Wherehouse Entertainment
American music retailer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wherehouse Entertainment, Inc.,[2] formerly Integrity Entertainment Corp., also known as Wherehouse Music and The Wherehouse, was an American retail music franchise.[1][3][4][5]
| Formerly | Integrity Entertainment Corp. |
|---|---|
| Company type | Public |
| AMEX: WEI | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1970[1] |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Fate | Purchased by Trans World to be converted to FYE brand |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | DVDs, compact discs, videos, records, video games, books, collectibles, accessories |
History
In 1983, Wherehouse Entertainment Inc., renamed from Integrity Entertainment Corp., went public with a public offering of 750,000 shares under the symbol WEI. At this time, the company had 126 stores, primarily in California.[6][7] In 1984, the company began renting movies, or "video software" in 77 of its 126 stores, with a roll out into further stores expected.[8] Later that year, a copy of Money Hunt: The Mystery of the Missing Link was sold by a Wherehouse Entertainment at Sunset & Western in Los Angeles to Newt Deiter, who would go on to win the $100,000 cash prize.[9]
In August 1998, Wherehouse purchased Blockbuster Music from Viacom.[10] The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2003. In 2003, Trans World Entertainment purchased the remaining 148 Wherehouse stores for $41 million (~$66.8 million in 2024) in cash and assumed liabilities while closing 35 under-performing stores.[11] It is not clear when Trans World Entertainment closed the remaining stores or converted them to FYE brand.
