Kaspien

"Trans World Entertainment" redirects here. For the film production company, see Trans World Entertainment (film company).

Kaspien Holdings, Inc.

Formerly	Trans World Entertainment (1972-2020)
Company type	Public
Traded as	Nasdaq:  KSPN Russell Microcap Index component
Industry	Retail
Founded	December 1972;52 years ago (1972-12)
Founder	Robert J. Higgins
Defunct	May 1, 2024;9 months ago (2024-05-01)
Fate	Closed
Headquarters	Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Key people	Brock Kowalchuk (interim CEO)
Website	kaspien.com

Kaspien Holdings, Inc. (formerly Trans World Entertainment) was an American company that provided software and services for ecommerce. Kaspien Holdings operates on Amazon in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and India, as well as Walmart Marketplace, eBay, Google Shopping, and Target. Its interim CEO was Goldman Sachs veteran Brock Kowalchuk, who took over March 11, 2022. ^[1]

History

Trans World Entertainment Corporation

Based in Albany, New York, Trans World was formed in 1972 by Robert Higgins. It opened its first store, Record Town (formerly Record Land), in 1973. The company went public in July 1986 and has expanded through acquisitions of a number of smaller or failing companies including Strawberries, Coconuts, Camelot Music, and Wherehouse Entertainment.

On September 23, 2000, Trans World signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of WaxWorks, and the deal was expected to close by the end of October. ^[2]

As part of a 2002 settlement with 41 states over CD price fixing, Trans World Entertainment, along with retailers Musicland and Tower Records, agreed to pay a $3 million fine. ^[3] It is estimated that between 1995 and 2000 customers were overcharged by nearly $500 million and up to $5 per album. ^[4]

In February 2006, Trans World acquired the Musicland Group, which owned Musicland, Discount Records, Sam Goody, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, Media Play, and On Cue. The buyout included a handful of On Cue stores. ^[5]

Trans World operated at a net loss from 2006 to 2010. In fiscal year 2011 it turned a profit of $2.2 million (compared to a $31 million loss in FY 2010). The company closed some locations and increased margins on its products. ^[6]

Acquiring etailz, Inc.

In October 2016, Trans World acquired etailz, Inc, a third-party online retailer, for $76 million. ^[7]  

etailz was founded in 2008 by Josh Neblett, Sarah Wollnick (now Sarah Neblett), and Tom Simpson as GreenCupboards and had operated as a niche retailer of eco-friendly products. ^[8] The company rebranded to etailz in 2013 after acquiring Ecomom. ^[9]  

In January 2019, etailz laid off 20 percent of its workforce after Trans World reported a $14 million loss in the third quarter of 2018. ^[10] etailz's founder and CEO left the company shortly thereafter in March 2019. ^[11] In September 2019, etailz hired a new CEO, Kunal Chopra. ^[12]

In January 2020, Trans World sold its FYE segment for $10 million to Sunrise Records and Entertainment Ltd., severing its ties to physical retail stores and leaving etailz as its only remaining subsidiary. ^[13]  

In March 2020, Trans World reconstituted its board of directors and its CEO stepped down. ^[14] New members joined the board to reinforce the company's focus on ecommerce, including etailz founder Tom Simpson.

Sale and rebranding to Kaspien Holdings

On September 3, 2020, Trans World Entertainment rebranded to Kaspien Holdings (the name "Trans World Entertainment" was sold to Sunrise Records). Its remaining subsidiary, etailz, also changed their name to Kaspien, merging the two companies and solidifying the focus on ecommerce. ^[15]

Closure

In December of 2023, Kaspien announced it would wind down operations and close permanently on May 1, 2024. ^[16]

Formerly owned chains before sale to Sunrise Records

• Coconuts Movies & Music: Evansville, Indiana (Formerly nationwide)
• Sam Goody: St. Clairsville, Ohio and Medford, Oregon (Formerly nationwide)
• Spec's Music: San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Suncoast Motion Picture Company: Beaumont, Texas, Eatontown, New Jersey, Omaha, Nebraska, and Portland, Oregon. (Formerly nationwide)
• SecondSpin.com: Online (sold to Sunrise Records in 2020) ^[17]
• Manifest Discs and Tapes: Charlotte, North Carolina
• FYE: Nationwide (mall-based and freestanding) ^[17]

Defunct

"Saturday Matinee" redirects here. Not to be confused with Eddie Brandt § Eddie Brandt's Saturday Matinee.

• Camelot Music
• CD World: New Jersey and Missouri ^{[18] [19] [20]}
• Disc Jockey: Southern U.S. (mall-based) ^{[21] [22]}
• Incredible Universe, joint venture with Tandy Corporation: Nationwide (17 stores; closed in 1996, six stores sold to Fry's Electronics; )
• Leopold's: California ^{[23] [24]}
• Media Play: Nationwide (closed in 2006)
• Music World: New England states
• On Cue: Nationwide ^{[25] [26] [27] [28]}
• Planet Music: Virginia Beach
• Peaches: Nationwide
• Record & Tape Traders: Multiple locations in Baltimore area, last location in Towson closed in 2019 ^[29]
• Record Factory: Brisbane, CA ^{[30] [31] [32] [33]}
• Record Land: Nationwide (mall-based)
• Record Town: Nationwide (mall-based)
• Record World: Mid-Atlantic and New England states (mall-based)
• Saturday Matinee: Now only one location at Rockaway Townsquare in Rockaway, New Jersey; other locations closed or converted to Suncoast; previously operated in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania
• Spec's Music Inc.: Florida
• Spin Street: Tennessee (closed 2017) ^[34]
• Square Circle: Nationwide (mall-based)
• Strawberries: Texas, Maryland, New England and Mid-Atlantic states ^{[35] [36] [37] [38] [39]}
• Streetside Records: Missouri, Midwest ^{[40] [41]}
• Tape World: Nationwide (mall-based)
• Vibrations: South Florida
• The Wall: Mid-Atlantic states ^{[42] [43] [44]}
• Wall To Wall Sound & Video / Listening Booth: Mid-Atlantic states, later converted to The Wall ^{[42] [45] [46]}
• Wherehouse Entertainment: ^[30] Arizona, California, Colorado (formerly Rocky Mountain Records), Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington; ^{[47] [ failed verification ]} filed for bankruptcy in 2003; ^{[48] [49]} Trans World took control of 111 stores and liquidated nearly a third of them ^{[50] [51]} Continued as an online buyer/seller until October 9, 2018 when the website closed. ^[52]

References

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3. "CD Price Fixing Suit Settled For $143 Million". Billboard. 2002-10-01. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
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8. "Green retailer GreenCupboards says sales are on rise > Spokane Journal of Business". www.spokanejournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
9. "GreenCupboards buys assets of Ecomom after founder's suicide". GeekWire. 2013-04-24. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
10. "Etailz reduces staff following parent company losses | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
11. "Etailz CEO and co-founder Josh Neblett no longer with company, executive says | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
12. "Etailz names new CEO > Spokane Journal of Business". www.spokanejournal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
13. Corp, Trans World Entertainment (2020-01-23). "Trans World Entertainment Corporation Announces Agreement to Sell FYE Segment". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 2020-09-17.
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15. "'etailz' Rebrands as 'Kaspien' to Better Support Online Brand Growth". PRWeb. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
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29. "Record and Tape Traders Towson". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
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31. "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1977-11-26.
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39. Snow, Anita (August 22, 1989). "Video Company Chief, Wife Found Fatally Shot In Mansion Home". Associated Press .
40. "RIP Streetside Records Delmar". Playback STL. December 24, 2007. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007.
41. Shrubshell, Don (December 6, 2012). "Streetside Records to close next month". Columbia Daily Tribune . Archived from the original on April 10, 2013.
42. Chapman, Francesca (September 23, 1993). "Handwriting On The Wall Wee Three Record Outlet Spinning Into A Bigger Chain". Philadelphia Daily News . Archived from the original on September 27, 2013.
43. "Camelot Music Agrees to Purchase The Wall; Camelot Music and WH Smith PLC Announce Signing of Letter of Intent". PR Newswire (Press release). October 31, 1997. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved May 14, 2017– via The Free Library.
44. Kasrel, Deni (December 5, 1997). "Bankrupt buyers woo The Wall. (Camelot Music Inc.)". Philadelphia Business Journal .
45. Burke, Richard (July 21, 1990). "Wall To Wall Sound Files Petition For Bankruptcy Relief In Phila". Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on July 11, 2011.
46. Simmons, Sheila (May 16, 1990). "Wall To Wall Stressing Software". Philadelphia Daily News . Archived from the original on September 5, 2015.
47. "Articles about Wherehouse by Date - Page 5 - latimes". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
48. Leeds, Jeff (January 22, 2003). "Wherehouse Files for Chapter 11". Los Angeles Times .
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50. "Court OKs Purchase of Wherehouse Stores". Los Angeles Times . October 1, 2003.
51. Christman, Ed (October 11, 2003). "TransWorld Trumps Sun Capital In Its Bid For Wherehouse". Billboard . Vol. 115, no. 41. p. 73. ISSN   0006-2510 – via Google Books.
52. "SecondSpin - Buy and sell used CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray and Games". Archived from the original on 2022-10-08. Retrieved 2017-11-02.

External links

• Official website
• f.y.e.
• New York Times Trans World Entertainment page