CM Takes On Musicland With Eye on Turbulent Sector

Retail music sales were down 8 percent last year, and the industry is in turmoil, but Campbell Mithun is betting that the mall locations of Musicland Group’s stores will be a primary factor in its bid to remain at the top of the music-retail category.

The challenge for CM is to make the stores relevant to teens who are already visiting malls.

“You have to look at the mall, the environment, what’s getting [teens] there and what’s keeping them there overall,” said John Kasper, a vp, management supervisor at the Interpublic Group shop in Minneapolis, which landed the estimated $5-10 million account last week.

The win followed a review that sources said came down to CM and Omnicom Group’s Martin/Williams.