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Wherehouse Entertainment

Wherehouse Entertainment, Inc.,[1] formerly Integrity Entertainment Corp., also known as Wherehouse Music and The Wherehouse, was an American retail music franchise.[2][3][4][5]

History

In 1983, Wherehouse Entertainment Inc., renamed from Integrity Entertainment Corp., went public with a public offering of 750,000 shares under the symbol WEI. At this time, the company had 126 stores, primarily in California.[6][7] In 1984, the company began renting movies, or "video software" in 77 of its 126 stores, with a roll out into further stores expected.[8] Later that year, a copy of Money Hunt: The Mystery of the Missing Link was sold by a Wherehouse Entertainment at Sunset & Western in Los Angeles to Newt Deiter, who would go on to win the $100,000 cash prize.[9]

In August 1998, Wherehouse purchased Blockbuster Music from Viacom.[10] The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2003. In 2003, Trans World Entertainment purchased the remaining 148 Wherehouse stores for $41 million (~$ in ) in cash and assumed liabilities while closing 35 under-performing stores.[11] It is not clear when Trans World Entertainment closed the remaining stores or converted them to FYE brand.

References

  1. Securities and Exchange Commission sec.gov^
  2. Gnerre, Sam. The Daily Breeze's Sam Gnerre looks at the way we were in the South Bay Daily Breeze, July 9, 2016^
  3. WHEREHOUSE ENTERTAINMENT INC reports earnings for Qtr to Dec 31 The New York Times, February 14, 1984^
  4. Haupt, Wyatt. Wherehouse Music shutting its doors in Temecula The San Diego Union-Tribune, October 23, 2003^
  5. Music Retailer to Buy Wherehouse's Assets Associated Press, September 16, 2003^
  6. Wherehouse Entertainment Inc. The Daily Breeze, September 11, 1983, retrieved May 5, 2020^
  7. Integrity Entertainment Corp. The Los Angeles Times, September 7, 1983, retrieved May 5, 2020^
  8. Louis Sahagun. Record Retailers Get the Picture, Stock Video The Los Angeles Times, March 11, 1984, retrieved May 5, 2020^
  9. Salley Rayl. VIDEO GAME PAYS $100,000 TO 'SLEUTH' The Los Angeles Times, October 21, 1984, retrieved May 5, 2020^
  10. Barry Willis. Wherehouse Buys Blockbuster Music for $115 million Stereophile, 16 August 1998, retrieved 4 May 2020^
  11. Music Retailer to Buy Wherehouse's Assets Associated Press, September 16, 2003^