In interviews about the closure, McKenzie told the reporter that people are teary eyed over the loss. As much fun as it is to browse the shop’s impressive array of titles and hang out, I’ll admit I don’t buy as many magazines as I once did. With the magazine format itself in question, it’s no wonder that a magazine retail outlet is struggling. This Vancouver Sun article discusses the future of the print magazine in the tablet era.
While the author points out that most people today rely on social media and websites for entertainment news, a December 2011 Deloitte study of 16,000 consumers in the U.K. found that 88 per cent of respondents who read magazine content prefer to do so in printed hard copy and only one-third of tablet users had read a magazine on their device.
In the ongoing debate about the future of print media, what will happen to the magazine? Do you still buy print magazines? Weigh in below.
Last modified: June 20, 2012
I just moved to Kits last year and loved this place! I’ve only bought one or two mags over the course of the last year though… I admit I do most of my magazine reading online or with iPad versions. Sad to lose this place though, I like stumbling upon magazines I’ve never heard of and just browsing. Unfortunately browsing doesn’t pay the bills 😛
When I moved to Kits several years ago, 4th Ave between Burrard and Balsam had two independent book stores (Duthie and Book Warehouse), a used bookstore (canterbury), a kick ass comic book shop & Don’t Tell Your Mother magazines. All of them are now gone.
Zulu Records and Kits Coffee are holdouts, and I’m rooting for both.
But thank God if I need a swimsuit, salad bowl or $3 apples from Whole Foods.
4th Ave is being gutted of great, independent, and value-adding community businesses, and being replaced by cookie-cutter clothing chains. It’s quite depressing really. It feels like Yaletown creep.
But on a brighter note, Chewies and Wings are doing a great job on Yew. Let’s hope for something great at the old Rossini’s location and hopefully something awesome and economically sustainable finally takes up residence at the old Roger’s Video location.
Totally agree with Vancityguy, but at least I can give him the good news that the kick-ass comic store didn’t go out of business; it just moved to 4th & Collingwood. The same comments can be applied to Broadway except instead of cookie-cutter clothing chains, it gets cookie-cutter nail bars and dollar stores. That’s even more depressing! To top it off, the Blockbuster location on Broadway & Blenheim is going to be a SleepCountry outlet, kitty corner to Ed’s Linens. Sleepytime on Broadway. Sigh.
RIP