Though the bleak music retail climate has prompted thousands of businesses to close, some indie shops like Planet Retro Records have found sustainable success with curated inventory that speaks to niche collectors, a DIY-minded approach to running their boutique spaces, and conscientious, personalized service.
Planet Retro is owned and single-handedly operated by raspy-voiced vinyl hoarder Rob Sexton. “I try to do it a little different. It’s a little more old style,” he explains. “When I opened this place, I wanted it to be the vibe that I got when I was a 16-year-old kid walking into a record store in the late ‘80s. That pull. I know most of my customers by name. It’s got a small town, homey feel to it, and that’s the way I like it.”
Saturday marks Planet Retro’s two-year anniversary, when he moved from the space in the late Gas Plant Antique Arcade to his current storefront on Central Avenue in St. Pete, opening its doors on September 15, 2013.
The Tampa native had been a vinyl digger for decades whose collection got too big for his home. He ended up renting a warehouse in Pinellas Park for storage, eventually filling it with 50,000 records and drawing potential buyers to poke through his bins via flyers and Craigslist ads. By the end, “I’d do a sale once or twice a month, and get a couple hundred people to come through the door.”
A smashed front window aside, Sexton has enjoyed a smooth run in his current Grand Central District digs. For a while, he booked in all manner of local, national and international talent to play in-stores, clocking 45 shows in a single year. “They were all ages, they were all free, donation at the door only, and 100 percent of the proceeds went to the bands.” But it became too overwhelming. The back staging room was in a constant state of flux and sometimes downright messy, attendees were donating less, and even though he says some shows were awesome, “I think people got a little complacent, a little too comfortable; it was a place to go for free and see bands. But I need the space. The bottom line is I’m running a business, I pay the same for the space in the front that I do in the back and the front was paying for all the bills.”
Though he’ll have five local indie bands playing Saturday evening, he’s steered away from in-stores to fully focus on making his store a better place and building up his inventory of primarily punk, metal, underground and hardcore titles. Once the lease is up here, he plans to move to a bigger spot since he’s already outgrown his current one. “I started this place on a shoestring, with some boxes of records out of a warehouse and a thousand dollar Home Depot credit card. Somehow, it’s been successful, which is pretty awesome. Humbling, I think is the word.”
Planet Retro 2-Year Anniversary, with Moon Flag, Gino & The Goons, Empire Cinema, Kyle Chason, Mind the Canvas, Sat., Sept. 19, 10 a.m. open, 7 p.m. music, Planet Retro Records, 2414 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, planetretrorecords.com.
This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2015.
