By CHRIS RANDAZZO
of The Gazette
In an age when volume is king and bigger is better, Radio Kaos manages to keep chugging along. Think of it as the little store that could (at least so far).
Owner Randy Wagner opened his little record shop back in 1989. Even he'll tell you it was kind of a fluke.
Wagner was living in Minnesota, where he worked the night shift at the airport, and was in the Stevens Point area, visiting friends, (he's from Marshfield). When he walked through the alley they call Third Court, he saw the vacant storefront that is now Radio Kaos.
Wagner said he'd been tossing around the idea of opening a record store for years because of his lifelong love of music. And, surprisingly, the location was just what he had in mind.
" I wanted something small and out of the way," he said. He started out by selling his own record collection and a much smaller collection of new merchandise.
"There are still some records I wish I would never have sold," Wagner said.
For the first few years he lived in the store's tiny back room and worked almost constantly. He was the store's sole employee for the first three-and-a-half years.
He said he kept at it for a couple of reasons. The first reason was because of that lifelong love of music. "When I was younger, the most important thing to me was my music collection. If I was upset, or I had a bad day, there was always something I could listen to to make me feel better," Wagner said.
The second reason was because he didn't take it too seriously. "I didn't think the store would last more than a year. I was just trying to figure out what I was going to do when I grew up," Wagner said.
His love of music paid off for him, though. Radio Kaos stocks a much wider variety of artists than discount stores, and he'll do everything he can to get something for a customer who want a specific recording.
"We can't get everything, but we'll give it our best effort to find anything in print," Wagner said.
This attitude has garnered the store a loyal following. "I don't buy records or albums anywhere else," said Tim Benns, a member of the locally based band Big Big Furnace. "He has a great indie selection that you won't find anywhere else. He's also great about ordering things for you. Randy is super knowledgeable. He got my loyalty that way."
Wagner also stocks vinyl records, local releases, and import CDs that aren't available at most other retailers.
Unfortunately, great customer service and a superior selection may not be enough to keep the store around indefinitely. Remember, volume is king.
Wagner said he has no plans to close the store any time soon, but he admitted things are getting tougher.
Giant retailers have become much more active in the music market than in year's past, and often use CDs as promotional items to bring customers into their stores, selling hot new titles at a loss.
Wagner said cost on most CDs is $11.99, with a suggested retail price of $18.99 At Radios Kaos most new CDs are $13.99 or $14.99, about the same as regular price at the big discounters, and much less than at mall shops.
That leaves about a $2.50 profit per CD, which Wagner said has been the profit margin on CDs for around 10 years. Unfortunately for Wagner, everything but the profit margin has increased over the years (heating prices for example).
He's also losing sales to the big retailers. He has lots of loyal customers, and does a good business on special orders, but he said he doesn't sell nearly as many new releases as in the past.
"The big stores will try to kill you on the new releases, which you need because you can sell one or two hundred of a big release as opposed to one or two of a special order or indie title," Wagner said.
Still, Wagner keeps chugging along. "The great thing about the store is that I get to do something I like and make a living doing it," he said.