We have a lot of merchandising controls that others don't. The whole secret of the company is you have two guys from M.I.T. who have the technology and analytical power to let the creative people make the right decisions. It helps the buyers, who are college deejays who like to see bands and hear new music, decide whether the music is good and whether we should buy it. A lot of the other record chains were too focused on the creative, and not on the overwhelming advantage that technology gives you. We're kind of like the motion picture business.
Nobody really knows how a movie's going to do on the first weekend.
It comes down to people. You have to have the right people in your buying organization that are active radio listeners and club goers. Our people see a lot of music. They go to England to see festivals. When there's cheap airfares, I just send people over to England for the heck of it.