Pittsburgh vinyl shop that opened in 1980 and almost closed in 2000 is booming ... trends now
A Pittsburgh record store which was on the brink of closure in 2000 is now booming once again thanks to a resurgence in vinyl.
The Attic Record Store, which first opened in 1980, has survived recessions, streaming and even acts of God to survive as one of a handful of independent record stores in the area.
The beloved store now turns over around $1.5 million a year in album sales, as young and old flock to its shelves on a daily basis.
Most surprisingly of all, while many record stores have embraced online ordering, owner Fred Bohn Jr. has bucked the trend with a more analogue approach.
'We don't sell anything online,' he told the Wall Street Journal. 'If you sell all your best stuff on the internet, it's not as fun for people to come to the store.'
The Attic Record Store, which was on the brink of closure in 2000 is now booming once again thanks to a resurgence in vinyl
Owner Fred Bohn Jr. has managed to weather various challenges to the market including the advent of online streaming to keep his business affloat
The beloved store now turns over around $1.5 million a year in album sales, as young and old flock to its shelves on a daily basis
The only exception to this are customers from overseas. Bohn will often take requests over the phone from record collectors as far away as Japan and Europe.
The scenes are a far cry from those 20 years ago, when Bohn was seriously contemplating shutting up shop amid dire sales.
The then 30-year-old had taken over the store from his father, who himself had eked out a living by going up against huge record store chains.
Just as the market was edging ever closer towards CDs and ultimately digital streaming, Bohn was hit with another blow in 2004 when much of his stock was destroyed in a catastrophic flood.
But luckily, he decided to try and weather the storm and has seen his commitment to pay off.
'We're definitely not struggling to pay the bills,' he added, but admitted that most of his revenue goes right back into buying more
