A Pittsburgh record store that nearly closed in 2000 is now booming thanks to the resurgence of vinyl.
The Attic Record Store, which first opened in 1980, has survived recessions, streaming, and even casualties to survive as one of the area’s few independent record stores.
The beloved store now turns over around $1.5 million a year in album sales, as young and old flock to its shelves daily.
Most surprising of all, while many record stores have embraced online ordering, owner Fred Bohn Jr. has bucked the trend with a more analog approach.
“We don’t sell anything online,” he told Wall Street Journal. “If you sell 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 booming again thanks to the resurgence of vinyl.
Owner Fred Bohn Jr. has managed to overcome several market challenges, including the advent of online streaming, to keep his business afloat.
The beloved store now turns over around $1.5 million a year in album sales, as young and old flock to its shelves daily.
The only exception is foreign clients. Bohn often accepts phone requests from record collectors as far away as Japan and Europe.
The scenes are a far cry from 20 years ago, when Bohn seriously contemplated closing the store amid terrible sales.
The then thirty-year-old had inherited the store from his father, who barely made a living competing with large record store chains.
Just as the market was moving ever closer to CDs and, ultimately, digital streaming, Bohn took another hit in 2004 when much of his stock was destroyed in a catastrophic flood.
But fortunately, he decided to try to weather the storm and saw that his commitment paid off.
“We’re definitely not struggling to pay the bills,” he added, but admitted that most of his income goes directly into buying more stock.
Last year, Bohn shelled out $29,000 for a 1,000-record collection.
The vinyl is stored throughout the store’s 4,000 square feet of floor space, as well as in maze-like back rooms.
While many record stores have embraced online ordering, owner Fred Bohn Jr. has bucked the trend with a more analog approach by rejecting online sales.
What started as a more specialized offering now features many heavy hitters, including Taylor Swift, helping to keep the store afloat.
Attic Records is so densely stocked that it is estimated that it would take 16 days to scan through all of their titles.
“The thing about records is that there’s never too much of it,” Bohn explained.
The business owner does not have an exact number of his inventory or daily sales, and prefers to manage his business in a more intuitive style.
It’s an approach that has paid off, if TikTok videos showing fans traveling from across the country to visit the store are to be believed.
Most of the store’s stock sells for between $5 and $30, although rarer records kept outside the main store can sell for over $500.
“Rare records are the fastest to sell,” Bohn explained, although he added that some of his biggest sellers are more contemporary and mainstream, like Phoebe Bridgers, Noah Kahan and, of course, Taylor Swift.
“Now we literally have six-year-olds coming in and buying Taylor Swift records with their parents,” Bohn said.
The resilience of Attic Record Store is a testament not only to the passion of vinyl fans, but also to the benefits of waiting out trends and fads.
The store was opened in 1980 by Bohn’s father and eliminated competition from large chain record stores.
The resilience of Attic Record Store is a testament not only to the passion of vinyl fans, but also to the benefits of waiting out trends and fads.
About 43 million records were sold last year, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
Vinyl sales surpassed CD sales by more than six million, the second time since 1987 that this has happened.
The figures coincide with a record sales rebound seen in the last 17 years.
Record Store Day, first conceived in 2007 to “celebrate the culture of independently owned record stores,” is now a thriving annual event, with special releases and performances.
What might once have been dismissed as hoarding has become a lucrative strategy for Bohn, who stays up to date on music trends by chatting with his clients.
This personal touch has helped him get ahead, as a recent Instagram post acknowledging his success can attest.
‘Thank you for over 40 years of making friends and playing records!’ Bohn wrote.
