Nobody Beats The Wiz

Encyclopedia : N : NO : NOB : Nobody Beats The Wiz

For the Broadway musical and film, see The Wiz.

Nobody Beats The Wiz was the name of a chain of electronic stores in the northeastern United States, primarily in New York and New Jersey. The chain, Which was founded by Lawrence Jemal in New York City 1977, was sometimes referred to by its shortened name, The Wiz, and was officially known as The Wiz after Cablevision bought the chain in 1998. The acquisition came shortly after the chain filed for bankruptcy. Founder Lawrence Jemal was intensely private and financial performance data was a closely guarded secret until the company was purchased by Cablevision. The Wiz was notorious for paying vendors very slowly, and in its later years found it very difficult to secure products on credit. At the chains peak, it operated more than 50 stores in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. At one time, it also operated music-only stores in Maryland and the Washington, D.C. area.

The chain closed permanently in 2003. According to a Stereophile Magazine article from February 16, 2003, a Cablevision press release stated: "Continuing to operate the stores is no longer a viable option for Cablevision as business conditions at the retailer eroded due to a weakened retail economy and other factors." The business still had a web site that was taking orders as of June 2006.

The current TheWiz.com is owned by the New York Metro area electronics retailer P.C. Richard & Son and has no relation to the previous company except in name.

Pop culture references

Nobody Beats The Wiz has also been featured as a pop culture reference, especially in the New York City area.

In an episode of the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld, Elaine becomes unknowingly infatuated with "The Wiz," a man she soon realizes was the fictional pitchman for the Nobody Beats The Wiz chain. (The retailer never employed the use of such a character.)
The store was depicted in the 2005 film version of RENT. The main characters huddle around a storefront window to watch the Times Square Ball drop on New Year's Day.
The chain's jingle was the inspiration for rapper Biz Markie's hit song, Nobody Beats the Biz, off his 1988 release, Goin' Off.
"Nobody Beats the Wiz" was also used by ESPN anchor Tony Reali during the May 5th 2006 episode of "Around the Horn." The term was in reference to the NBA's Washington Wizards, who were going to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in a pivotal Game 6 that night.

External links

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.