HASTINGS 40th ANNIVERSARY: Key innovations at Hastings
These five achievements have contributed to Hastings’ 40 years of success
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 9/29/2008
NOW:Rebranding under the Discover Your Entertainment initiative, emphasizing the all-encompassing selection of media products
Reacting to a downturn in CD sales, Hastings over the last few years has begun ramping up such growing categories as trend and apparel merchandise. By selling sideline products such as themed clothing, toys and figurines, the retailer can be more things to more people. “We have seen a significant increase in our traffic with stores that have been rebranded,” CEO John Marmaduke says. “Our newly branded stores have much broader appeal. We want to help customers to discover entertainment, and that continues to have a broader and broader definition.”
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Getting into the used CD business
Embracing used CDs enabled Hastings to eventually dedicate itself to the entire used category. The retailer now describes itself as a place to buy, sell and trade books, CDs, DVDs and videogames. Customers are encouraged to save money by purchasing used copies as much as they are courted to consider buying the pricier new version.
Early ’90s:Selling off the mall stores
When Hastings morphed into a pure stand-alone outlet chain, the retailer benefited from escaping outside interference. By selling its mall-based locations, Hastings was able to invest the money generated by the sales into opening dozens of new stand-alone multi-media stores. “You can stay and prosper at the mall,” Marmaduke says, “or the mall can raise your rent, or put in another retailer in the same category.”
1985:Adding video rental
Figuring out the nuances of rental operations while continuing to sell merchandise involved a steep learning curve, Marmaduke acknowledges. But from the chain’s nascent days, he believed in the ultimate success of movie home entertainment and has always tried to offer a wide rental selection. “This was a totally different business, and most retailers had a difficult time learning it,” he recalls. “But it drove in additional store traffic.”
1968:The decision to sell books and music together
The first Hastings multi-media store opened in 1968 and was launched with the strategy of retailing both books and music. Originally established by his father, the chain’s first chief, who hoped to transition his wholesale background to the retail world, Hastings was handed over to current CEO Marmaduke in 1970. “The first store went pretty well and was successful, but subsequent stores had problems,” Marmaduke remembers. “My strategy was to roll up my sleeves and learn retailing.”
