Homer’s Music & Gifts's MySpace Blog |

my music featured playlists top artists music videos karaoke shows forums

MySpace.com | rss | sign in

Homer’s Music & Gifts

Last Updated: 11/17/2009

Send Message
Instant Message
Email to a Friend
Subscribe

Status: Single
City: Omaha / Lincoln
State: Nebraska
Country: US
Signup Date: 7/17/2006

Blog Archive

[Older Newer]

/ /

Monday, September 28, 2009

Homers in UNO Gateway

Homer's closes two more stores, adapts to changing music industry

Tyler Barton

Issue date: 9/25/09 Section: Entertainment

Article Tools

Page 1 of 1

Customers browse through music at Homer's on Saddle Creek. The store shut its doors for good on Sept. 19. (Tom McCauley/The Gateway)

[Click to enlarge]

Homer's closed its Saddle Creek store on Sept. 19 as well as its location in Lincoln, leaving the chain with only two stores in Omaha. (Tom McCauley/The Gateway)

[Click to enlarge]

With the current recession still leaving many businesses hurting, one local chain of music stores is closing two of its locations in hopes of staying afloat during these troubled times.

This month, Homer's Music and Gifts, a local independent media outlet, closed its Lincoln and Saddle Creek locations. The Lincoln Homer's at 6105 O St. closed up shop on Sept. 5 while the Saddle Creek Homer's at 530 N Saddle Creek Road shut its doors last week on Sept. 19. During the 1990s, Homer's had up to 15 stores in places such as Bellevue, Lincoln and Des Moines. However, these recent closings leave the company with only two locations - one in west Omaha at 2457 S. 132nd St. and the other in downtown Omaha at 1210 Howard St.

Daniel Diedrich worked part-time at Saddle Creek Homer's after recently stepping down from his consignment manager position. Now Diedrich splits his time between working at the two remaining locations.

"I just know that since the recession hit, sales have gone down drastically at each store," Diedrich said. "I don't think they have the funds to keep them open. It is a strategy to keep what's left of the company alive."

With these two stores closing, Dietrich said it wasn't completely up to Homer's to shut down their mid-town location.

"I also know that the lease was up at Saddle Creek," Diedrich said. "They wanted to buy the building, but the owner refused without purchase of a much greater package."

Competitors like Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Target also take away from the outlet's business. Because of the amount of albums these stores sell nationwide, record labels allow the retailers to advertise their albums at lower prices, Diedrich said.

"I would rather wait for a band to play a show locally and buy an album directly from them instead of places like Wal-Mart, because I know that all the money from that purchase is going directly to the band instead of major record labels or big name stores," said sophomore Phil Manley, who plays bass guitar and drums for local bands Madness Sale and Brannigan's Law.

Despite the closings, however, Homer's is looking into new sales opportunities by offering music-purchasing alternatives. The growing popularity of downloadable music Web sites such as iTunes and Rhapsody will help the company keep up the changing music scene.

"Homer's recently created a digital download source of their own," Diedrich said. "It's just another way to keep up with the competition of digital media. It's still a new idea to some people but I can see it catching on sooner than later. This is a really good strategy I think, and a great way to secure funds."

These digital sources have been booming in recent years, especially among the younger generations. According to iTunes.com, more than 5 billion songs have been sold from their online store between 2001 and 2008 with no signs of slowing down.

"College kids don't buy CDs but if you go back 20 years, they didn't buy LPs then either. They made home tapes," said Mike Fratt, Homer's general manager for the past 31 years. "This is no different than loading up their iPod from a friend's library of music."

Diedrich agreed, saying that he believes online retailers may actually be helping their business because these companies give potential customers the ability to test drive albums and decide whether it's something they want to spend their money on.

"Before iTunes, people couldn't always be sure if they actually wanted the record and they wouldn't bother getting it whereas downloading can offer you a little better idea of what to expect from a purchase," Diedrich said.

Another trend that's threatening independent record stores and the music industry is the rise is illegal music downloading.

According to the IFPI, the international equivalent to the Recording Industry of Artists in America, only 5 percent of all music downloads were legal in 2008. The organization also found that 40 billion tracks were also shared illegally, averaging nearly 30 songs per Internet user worldwide.

"I would rather watch someone steal my album from a record store than have them download it illegally on the Internet," Manley said. "At least if they steal the physical album, they have the cover art and credits that come along with it that we put a lot of hard work into."

One advantage Homer's does have over the major retail chains is that they sell albums from local bands in addition to the latest artists featured on the Billboard Top 100. Vinyl records from past and present, movie posters and various other music memorabilia are also top sellers at the retail outlet.

"There is nothing better to me than actually purchasing a CD or vinyl that I want and taking it home, unwrapping it and looking through the artwork," Diedrich said. "It gives you a sense of gratitude, more so than finding it online somewhere. I love digging for records I don't have."

But from 15 stores down to two, many loyal consumers and music gurus like Diedrich fear that record stores like Homer's will soon become a dying breed.

"If you always go to Wal-Mart or online to get your music because it's more convenient, there won't be much left of the whole record store experience." Diedrich said.

Entertainment Editor Andrea Barbe contributed to this story.

2:54 AM

0 Comments

(Add Comment) |

0 Kudos

Translate

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Homers in The Reader

Then There Were Two

Homer’s chain shrinks

by Tim McMahan

It wasn’t that long ago that Homer’s Records boasted a worldwide chain of six locations. In a couple weeks, that number will be down to just two.

Homer’s Lincoln location closed Sept. 5, while the chain’s Saddle Creek location closes shop Sept. 19.

“Leases are up at Lincoln and Saddle Creek, and based on their volume of biz and the ridiculous prices landlords still think they can get, we can’t risk it by re-signing,” said Homer’s general Manager Mike Fratt in an email. Homer’s is signing a lease in the Old Market (but at a new location).

“We’re not going away, just positioning ourselves to remain profitable.”

In fact, the Saddle Creek Homer’s store was profitable, Fratt said, but just recently slipped to break even.

“To some extent, Old Market and Saddle Creek compete with each other,” he said.
Homer’s tried going month-to-month on the Saddle Creek lease for the rest of the year, but the landlord “would not work with us. We tried to buy the space and they would not work with us.”

That seemed a bit strange. How could that little notch of property be worth holding onto, especially considering that when Homer’s is gone, the converted Kwik Shop building likely will remain empty indefinitely, just like the sad old Target store that’s been sitting empty right next to it for years?

Fratt said the Saddle Creek property was owned by an oil company and has changed hands six times since Homer’s moved in.

“That piece of land is bundled with over 100 other properties around the country and the current owner will only sell the bundled real estate package,” he said. “But, as you say, it will likely sit empty because REITs (real estate investment trusts) are in big trouble right now ($3 trillion in commercial real estate loans are up for renewal in September, next bubble to burst?), so there are no buyers.”

What about moving that Saddle Creek location to Benson, Omaha’s newest live music hub? Surely it has better foot traffic than Saddle Creek had, and we all know there are plenty of empty storefronts along Maple St.

“I remain interested, but have concerns about what’s happening in Benson right now,” Fratt said, “Two restaurants closing, the bridal shop closing, no new food coming in to replace the losses. Also, Mick’s closing has chased away affluent adults to some extent, and Espana, since the sale, is not doing very well, so it’ll have to wait until the economy improves. You won’t find an indie like us, anywhere in the U.S., with more than two locations per metro.”
I suppose you could call it a “duck-and-cover strategy,” and I can’t say I disagree with it, especially when you also consider the competition.

In a recent story in the Omaha World-Herald by Christine Laue, Fratt said Homer’s, as part of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores, has negotiated with major labels to be able to sell new releases at $9.99, or $2 below cost. He called the price drop “a game changer” that will help them compete with big-box stores such as Wal-Mart and Target.

I hope he’s right. For me, the big game changer is the Internet, but not necessarily because of illegal downloading. Case in point: Who remembers the days before the Internet and MySpace, when it was impossible to hear a new album without buying it? It was so difficult, in fact, that you often bought albums sight-unheard just because of curiosity. You took a chance, and sometimes it paid off, sometimes not.

These days you can go to MySpace or Lala.com or whatever service you prefer, and hear tracks for free. We’ve become a nation (or world) of listeners with short attention spans. If a track doesn’t turn us on in 15 seconds we click to the next track or click away from the recording entirely.

The mystery is gone, for better or worse. For the better, it means we no longer have to waste money on albums that turn out to be 95 percent filler. For the worse, we’re discarding a lot of music that we simply haven’t given enough time to “sink in.” It also means that with fewer people willing (or needing) to make a blind commitment, Homer’s and other record stores are selling fewer albums.

I’ll miss that little store on Saddle Creek. It was like a miniature version of the Old Market location, complete with that horrible incense stench that permeated your clothes, so that you smelled like a head shop for the rest of the day. Saddle Creek didn’t have the biggest selection, but it had whatever I was looking for. And the people who worked there were always cool, just like everyone who works (or has worked) at Homer’s. Here’s hoping they all land on their feet. ,

Lazy-i is a weekly column by Reader senior contributing writer Tim McMahan focused on the Omaha music scene. Check out Tim’s daily music news updates at his website, lazy-i.com, or email him at lazy-I@thereader.com.

10 Sep 2009

3:01 AM

0 Comments

(Add Comment) |

0 Kudos

Translate

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Homers in World Herald

Chris Brink shops at Homer's on Saddle Creek. Homer's is closing both its Saddle Creek and remaining Lincoln location.

More Photos (2)

JEFF BEIERMANN/THE WORLD-HERALD

Published Friday August 28, 2009
Homer's down to two stores

By Christine Laue
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Related News

Monsters of Folk had a ball with songs

On the Town: Snuggie party will...

Homer's Music, an Omaha-based independent record chain, will close two stores — on Saddle Creek Road in Omaha and its last store in Lincoln — and relocate its flagship store in the Old Market about a block west.The retail environment is the most difficult general manager Mike Fratt has seen in his 31 years with the 38-year-old company, he said, and Fratt didn't want to renew his expiring leases at their current rates.“I have never seen a pullback like I saw in October. January was pretty ugly, and mid-July to mid-August was also pretty ugly.”Rather than have many mediocre-performing stores, the company is choosing to run a few highly successful stores, he said.

While Homer's had as many as 15 stores in the 1990s and as far away as Des Moines, the closings will leave the company with two stores — one in west Omaha and one downtown.That number is more consistent with other independent record stores elsewhere today, he said.Fratt currently is renegotiating the lease for Homer's Orchard Plaza store at 2457 S. 132nd St., northeast of 132nd Street and West Center. He declined to discuss the negotiations.The Old Market store will move from its midblock location at 1114 Howard St., where it's been since 1986, to another midblock site at 1210 Howard St., a now vacant storefront formerly home to Bella's Place art gallery.Homer's occupied that space from 1980 to 1986, when damage from a fire forced the retailer to relocate. The record company has had four Old Market locations since it started there in 1971.Fratt said the latest move, tentatively scheduled for October, proves the company's commitment to the historic district. Homer's signed a multiyear lease for the space, which is about 1,500 square feet smaller than the current location, Fratt said.“There's been an explosion in the per-square-foot rates in the Old Market in the last five, six years just as there has been anywhere else,” Fratt said. “We've had substantial rate increases in the last three years, and we can't keep taking those on. So we decided to move to a smaller-size space to save money, to cut our overhead.”Homer's will close its Saddle Creek store, at 530 N. Saddle Creek Road, on Sept. 19.Fratt said he wanted a month-to-month lease at that corner when the current contract expires at the end of September, but the landlord wanted to double the rent, which would have been too costly.The store, which opened 11 or 12 years ago, attracted a diverse clientele from Dundee, Fairacres, north Omaha, Creighton University and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Fratt said. But business has fallen since a neighboring Target store closed in July 2006 and other restaurants and retailers followed, Fratt said.“For a long time it was our most profitable location per square foot, and we know it's convenient for a lot of people,” Fratt said. “We're at the point where we're close to breaking even, so we're just unwilling ... to head into the red.“For a few months this year we explored moving it, but with the way the economy is now, we've just become too conservative.”A similar stalemate over lease terms led to the decision to close the remaining Lincoln store at 6105 O St., which follows the June 2007 closing of a Homer's near the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.The closings will result in the loss of about six full- and part-time jobs at each location, Fratt said.The Lincoln store will close Sept. 5 but will reopen for one day Sept. 9 for the long-awaited release of digitally remastered versions of all the Beatles studio albums.Homer's, as part of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores, has negotiated with the major music labels to be able to sell new releases at $9.99, or $2 below cost.Fratt said mass merchants have sold new releases at or below cost for years, making it difficult for independent retailers to compete. Discounting has affected the independents even more than the advent of digital music, Fratt said.The Sept. 9 release will be the coalition's first foray into head-to-head competition with the discount chains at $9.99 first-week pricing.“We think it could be a game changer. Our own customers go to Target or Wal-Mart the first week, but they come to us for everything else,” he said. “If we can change that, that's healthy for our business.”Homer's sales were up in 2008 over the previous year, he said, but overall sales this year are down by a “low single digit” percentage over the same period last year.The company's gross profit margin is up slightly because of other factors — a lower wholesale cost of CDs, adjustments to the company's mix of products, and a resurgence in the popularity of vinyl albums, Fratt said.Free on-line file sharing initially slammed the music labels and bricks-and-mortar stores like Homer's, but Fratt said the Internet is not the threat once predicted.Rather, people use the Internet to preview music and then come to stores like Homer's to buy, he said.“We're still the only places that sell deep catalog (meaning older releases and rarities), and we've got to have the sales of the big hits in order to carry the deep catalog.”The creation of online music store iTunes and others provided a legal way to access digital music. While that definitely has affected stores, Fratt said, recent research shows that it mostly has boosted sales of singles.When people buy an entire album, 80 percent of the time they choose the physical product at a physical store, he said.Homer's opened its own digital music store in May 2009.“It's growing every month,” Fratt said.Fratt doesn't want people to think Homer's or other independent record stores are dying.Decisions to close or relocate, while difficult, are part of how Homer's continues to survive the ever-changing music industry, he said.“We constantly make sure we reposition ourselves to make sure we're a vibrant organization, whether that means 11 stores in the '90s or two stores in 2010. We hope that they would consider shopping at the other two locations.”

3:10 AM

0 Comments

(Add Comment) |

0 Kudos

Translate