The Wiz (store)
The Wiz, also known at times as Nobody Beats the Wiz, was a chain of electronic stores in the northeastern United States, located primarily in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Some locations were in Canada as well.
_logo.png.webp){kind=logo} The 1998-2003 Wiz logo | |
| Type | Electronics |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1977 2004 (online retailer owned by P.C. Richard) |
| Founders | Douglas Jemal Lawrence Jemal Marvin Jemal Stephan Jemal |
| Defunct | 2003 (retail stores only) |
| Headquarters | Carteret, New Jersey |
| Products | Computers, televisions, VCRs, and DVD players |
| Parent | Cablevision (electronics chain) P.C. Richard & Son (online retailer) |
| Website | thewiz |
History
The chain was founded by four brothers, Douglas, Lawrence, Marvin, and Stephan Jemal, in New York City in 1977.[1] Later, it officially changed its name to its well-known advertising slogan, "Nobody Beats The Wiz". During the early-to-mid 1990s "Nobody Beats The Wiz" was a major sponsor for all local NY sports franchises, including the Yankees, Knicks, Mets, New Jersey Nets, Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Islanders, and in other areas, the Baltimore Orioles, and had a significant television advertising presence during local sports events, including the infamous Jeffrey Maier Incident during Game 1 of the 1996 ALCS. It also sponsored teams outside the NY area such as the Flyers, Whalers and Canadiens. In 1996, the company threatened legal action against the Major League Soccer franchise the Kansas City Wiz, who were renamed the Wizards as a response.[2]
In 1998, after having expanded from roughly 20 stores to over 80 stores in less than a year, the chain filed for bankruptcy and was purchased by Cablevision for $80 million. Cablevision eventually dropped the "Nobody Beats the Wiz" slogan. At its peak, the firm's revenues were $1.4 billion, with 2000 employees, operating 94 stores in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, and Massachusetts. It also operated music-only stores in Maryland and the Washington, D.C. area.
The chain closed permanently in 2003. A Cablevision press release from February 16, 2003 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." Once the chain closed, one of its founders, Marvin Jemal, opened a new electronics chain, The Zone, in a number of former Wiz locations. The new chain, which heavily mentioned that it was from the founder of The Wiz, went out of business less than two years later.
In September 2003, competitor P.C. Richard purchased The Wiz's assets mainly for its name.[3] As of 2020, www.TheWiz.com redirects to a P.C. Richard page showing items with "The Wiz Deals".[4]
In popular culture
In the Seinfeld episode "The Junk Mail", Elaine begins dating Jack (Toby Huss), a man with whom she has a "love at first sight" encounter. However, while viewing a VHS tape Jerry discovers an old commercial that features Jack as "The Wiz," the ludicrous mascot for the electronics store, apparently explaining the mysterious aura of glamour Elaine experienced when meeting him in person. After seeing the tape, Elaine desperately attempts to reunite with her previous boyfriend, David Puddy, but she is rejected and she decides to take back Jack. She tells Jack her decision and he reveals that the electronics chain is bringing him back as its spokesman. Jack then dons his character's trademark crown and begins to march back and forth, ludicrous as ever, proclaiming, "I'm the Wiz! I'm the Wiz! I'm the Wiz and nobody beats me!"
In the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio's character, Jordan Belfort, suggests answering a classified in the local paper looking for a stockboy at The Wiz. He is dissuaded by his wife.
In the 1999 Thomas Harris novel Hannibal, Mason Verger recalls that at his family's Christian camp, they styled the Risen Christ as "the Riz" because "Nobody Beats the Riz".
The jingle is interpolated in the chorus of Biz Markie's hit, "Nobody Beats the Biz". Biz substitutes "the Biz" for "the Wiz". The Wiz was rumored to have sued Biz Markie for infringement.[5]
In Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's 1988 hit "It Takes Two," referring to his album, Base raps "Go to the Wiz and select it / Take it off the rack, if it's wack put it back."
In the episode "Veiled Threat" from the show The King of Queens, Doug (in a flashback to his wedding day) mentions wanting a wedding gift of a CD player from The Wiz.
In the season 12 premiere of the show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, an electrical storm hits Dee's VCR while watching the film The Wiz. The gang passes out, and when they wake up, they appear to have bodies that look like black people to other people outside the gang and their own reflections. One of their suggestions to switch back to their old bodies is to go to the store The Wiz to fix Dee's VCR since they were watching the film The Wiz in the first place.[6]
References
- Crain's New York: "Nobody Beats the Wiz family's fall - The Jemal brothers struggle to re-create their days of discount-chain glory" By Aaron Elstein April 13, 2014
- West, Phil (August 9, 2017). "How Sporting Kansas City got their name". Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
- Wax, Alan (2003-09-04). "The Wiz Gets Resurrected / Retailer P.C. Richard plays $1.8M for bankrupt rival's assets". Newsday. New York, New York. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
- "thewiz.com home page". Archived from the original on 2017-03-14.
- Seth Goldstein (April 3, 2019). "The Iconic 'Nobody Beats the Wiz' #ThrowbackThursday". NYNJ.com. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- Philly.com: "‘It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's' season 12 opener may be the series’ most controversial episode yet" January 5, 2017