(CelebrityAccess) Roy Imber, 87, owner of the Record World music retail chain, died Feb. 4, Billboard reported.
Imber founded the chain in 1959, creating an East Coast empire with approximately 100 stores across the East Coast, including Florida, and included the Square Circle music department inside Times Square Stores. According to a 1986 Billboard article, Imber’s father, Jack, founded what was then known as Elroy Enterprises, the corporate name for the Record World chain, while his uncle Sam Goody built the Sam Goody chain, which was ultimately sold and turned into a nationwide conglomerate of 1,000 stores.
Imber was also the onetime president of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), now known as the Music Business Association.
Former Billboard retail editor Geoff Mayfield posted the following on Facebook:
“Even before he knew how to pronounce my name, Record World founder and CEO Roy Imber always made me feel welcome with his wonderful smile and outgoing nature. Whether at a NARM event or one of Record World’s functions, it was always a pleasure to see him, while the company he built provided me with valuable insights and friendships. And, not for nothing, of all the retail chiefs I’ve known, he was the best dancer.”
h/t Billboard
