Canberra’s last Revolution CD store has closed down after 30 years providing second-hand physical media. Photo: Jarryd Rowley/Insert: Revolution CD Belconnen.
Canberra’s last Revolution CD store, located at Westfield Belconnen, has closed after 30 years of selling second-hand physical media in the ACT.
Revolution CD opened its first store in Civic in 1996 and offered customers the chance to trade in CDs, vinyl records, DVDs, VHS and video games for cash.
Over two decades, Revolution CD continued to open stores in Woden, Tuggeranong, Queanbeyan and Belconnen; however, with the rise of streaming, stores slowly began to close.
Revolution CD Belconnen owner Glen Stewart had been operating some of these stores for 25 years. He said the decision to close was difficult but was ultimately made due to the cost of a new lease and the inability to sell the business.
“I was looking at selling it, and we had a potential sale, but that fell through,” Mr Stewart said.
“The lease was also up, and the price to renew it at Westfield was also going to cost well over a million dollars over the next five years. The rent just grew too big.
“When you renew leases, you’re essentially rebuilding the store every few years and creating a brand new shop.
“On top of that, owning a business like Revolution CD, it’s a 365-day-a-year job. You really have to work your ass off, and after 25 years of that, it felt like the right time.
“I mean, it is possible that someone will reopen, but it gets harder to run the business every year.”
The remaining stock from the store will now be transported to Revolution CD Young.
Revolution CD Young. Glen Stewart says, “People love physical media, even if just coming and browsing”. Photo: Revolution CD Young.
Mr Stewart thanked the customers and people who had supported the stores over the last three decades.
“I really want to give a big thanks to everyone who has come in and traded or bought from the business over the years. They’ve been really loyal customers, and I can’t thank them enough,” he said.
“Often people would come in and not even buy anything, but they would just come to talk about new movies or games, which really made it a nice place to work.
“Someone said to me that the store was like the cafe from Seinfeld. It was a place for them to come and chat and meet up. That’s ultimately what it was about; creating a place to meet people and talk about the stuff they loved.”
Despite the store’s closure and the rise of streaming for music and movies, Mr Stewart said physical media still means so much to many people.
“People love physical media, even if just coming and browsing,” he said.
“It’s one thing to watch or pay for a movie on streaming, but it’s a very different experience to come and browse when you’ve got 20 minutes and then find a movie that you hadn’t thought of for the last 10 years.
“As things get older, whether that’s music, movies or even video games like Super Nintendos or Gameboys, people refuse to forget them.
“So while it is sad to say goodbye, Canberra’s dedicated to physical media and customers will continue to support it.”