Virgin to Close Times Square Megastore

Another symbol of recorded music is seeing its demise, but thankfully its only one location, albeit a very important location of Times Square. Virgin Megastores which is now owned by Vornado and Related Cos is shutting down its Times Square flagship store by April 2009. The decision behind it is that while the store is profitable, earning about $6 million per year, renting the space out would be even more profitable since Virgin pays so little ($54 per square foot) while the asking price is an easy $700 per square foot. Virgin Entertainment Group will be leasing the 180,000 sq ft space to Forever 21. This decision truly breaks my heart because Virgin Record Store in Times Square is the only real staple of music in the area and I'm not convinced that the amount of tourists that come to the city, visit Times Square, browse through Virgin and end up buying something are going to make the special trip to 14th St. Therefore this could potential mean millions of dollars lost in recorded music sales. And as if this wasn't bad enough management is assessing what to do with the other chains including the 14th Street location. I love going into Virgin and listening to an album, buying old classics that I've lost, ruined or never bought or buying the new gotta haves and/or just vibing. The idea of Times Square sans Virgin truly comes to dismay of the hearts of true music lovers. Domage.