Suncoast Motion Picture Company (Suncoast) is an American chain of

retail store The retail format (also known as the retail formula) influences the consumer's store choice and addresses the consumer's expectations. At its most basic level, a retail format is a simple marketplace, that is; a location where goods and services ar ...

s specializing in new and used physical media, primarily CDs,

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

s, and

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog signal, analog sound Recording medium, storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, ...

s, as well as collectibles. Suncoast was initially a subsidiary of

Musicland The Musicland Group, Inc. was an entertainment company that ran Musicland, Sam Goody, Discount Records, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, On Cue, and the Media Play Superstore Chains. The Musicland Group was purchased by Best Buy in 2001 at the ...

before being purchased by Transworld Entertainment. After the purchase most stores were stocked like its sister chain FYE. Transworld entertainment was purchased by Sunrise Records in 2020 making Suncoast a subsidiary of it. As of 2025, only two stores remain in the chain. One is in

Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the List of municipalities in North Carolina, 14th-most populous city in North Caroli ...

at the Jacksonville Mall. The second store which is a combination of both an FYE and a Suncoast Motion picture company store remains in Beavercreek, Ohio in The Mall at Fairfield Commons.

History

The first Suncoast store opened in

Roseville, Minnesota Roseville is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. It is one of two Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Twin Cities suburbs that are bordered directly by Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul and Minneapolis (Lauderdale, M ...

, in 1986 as Paramount Pictures. This was a joint venture between the

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

movie studio and Musicland, which at the time was one of the largest music and video retailers in the United States. Once Paramount pulled out of the joint venture, Musicland changed the store’s name to Suncoast Motion Picture Company in 1988. In 1999,

launched websites for Suncoast, Sam Goody, Media Play, and Oncue. In 2001,

Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was r ...

purchased their then parent-company,

, for $685 million. In January 2003, Best Buy closed 20 Suncoast stores as part of a larger closing that included 90 Sam Goody stores. Later that year in June 2003,

Sun Capital Partners Sun Capital Partners, Inc., is an American private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts. Sun Capital was founded in 1995 by Marc J. Leder and Rodger Krouse, former classmates at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and ...

assumed Musicland's liabilities from Best Buy. In January 2006, The Musicland Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York; store closures during the bankruptcy included 80 Suncoast stores Suncoast Label Scar

In late March 2006, Trans World Entertainment Corp. completed the purchase of nearly all of the assets of Musicland Holding Corporation for $104.2 million in cash and $18.1 million in assumed liabilities. TWEC retained the Suncoast name on around 170 stores after acquisition. However, on December 26, 2009, they announced the closure of 150 Suncoast stores nationwide. In mid-2023, the Suncoast location at Westroads Mall in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

closed, leaving only two full line Suncoast Motion Picture Company stores open: one in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

and the other in

. A third, which is a combination of both an FYE and a Suncoast Motion picture company store remains in Beavercreek, Ohio in The Mall at Fairfield Commons.{{Cite web , title=Beavercreek, OH Suncoast {{! The Mall at Fairfield Commons , url=https://mallatfairfieldcommons.com/stores/tenant/suncoast , access-date=2023-03-01 , website=mallatfairfieldcommons.com , language=en

References

1986 establishments in Minnesota American companies established in 1986 Companies based in Minnesota Retail companies established in 1986 Defunct retail companies of the United States Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2006