SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Music collectors and movie buffs in Yellowknife are bidding farewell to a popular downtown business this winter.

CD Plus staff Noel Hernandez, left, and Jordan Bowden come to terms with the impending closing of the music store chain, scheduled for late February. The store hired three part-time staff over the Christmas holidays, and now operates with three fulltime staff, including Noel, Jordan, and manager Aaron Hernandez. "I don't think any of will be going to retail after this," Noel said. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo

The CD Plus franchise in the upper level of Centre Square Mall is scheduled to close its doors before the end of February. Manager Aaron Hernandez learned the news through a phone call from the corporate chain's head office on Friday, Jan. 24.

"After Christmas I knew something was going to happen," Hernandez said. "CD sales were hit pretty hard. Every music retailer has been hit really hard."

The decade-old Ontario-based company expanded to about 100 stores nationally by 2006, with franchises in every province and territory with the exceptions of Quebec and Nunavut.

CD Plus entered the Yellowknife market seven-and-a-half years ago by purchasing the long-running Top Forty Music, or TFN, which had also been located in Centre Square Mall. Hernandez had managed TFM for more than two years before it was purchased by the rapidly expanding national chain.

"CD sales were going pretty high back then," Hernandez said. "They were doing really well. The downloading started hurting when (file sharing network) Limewire came out. I would say 5 years ago you could notice. The recession was a big hit on us, too. I think the closing was inevitable. If it was my own store maybe I would have closed it awhile ago."

Earlier this decade top selling CDs at the store would sell 200 or more copies in their first month of release.

"Now you're lucky to get 50 down in a month," Hernandez said.

The Yellowknife store, which routinely charted among the top 10 best selling stores across the country, adapted to the market shift by diversifying into video games, novelty items such as shirts, belt buckles, jewelry, books and other speciality items. The store also expanded its collection of DVDs, which proved popular sellers in recent years.

"It should be called DVD Plus rather than CD Plus," said staff member Noel Hernandez, who has worked with the franchise off and on for six years. "DVDs still sell well, but everyone gets CDs from the internet now. People always ask us if we have iTunes cards, but they're our competition so we don't sell them. I have an iTunes account and I get a lot of music there, too. That's the way things are going. The younger generation doesn't buy CDs."

The store's many regulars are disappointed by the news as word of the chain's demise continues to spread through the community.

"When I had to break the news to the regulars it was kind of sad telling them because that's the only reason they came to the mall," Noel said. "What's going to happen to the mall?"

Melanie McGee, a Yellowknife resident for 26 years, visited the shop to make a few final purchases earlier this week. McGee laments the loss of an era, when neighbours mingled among music, sharing the pleasure of exploring new music while sharing conversation with staff and fellow customers now and again.

"I have fond memories of hanging around the record store as a kid," she said. "We're getting so plugged in that we're losing the social aspect. It's one more hit to the downtown core."

Ian Fowler was also disappointed by the news this week for similar reasons.

"It's a pretty tough thing to hear," he said, adding that in addition to music purchases, he enjoyed conversing with friends and staff while browsing the new box sets.

Customer Mat Denechaud purchases new DVDs and sometimes CDs from the store a couple of times a week.

"I actually spend a lot of money in this store," he said. "Where else are you going to find this stuff? The selection at Wal-Mart is a lot smaller. There is not much choice unless something else opens."

The store has stopped taking special orders and after this week it is not clear if the location will receive any more new stock.

"The closing is really going to hit the local artists really hard because there is no solid venue to carry their CDs," Aaron said.

Aaron has recorded 10 of his own rap albums, all of which are available in the store, under his stage name, Godson. In all, the store has featured about 100 titles by Northern recording artists.

"It's tough. They have no where else to go in town," Aaron said.

Sales at the Yellowknife location began dropping annually about five years ago.

"It wasn't too dramatic year to year, but when you look at five years ago to now it's pretty alarming," he said.

The store will be dismantled and empty by Feb. 28.

After leaving his position as manager late next month, Aaron plans to work on his own music full-time with concerts in the Philippines and other international tours.

"I'm looking at a three-year plan," he said. "It's a mixed blessing for me."

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