SoundScan has announced the reclassification of 21 small retail chains and their 213 locations to count their sales alongside indie retailers. Previously these chains, like New England’s famous Newbury Comics, were considered large enough to be lumped in with megachains like Best Buy and FYE.
Retail spokespeople like NARM President Jim Donio are pleased with these changes, as SoundScan reports will now more accurately represent where sales are coming from. “We know that independent retailers have been hoping to make this change for quite some time,” says Donio, “In fact, NARM invited Nielsen SoundScan to meet with our Board of Directors in late-2008, and this was a key point of discussion. We are pleased that this has now come to fruition.”
Chains included in the reclassification are as follows:
- Big Oomp Records (7) – GA
- Bull Moose (10) – NH, ME
- Cats CD’s/Music City (3) – TN, SC
- DiscoCentro (2) – PR
- Exclusive Company (4) – WI
- Gallery of Sound (7) – PA
- Gray Whale (7) – UT
- Homers Music/Twisters (3) – NE
- Independent Records (6) – CO
- J & R Music World – NY
- La Curacao (9) – CA
- La Gran Discoteca (13) – PR
- Maximum Capacity (7) – MD
- Newbury Comics (28) – MA, RI, ME, NH
- Plan 9 Music (4) – VA
- Rasputin Records (7) – CA
- Record Exchange (21) – OH, PA, MI
- Rincon Musical (5) – NY
- Slackers CD (5) – MO
- Value Music Concepts (39) – AL, CA, DE, Fl, GA, IN, MO, MS, NC, NH, NV, PA, SC, TN, VA
- Zia Records (9) – AZ
[Via Hypebot]
