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Sam Goody
Sam Goody is an American music and entertainment retailer, founded in New York City in 1951, named after its founder Sam "Goody" Gutowitz.
In 1976, the chain was purchased by Musicland. From 1990 to 1999, the chain traded in the United Kingdom. In 2006, Trans World Entertainment (parent of FYE) purchased Sam Goody from the administration of Musicland, and between 2007 and 2008, converted most of the Sam Goody stores to FYE stores.
As of November 2025[update], there is only one Sam Goody store left within the United States – in the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford, Oregon, which is owned by FYE owner, Doug Putman.
Sam "Goody" Gutowitz (1904–1991) of New York City opened a small record store on 9th Avenue shortly after the advent of vinyl long-playing records (LPs) in the late 1940s. Although he did some retail business from his main store on 49th Street, most of his volume was in mail-order sales at discount prices, of which he was a pioneer. He became something of a folk hero among penniless college students as the first successful large-scale LP discounter.
Later, the Sam Goody name was applied to a chain of record stores established in 1951 by Gutowitz. In 1959, a group of creditors took over the company to collect $2.4 million in debts (equivalent to $20 million in 2024).
In 1978, the company was acquired by the American Can Company (later renamed Primerica), the owners of Minneapolis-based Musicland, Goody's rival. Sam Goody continued to grow through both acquisitions and organic growth, including the launch of its website. The stores averaged 4,600 square feet (430 m2) but varied in size from 1,000 to 30,000 sq ft (90 to 3,000 m2). The Musicland Group was once the largest music retailer in the United States, operating at its peak more than 1300 stores, over 800 of them Sam Goody's, and earning over $2 billion in annual revenue.[citation needed]
In 1986, Sam Goody's corporate parent Musicland purchased the 34-store Southern California-based Licorice Pizza chain and 26 other record stores from Record Bar for $13 million (equivalent to $31 million in 2024). The Licorice Pizza stores were rebranded as Sam Goody the following year.
Best Buy attempted to diversify its retail holdings by purchasing Musicland in 2001, only to sell it two years later. In 2002, Best Buy decided to consolidate some of the acquired stores by converting On Cue stores to the Sam Goody brand.
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Sam Goody
Sam Goody is an American music and entertainment retailer, founded in New York City in 1951, named after its founder Sam "Goody" Gutowitz.
In 1976, the chain was purchased by Musicland. From 1990 to 1999, the chain traded in the United Kingdom. In 2006, Trans World Entertainment (parent of FYE) purchased Sam Goody from the administration of Musicland, and between 2007 and 2008, converted most of the Sam Goody stores to FYE stores.
As of November 2025[update], there is only one Sam Goody store left within the United States – in the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford, Oregon, which is owned by FYE owner, Doug Putman.
Sam "Goody" Gutowitz (1904–1991) of New York City opened a small record store on 9th Avenue shortly after the advent of vinyl long-playing records (LPs) in the late 1940s. Although he did some retail business from his main store on 49th Street, most of his volume was in mail-order sales at discount prices, of which he was a pioneer. He became something of a folk hero among penniless college students as the first successful large-scale LP discounter.
Later, the Sam Goody name was applied to a chain of record stores established in 1951 by Gutowitz. In 1959, a group of creditors took over the company to collect $2.4 million in debts (equivalent to $20 million in 2024).
In 1978, the company was acquired by the American Can Company (later renamed Primerica), the owners of Minneapolis-based Musicland, Goody's rival. Sam Goody continued to grow through both acquisitions and organic growth, including the launch of its website. The stores averaged 4,600 square feet (430 m2) but varied in size from 1,000 to 30,000 sq ft (90 to 3,000 m2). The Musicland Group was once the largest music retailer in the United States, operating at its peak more than 1300 stores, over 800 of them Sam Goody's, and earning over $2 billion in annual revenue.[citation needed]
In 1986, Sam Goody's corporate parent Musicland purchased the 34-store Southern California-based Licorice Pizza chain and 26 other record stores from Record Bar for $13 million (equivalent to $31 million in 2024). The Licorice Pizza stores were rebranded as Sam Goody the following year.
Best Buy attempted to diversify its retail holdings by purchasing Musicland in 2001, only to sell it two years later. In 2002, Best Buy decided to consolidate some of the acquired stores by converting On Cue stores to the Sam Goody brand.