Music giant Musica has decided to bow out of selling CDs and DVDs in South Africa.
In a statement released on 28 January, the store that was acquired by the Clicks Group in 1992, said the inevitable demise of the brand had been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in the rapid decline in foot traffic in destination malls where Musica stores were typically located.
The Clicks Group has currently closed doors of 19 Musica stores and only 59 remain operational. The remaining stores are expected to be closed at the end of May 2021. This decision is said to have come from the board of directors of the Clicks Group who took a decision to close Musica with effect from 31 May 2021 after many years of not performing well.
The Group said the staff who were working at its Musica stores would be absorbed into its expanding health and beauty store network.
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“Management is committed to accommodating the remaining staff within the group where this is operationally feasible. Further detail on the financial and operational impact of Musica´s closure will be communicated to shareholders with the release of the group´s interim results in April 2021,” read a released statement.
South Africans reacted differently to the news of the closure of the Musica stores, this is what they had to say:
I think it's my fault Musica closed. I used to pretend to want to buy, but then I'll just listen to the CD in store.
— Kenwyn Davids (@kenwyntheking) January 28, 2021
Musica closing down? This one hits hard. The music store I’d go to as a kid to browse albums. They held us down for a long time, truly the end of an era
— ???????????????????? ✞ (@moosa_) January 28, 2021
Man Musica closing makes me feel old, what they did in the late 2000’s and early 2010’s won’t be forgotten ❤️
— Armando Lionjanga. (@Armandino_) January 28, 2021
Musica is closing down????. This makes me sad for some reason. That place really held us down for so many years.
— NdueyVuitton (@Nduey_Escobar) January 28, 2021
musica closing down is a sign of the times. we're smack-bang in the middle of the streaming age. but history tells us that innovation will inevitably give us something new to chew on soon. it's super exciting tbh.
— texx (@texxonfire) January 28, 2021
Sad to hear that Musica is closing down, I really loved walking into their stores and browsing their gaming posters. You will be missed Musica ????
— Daf (@Dafron_XP) January 28, 2021
I honestly don’t get the Shock about Musica closing down especially coming from people who haven’t bought a hard copy Of any album in the last 5+ years
— Mahl Janeson (@mahl_east) January 28, 2021
I haven't listened to a whole album by one artist in a long time. It's playlists or genres for me now.
With Musica closing down and the CD era coming to a close, I wonder what the impact will be on the way music is released by artists, if anything.— Natalie (@NatAlleyCat) January 28, 2021
Musica closing down does make sense ….however, it now equates to more job losses.
— Mmathabo K (@Thabzz_) January 28, 2021
Timing may be a bit off, but I'm not surprised by Musica closing down, it's been a long time coming. When you fail to innovate and pivot in terms of your offering, the market place will punish you. The only surprise is that the Clicks Group held on for that long.
— Sizwe Phungwayo (@Sizwe_Phungwayo) January 28, 2021
Sad to read that MUSICA is closing down. I was actually impressed by how they managed to still operate when everything was starting to go digital. I certainly did not expect them to survive this long.
— Slevin Kelevra (@ZweshOhms) January 28, 2021
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