Dimple Records to close after 45 years in Sacramento area
A family-run, Sacramento-area record store is closing its doors.
Dimple Records is going out of business, spokesperson Andrew Radakovitz said Tuesday.
Liquidation sales begin Wednesday, but there is no firm closing date. Radakovitz said it could take months for all the inventory to sell. The family behind the locally famous brand has three warehouses full of merchandise and is moving pallets daily to its locations.
John and Dilyn Radakovitz opened their first two stores, called The Record Shop in 1974 in Rancho Cordova and Roseville. In 1983, the stores became Dimple Records, and they have remained in the family.
Dimple Records currently has seven locations across its Arden, Broadway, Citrus Heights, Folsom and Roseville locations. Arden and Broadway have two adjoining stores, which focus on books and vinyl.
It once had locations in Davis and Elk Grove, too.
"My husband really wants to retire. He’s been doing it for 45 years for himself. Longer if you look at all the years he was in the business, and he’s going to be 75," Dilyn Radakovitz said.
She and her son also said declining sales, particularly the decrease of DVD sales, are among the reasons Dimple is closing.
"DVDs are amazingly dropped," Dilyn Radakovitz said.
Ironically, the store is having its best year of vinyl sales, she said, but it's not enough to sustain the business. CD sales aren't doing as well as they did in the past, either.
According to the Recording Industry Association of America's 2018 year-end music industry revenue report, streaming now accounts for 75 percent of total industry revenues.
"There’s more streaming. A lot of artists don’t put out a physical piece anymore to sell and it’s a lot of online sales. I mean, we sell online, too, but you have a lot of players," she said.
According to the same report, vinyl sales were up almost 8 percent in 2018, accounting for $419 million, which is the highest revenue level in 31 years.
Dilyn Radakovitz's imprint on independent music stores can be felt not just in Sacramento but across the world.
She's one of the five original creators of Record Store Day, a yearly celebration of independent record stores where consumers can find special edition vinyl. She's also on the boards of Music Biz and The Department Of Record Stores.
"I think you have to do a lot more online sales and you have to figure out ways to connect with the customer through all of the social media," she said of independent stores.
Dilyn Radakovitz said she'll miss her customers.
"I'll be sad not to see them all the time every day. I’ve been on the floor for years, and I’ve watched customers start as children grow up and then bring their families. So, I’ll really miss that," she said.
Her son is planning to open up a new store called The Cave. It will be a buy-sell-trade shop in Folsom and is likely to open in September.