Mildura Sanity closes its doors

ONCE a staple of Mildura’s retail scene, music and DVD store Sanity has now closed its doors.

As of Friday, the national chain’s Langtree Mall space was sitting empty, having sold its last CD.

Mildura could no longer be found using the store locator on Sanity’s website.

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When Sunraysia Daily contacted Sanity about rumours of a Mildura closure last month, it declined to comment, citing a “no media policy”.

The store’s departure comes amid a difficult start to 2020 for national retailers, which has affected several Sunraysia outlets.

At its peak, Sanity was said to have more than 200 stores nationwide.

Its prominence in Mildura, where it was once based at Mildura Central, was reflected when Sunraysia Daily journalists would regularly contact Sanity managers to gauge the pulse of consumers during gift-giving periods such as Christmas and Mother’s Day.

The Simpsons Movie and editions from the Shrek franchise were “walking out the door” in the lead-up to Christmas in 2007, the paper reported.

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But recent years have presented challenges for the chain, most notably the rise and rise of online streaming.

Sanity now lists just 103 stores on its website – Horsham and Bendigo are among those that remain.