It's official: All U.S. Virgin Megastores closing down

Well, the other shoe just dropped. The new owners of the hip, music-focused retail chain are confirming that they will, indeed, shutter the last remaining Virgin Megastores in the U.S. by this summer.

Real estate firms Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust, which bought Virgin Entertainment Group North America from Sir Richard Branson's Virgin empire in 2007, had already announced that they were closing three of the highest-profile Virgin Megastores in the States: the San Francisco store (an old favorite of mine) on Market Street and the signature New York City locations in Times Square and Union Square.

That left just three locations—Hollywood, Denver, and Orlando—left, from a peak of 23 U.S. stores in 2002 (according to the San Francisco Chronicle).

But rumors quickly began to circulate that the last trio of Virgin Megastores was doomed as well, and execs for the new Virgin Entertainment Group have now confirmed the news, reports the AP.

The last three Virgin Megastores will close by June, according to the AP story, while the S.F. and NYC stores will have their curtain calls in April. In all, about 1,000 staffers and 60 suites will lose their jobs.

Meanwhile, the liquidation sales have already begun. I checked out the tri-level Virgin Megastore in Times Square yesterday afternoon, and it was a sad scene. "Everything Must Go!" signs were everywhere, and there was a decent-sized crowd picking over the remaining goods. Some corners of the store were already deserted, with empty shelves blocked by yellow "caution" tape.

In terms of bargains, well … I didn't see many, at least not yet. Getting 30 percent off a $14.99 CD that's available for $9.99 on iTunes isn't much of a deal, and same goes for the overpriced $29.95 Blu-ray movies. As usual, I wouldn't expect the serious bargains to emerge until closing day is nigh.

Personally, I'm sad to see the Virgin Megastore franchise disappear, at least in the U.S.; after all, it's not like I'll be going out of my way to browse the new releases at Sam Goody. But therein lies the problem with brick-and-mortars like Virgin: they're fun to browse (or at least, Virgin was), but when it comes time to buy, you'll find much better deals on iTunes, Amazon, Napster, and the like.

Of course, if you're really jonesing for the Virgin Megastore experience, you could always visit one of the independently owned locations overseas; more than 100 are still open, according to the AP, including stores in France, Australia, and Japan.

So, anyone else bummed that the U.S. Virgin Megastores are soon to be no more? Or is it a case of good-bye, and good riddance?

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All Virgin Megastores in US to close by summer [AP]