Is Tower Records going to make a comeback?
It turns out a former Tower executive has joined the firm that purchased the www.tower.com domain after the retailer's liquidation. For now, the chain lives on as an internet retailer (much like Montgomery Ward). And there's at least some talk of trying to revive the chain.
And in a potentially tantalizing development, Caiman is mulling the idea of opening some stores under the Tower name, said George Scarlett, a former Tower executive who is Caiman's newly hired director of entertainment. Because it also purchased Tower's trademark, Caiman has the right to open Tower stores.It's possible "you'll see the Tower shingle out there again someday," Scarlett said. "It's just hard to know in what form."
Didier Pilon, Caiman's founder and director, told the trade publication Billboard that stores could open in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York in nine months.
But opening new stores, given the difficult climate for music retailers, may prove troublesome. Scarlett said it's far from certain that any new stores will open.
"We've had very superficial discussions, just spitballing some ideas," Scarlett said.
For more on the demise of record stores, check out this story we wrote in December.