Company Man asks 'The Decline of FYE...What Happened?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse

I closed National Day Calendar and NASA on International Women's Day and Women's History Month by telling my readers "Stay tuned for a tale of the Retail Apocalypse, which I haven't written about since I posted Company Man on the decline of KB Toys, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse last November." Without any further ado, here is Company asking and answering The Decline of FYE...What Happened?

Remember when there used to be a music store in just about every shopping mall? This video talks about what has happened to them while focusing on one of the longest-lasting and significant ones, FYE.

Once again, Company Man Mike has made one of his trademark thorough yet succinct summary histories of a company. In the case of FYE, changing consumer tastes driven by technology have been the cause of the company's decline. While FYE had a history of aggressive expansion, the kind of leveraged buyout with private equity that has been gutting retail didn't seem to play a part. Neither does recent poor management. Instead, FYE started its decline about the same time that Borders Books did. Borders has been gone for a decade, but FYE is still hanging on. A badly managed company wouldn't have lasted this long. Still, it seems like the chain may not be around much longer, despite trying to move adjacent to Hot Topic's retail niche by selling pop culture collectables.

Enough of the Retail Apocalypse for now. Stay tuned for two years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan.