, Hastings increased the breadth of its cross-merchandising approach, adding video rentals to the books and music it retailed.

Employees at the Lake Jackson store said that they begin slashing prices on Saturday, while Conroe employees said they weren't sure when that would begin at that location. Hastings' remaining stores will be shut down soon , but a brand representative didn't have an exact date on closures. According to Billboard , after Hastings filed for Chapter 11 protection, the owners had hoped to find someone to buy the company. That didn't happen. Hastings Entertainment, headquartered in Amarillo, was founded in by Sam Marmaduke.

He was the man who convinced Walmart to begin selling music, a decision that would pay off big for the retailer in the following decades. At the completion of the sale process yesterday, the winning buyer was a joint venture that will instead oversee a liquidation of our stores to ensure we are maximizing the value of all of our remaining merchandise and assets as we prepare to close. All Hastings stores, our e-Commerce business and our corporate office will all discontinue operations at the end of this process.

We thank our customers and employees for their loyalty over the years, and we hope to see our customers at store closing sales. The page is still up, and if you look at the photos just right you'll find yourself transported back to a sleepy Saturday or Sunday afternoon flipping through cds. Advertise with Us! Charlie Published: February 9, Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Enter your number to get our free mobile app.

Here are 50 of your favorite retail chains that no longer exist. All rights reserved. In what some fans of bricks and mortar retail are calling a sad day for the industry, Hastings Entertainment's stores will be shut down as a joint bid from two liquidators, Hilco Merchant Recourses and Gordon Bros. Retail Partners, was accepted by the court. When Hastings initially filed for Chapter 11 protection, its main strategy was to find someone to buy the company and the court gave the chain 30 days to do so.

Sources say in court that upwards of 60 retail chains were contacted, but at the end of the day the only potential retail bidder turned out to be Bull Moose, the unit, New England-based chain.

At press time Billboard was unable to reach Bull Moose executives for comment, so the details of the bid are unclear, but according to sources the company requested another week to come up with its financing.