Musica, formerly one of South Africa’s most established music and entertainment retail chains for the last 29 years, is to cease trading this year. This, according to its parent company Clicks Group, which acquired Musica back in 1992.
TechCentral reports that in a statement released via the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) this week, Clicks said: “Shareholders are advised that the board of directors has taken a decision to close the group’s heritage entertainment brand Musica with effect from 31 May 2021.”
The death of Musica
Clicks went onto say: “Musica has been operating in a declining market for several years owing to the structural shift globally to the digital consumption of music, movies and games from the traditional physical format. The inevitable demise of the brand has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the rapid decline in foot traffic in destination malls where Musica stores are typically located.”
Musica hasn’t really had a great run in recent years. Where once it was the first port of call for tons of consumers hunting down CDs in the 90s, the last decade or so has seen the retailer take a massive knock with the rise of music streaming services. In an attempt to stay current, Musica has pivoted to focus on games, tech, vinyl, clothing and (*coughs*) DVD sales. Now, it seems, thanks to the pandemic compounding its problems, Musica has run out of road.
Musica has seen 19 stores close since the beginning of 2021’s financial year and only 59 shops remain. Those stores are going to be closed down as their leases expire over the next four months. Clicks Group says that every attempt will be made to absorb Musica staff into the rest of the group, “where this is operationally feasible”. This means if you have any last purchases you’d like to make before Musica is officially no more, you have a small window to do it in.
There’s probably a kicker to be made that involves quoting an Abba song, but we really don’t have the heart to do it…