| Former type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retailing |
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Founded | 1937 |
| Defunct | 2007 (one remaining franchise store in Belleville, Ontario) |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Key people | Sidney Sniderman, Sam Sniderman, Jason Sniderman, Robert "Bobby" Sniderman |
| Products | Music |
| Website | http://www.samtherecordman.com |
Sam the Record Man was a Canadian record store chain that, at one time, was Canada's largest music recording retailer. In 1982, their ads proclaimed they had "140 locations, coast to coast".[1]
The Internet age, competition with the HMV chain and other factors, forced Sam the Record Man into bankruptcy on October 30, 2001, although its flagship location remained in business until 2007. One independent franchise store, in Belleville, Ontario, continues to bear the Sam the Record Man name.[2]
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The chain was first launched in 1937 by Sam Sniderman and Sidney Sniderman, as a record department in his family's existing radio store in Toronto.[2] In 1961, the store moved out to its own location on Yonge Street, and its location at 347 Yonge Street became a Toronto landmark. The flagship store of the competing A&A Records chain was located nearby at 351 Yonge Street.
The Yonge Street location was always noted for its kitschy signage.[3] Its first neon signage included the store's address in large neon "347" numbers vertically aligned between two windows.[4] On the left side was a thermometer made from neon. On the far right was a neon multi-sectioned triangle similar to the one on top of the Canada Life Building, which indicated weather conditions depending on how it was blinking.[4] In the late 1960s, the iconic double-disc spinning records replaced the previous neon signs.
The double-disc neon sign is frequently visible in films shot in Toronto that use Yonge Street as a location. Recent examples include the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, which features the signs prominently during the final battle sequences, and the CTV/CBS series Flashpoint, which is set in Toronto.
The flagship Sam the Record Man store was also famous for its Boxing Day sales. Shoppers would line up over many city blocks, in the cold, to get one-day-only specially discounted records, and eventually, as the technology changed, CDs, and videos.[2]
The chain stores were early promoters of Canadian artists, because they prominently featured their work with in-store displays, and concerts. Sam Sniderman played a role in getting the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to implement Canadian content (Can-con) regulations for radio stations in the early 1970s. The move to Can-con allowed many Canadian musicians to gain a voice in their own country.[5]
In the late 1960s, Sniderman expanded the business with franchised and corporate stores outside of Toronto. The chain subsequently expanded to 130 stores across Canada, before the recorded music and media business started to decline in the 1990s.[2] At one time, the chain was the leading music retailer in Canada.[6]
In 2001, tough competition, narrow margins, and the availability of free music downloads from the Internet, forced the chain to declare bankruptcy.[5] Most of its 30 corporate-owned stores closed.[5] The Sniderman family was underwriting the chain's debt of $15 million for the previous five years and finally could not continue to lose money.[5] Under new management, Sam Sniderman's sons Jason and Bobby Sniderman reopened the Yonge Street store in 2002, along with 11 franchise stores outside of Toronto.[5] The franchise stores were not a part of the bankruptcy filing.
Eventually, all but one of the stores closed. The corporate store in Halifax, Nova Scotia was shut down on February 20, 2007.[7]
On May 29, 2007, Jason and Bobby Sniderman announced that the iconic flagship store, on Toronto's Yonge and Gould Streets, would close permanently on June 30, 2007.[8] They stated that "their decision reflects the increasing impact of technology on the record industry."[8]
On May 30, 2007, supporters started a Facebook group to save the store's neon spinning record signs titled "Save the Sam's Sign!!!"; the group, and its attached online petition, garnered more than 18,000 members.[9] On June 14, 2007, it was announced that the sign, and the contents of the store would be auctioned by Benaco Sales on June 27.[10] However, on June 22, 2007, the Toronto city council voted in favour of designating the entire property as a heritage site, protecting the entire building, including the landmark signs.[3] The entire building was designated because the Ontario Heritage Act has no provisions to protect store signs.[3]
On January 18, 2008, Ryerson University acquired the property for future expansion of its nearby campus.[11] The former Sam's store is the future location for Ryerson's Student Learning Centre; however on November 11, 2011, Ryerson's president, Sheldon Levy, stated that they may not actually affix the old Sam's sign onto the new building, and will negotiate with the city to see if a cheaper commemoration for the sign can be achieved.[12] On October 4, 2008, the iconic neon signs were lit for the last time as part of Toronto's Nuit Blanche festivities. The removal of the signage commenced shortly after the final lighting, and by mid-March 2009 the building had been partially demolished, [13]
The last remnants of the Sam the Record Man retail empire is one franchise store that remains open in Belleville.[2]