Origins and Early History

Golden Discs was Established in 1962 on Dublin's Tara Street by Jack Fitzgerald and Tom Rogers as Trans-Atlantic Record Agency (TARA), in the location of the former Tara Records founded by George O'Reilly. The name Golden Discs was first used in 1966.

The chain experience rapid growth in the 70's and 80's, opening 30 outlets including 5 in Northern Ireland.

Decline

The chain's presence around the country had diminished in the early part of the 2000s, making a significant loss by 2008^[1] and entering examinership in 2009,^[2] with multiple store closures during this period, in line with similar trends with other physical music and movie retailers in other markets.

Tesco Ireland Partnership

In November 2016 it was announced that Golden Discs concessions would move into more than half of Tesco Ireland's stores as part of a 3 year commercial agreement. "Golden Discs at Tesco" concessions operated as standalone units within Tesco stores offering CDs, DVDs and Games. The agreement made Golden Discs Ireland’s largest home-entertainment retailer with 96 locations nationwide. This agreement came to an end in 2019.

Expansion

In 2013, Golden Discs reported its first profit since 2008^[3] and has expanded its retail footprint since. In 2017, the company set about its first attempts at expansion since the national economic recession with the opening of three new branches in November of that year located in The Square Town Centre, Tallaght, Main Street, Wexford and a pop up shop at 52 Henry Street, Dublin 1. There was also a complete overhaul of the website in the same year to include a new web store, which gave customers more access to their full product offering.

In 2018, stores opened in Navan Town Centre Shopping Centre, Co Meath, Market Cross Shopping Centre, Kilkenny and Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, Dublin.

In 2019, an increase in turnover to €13.2m and profits to €192,000 was cited as being down to an increase in sales of vinyl.^[4] The company opened new stores in Sligo, Tralee, Drogheda and Jervis Shopping Centre.

During and after the Covid-19 pandemic

Like all other Irish retailers, the chain shut its doors in March 2020 due to concerns regarding public health and safety in the Covid-19 pandemic. The company offered click-and-collect services from various stores during lockdown periods. Golden Discs stores re-opened in June 2021.

The company celebrated its 60th anniversary in operation in 2022.

In 2022, the company closed its branch in Tralee, and subsequently closed two of its Cork City stores in 2023, diminishing its presence in Munster. In 2023 the company also closed its Dún Laoghaire store after 26 years.

Products

Golden Discs stores most formats of physical music and movies, including LP records, CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, and 4K Ultra-HD discs.

Golden Discs also focuses on hardware, stocking various turntables, speakers and headphones. Recently, the company has expanded its footprint in Merchandise and K-Pop music.

Locations

As of November 2023 there are 19 branches of Golden Discs (excluding the online store) located throughout the Republic of Ireland:

• Dublin: Blanchardstown, Dundrum, Jervis Street, Liffey Valley, Stephen's Green, Swords, and Tallaght.
• Rest of Leinster: Athlone, Drogheda, Kilkenny, Navan, Newbridge, and Wexford.
• Connacht: Eyre Square (Galway City) and Sligo.
• Munster: Patrick's Street (Cork City) and Waterford.

Pop Merchandise

In 2022, Golden Discs launched a concept store Pop Merchandise (styled as 'POP!') across most of its outlets as an in-store division specialising in music and movie-related merchandise. The company cited a dramatic increase in interest around pop culture products as the driving force for the new concept store. The company has also said it may open stand-alone Pop stores.

Vinyl8

The Golden Disc Group also owns and operates 'Vinyl8', an online-only store launched specifically for vinyl enthusiasts and people between the ages of 18 and 24.^[5]