Quantcast
"I’m going to rely on a strong management team to return to profitability and we’re going to absolutely inject innovation into the way we do business."
——Eric Weisman, on being named Musicland CEO

MUSICLAND IS NOW
WEISMAN'S FROZEN TUNDRA

Ex-Alliance President/CEO Moving to Minnetonka to Take Over Retail Giant
He’s leaving the sunny Florida beaches for the cold, harsh winters of Minnesota, and he couldn’t be happier.

Musicland has named Eric Weisman CEO, effective Monday, Aug. 25. Weisman is currently CEO/President of the Coral Springs, FL-based Alliance Entertainment Corp. Talk about your culture shock.

In between packing and shopping for winter coats and antifreeze, Weisman checked in with the HITS cesspool. "We’re going to work over the next four weeks or so, into October, on the vision of where we’re going with the business. I want to work with the team up there, and further develop it from a sales/marketing/event-driven business," he said. "Clearly you should expect a change in how we go about things."

Weisman recognizes that, while there is plenty of turmoil in the record and retail businesses, it is precisely this air of uncertainty that allows for opportunities. "Clearly, given my track record of being able to turn around businesses, I see a lot of opportunity. There are many naysayers, but that doesn’t mean they’re always correct," he said. "If I listened to everybody in the past who said something couldn’t be done, I wouldn’t be here today. I’m going to rely on a strong management team to return to profitability and we’re going to absolutely inject innovation into the way we do business."

That doesn’t mean he’s ignoring the larger challenges facing Musicland and the music industry in general. "You’ve got consolidation throughout the supply channel at retail and market forces working on the consumer as it relates to piracy and digital music. You’ve got price issues. All of those are at play. But ultimately all of those will be overcome by our focus and our message and what we stand for to our consumer," Weisman said.

The Minnetonka, MN-based Musicland owns and operates 1,000 stores under the Sam Goody, Suncoast and Media Play names. In June, an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners bought the company from Best Buy.

Sun Capital Managing Director Marc "Follow the" Leder said: "Eric Weisman has a proven track record and is more than capable of changing the direction of Musicland. His leadership and vision will serve the company well as it continues to evolve."

At Alliance, Weisman is credited with automating the company’s distribution centers and building its IT infrastructure. Weisman also drove Alliance's business into new areas such as e-commerce fulfillment and enabling databases, vendor-managed inventory, in-store interactive merchandising and platforms for digital distribution as well as a cure for the common cold. His turnaround experience includes guiding Alliance through the late '90s and moving it forward through a commitment to service, innovation and excellence.

NEAR TRUTHS: SPRING BLOOMS
Here come the big guns. (3/28a)
THE COUNT: COLDPLAY IS HOT, COUNTRY'S COOKIN' IN THE U.K.
The latest tidbits from the bustling live sector (3/28a)
CITY OF HOPE TAPS MARCIANO FOR TOP HONOR
This year's philanthropic model (3/28a)
TRUST IN THE TOP 20
Hip-hop is no longer hibernating. (3/28a)
UMG BROADENS SPOTIFY OFFERINGS
Sir Lucian and Daniel are in harmony. (3/28a)
THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
 Email

 First Name

 Last Name

 Company

 Country
CAPTCHA code
Captcha: (type the characters above)