When customers wander through the doors at Circles Records and Tapes, the florescent lights glare off of the sale CD cases and draw them to explore rooms full of records, cassette tapes, CDs and music videos.
However, times have changed with the wavering economy causing sales to plummet in recent years. Customers trickle in, but despite hardships, the spirit of the store is far from affected.
Located at North Central Avenue and East McKinley Street, Circles was built in 1944 as a Stuart Baker car dealership. In 1972 it was purchased by Leonard and Angela Singer who converted the dealership into a record store and still own it today.
Throughout the years, Circles has experienced a shift in atmosphere, long-time customer Faustina Mesa said.
“It used to be packed in here when I was growing up,” Mesa, of Phoenix, said. “They used to have a lot of people who used to cruise on Central Avenue. People used to cruise in their low riders and the parking lots were full. The environment has changed a lot.”
The social buzz that existed in the downtown area created regular customers like Fred Ostos, who currently lives in Gilbert.
“There was always music playing,” Ostos said. “We’d always go there and hang out and listen to some music and decide what we wanted to get … so it was always a social place for us.”
The social atmosphere is not the only thing that has changed since Ostos was in school.
“Downtown changed a lot since I was in high school,” Ostos said. “We used to go down there a lot because there wasn’t anything else there. On the weekends we’d spend more time there because they’d allow us to listen to the music.”
As a contrast to the social setting Circles used to have, most customers now go to the store, grab some music and leave after making a quick purchase.
Store Manager Derek Larremore said there are fewer customers coming in and looking around.
“We used to have regulars,” Larremore said. “There aren’t too many regulars left.”
With the establishment of the Downtown campus, a younger, music-savvy crowd is now just blocks away from the store, however Larremore said he hasn’t seen much business from students.
Sophomore journalism student Daryl Bjoraas is one in a handful of students that shop at the store.
“I like Circles because it’s nice on the inside,” Bjoraas said. “There’s a lot of room to walk around … other shops are kind of small and there’s not a lot of freedom or room.”
After being given a record player for his last birthday, Bjoraas said Circles has gained even more appeal.
“I shop at Circles because it’s one of the few stores around that sells records,” he said.
Larger stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, which typically have a lot of music, lack diversity and often fall short of the expansive selection at a smaller store, Bjoraas said.
However, business is still down for Circles.
“We’re down about 70 percent from what we were four or five years ago,” Larremore said. “It takes us a week to sell what we would in a Saturday.”
Circles initially had a large main room with most of the music available, a smaller alcove for records, a main entry with sale items and an entire second main room full of music, Larremore said.
The second part of the store was closed in July of 2008, Larremore said, pointing at a dark doorway leading to a second, dust-filled room that had been closed off.
“We had to downsize,” he said. “There’s just not enough customers for the place to sustain itself.”
Larremore said the store’s current atmosphere after the downsize is very different than a few years ago.
“Drab would be well-fitting. Gloomy. Outdated,” he said as he rolled a 28-pound ball made from CD label stickers around the countertop.
For nearly six years, store clerks have taken CD stickers from newly purchased cases to add to their “masterpiece,” Larremore said.
After management noticed CD wrappers left in the parking lot every night, they offered to open the CDs for customers and decided to save all the stickers, Larremore said.
Larremore said the giant sticker could be used as centerpiece for the main lobby in the future with a spotlight on it for customers to see as they walk through the door.
Despite changes encountered in recent years, the employees at Circles maintain an optimistic outlook in regards to the store’s success.
Both Larremore and Marco Hernandez Sr., who manages the Latin music section, feel that their knack for customer service and extensive music catalog will keep customers coming.
“We used to sell quite a bit,” Hernandez said. “The economy in general has gone up slowly. You can’t bring a ship up from the bottom of the sea and expect it to be the same. The economy is the same way. It’s going brick by brick; very slowly.”
Hernandez said he has faith that customers will always be around. He said his motto is to be honest, to lean for customer satisfaction and to truly give people the best they can get so they will come back.
Because Hernandez believes in giving the customers what they want, Circles is the only local music store to fill orders for the local Phoenix jails, he said.
“Relatives will ask what they want and come ask for music at the store, and we’ll send it to the jail,” Hernandez said. “Other places all deny those requests.”
Circles also fills orders for customers who aren’t in the downtown area and delivers to surrounding cities such as Scottsdale, Avondale and Goodyear for a price of $7.50, he said.
Hernandez said there is little local competition, which is helpful in drawing in customers.
There aren’t many stores like Circles in the area. Although there were several smaller stores in south Phoenix, they were closed for selling pirated music, once again leaving Circles ahead of the game, Hernandez said.
Bjoraas said the music at Circles is more affordable compared to other big-name stores.
“With some of the local shops like Circles, they do sell things a little cheaper,” Bjoraas said. “I think its because they’re trying to attract more customers whereas places like Wal-Mart and Best Buy are going to get customers anyway so they don’t have to compete.”
Larremore said another draw for customers is the wide variety of music the store keeps in stock.
“We carry a little bit of everything across the board,” he said. “There’s a lot of people looking for stuff they can’t find other places. We have a deeper cataloger — a deeper selection. That’s where a lot of our sales come from.”
Contact the reporter at tracey.corenman@asu.edu
