Records and comic books are proving to be a big hit on Penn's campus this year.
The Marvelous: Records, Comics and Books, located on the 200 block of 40th Street, has been doing fairly good business since it opened in July, according to store owner Milan Marvelous.
"It's been going well. Since it's a new store, it's always really challenging. We've been getting a great, enthusiastic response from the students, and also from the surrounding community," Marvelous said.
That community extends well beyond Penn's boundaries. The store has focused on developing a strong customer base from its West Philadelphia neighborhood that can keep it afloat when the students are not around. And so far, the strategy seems to be working.
"People come from the Spruce Hill community, the wider ... West Philadelphia community," Marvelous said.
Additionally, The Marvelous has relied heavily on the business of local disc jockeys, who have discovered the store's extensive vinyl collection -- a not-so-common sight in the greater Philadelphia area.
"DJs come down from Germantown, South Philly, all throughout Philly really," Marvelous said. "There's not a lot of places to get vinyl ... in the city. There may be six stores, and two million people in the area."
Despite The Marvelous' location, Penn students only make up about 50 percent of the store's business. But not surprisingly, the loss of that segment greatly impacted sales over at least part of winter break.
"It was mixed -- the week after Christmas was just a wipeout. Next year, we just want to go on vacation," Marvelous said. "But the next week we did really well, maybe 80 percent of a normal week."
The Marvelous is also locally known for having an eclectic selection of music. It is that variety which Marvelous credits with bringing in many of his customers.
"We're the kind of place that exposes people to new things," Marvelous said. "We're appealing to a wider group, so you see a good variety."
One of the people attracted by the store's expansive selection was Temple student Hope Glassman.
"They have an interesting selection of records. It's mostly not new commercial music, [but] a lot of good blues and jazz, smaller-name bands," Glassman said.
And look for that musical selection to soon expand beyond its current size.
"Hopefully, by the end of the month, we'll add a complete electronic music section of CDs and expand the classic rock and jazz sections," Marvelous said.
