However, declining sales finally forced the company to shift its primary focus to collectibles and comic books in the 2010s.

[2] While this strategy initially benefited the company, it ultimately suffered from a decision made during a mass expansion in the 1990s to lease all of its properties rather than purchase them, which lowered the business' overall value.

[4] In an effort to save the company, Draw Another Circle named Jim Litwak the President and CEO of Hastings in December 2015.

In 1968, the company was founded as West Texas News, a newsstand provider, later to become a division of Western Merchandisers, Inc., a books and music wholesaler.

[8] In August 2011, Hastings opened Tradesmart, a store in Littleton, Colorado, specializing in used electronics, media, and novelties.

[10] In 2013, Hastings redesigned its stores to emphasize toys, gifts, consumer electronics, musical instruments, disc golf, skateboards, hobby, and sport licensed and branded products, which had higher profit margins, as sales of books, music, and videos declined.

[9] In November 2014, Draw Another Circle—the parent company of Hastings Entertainment—purchased MovieStop, a 44-store regional chain in the southeastern U.S. that sold primarily used movies and related entertainment merchandise.

Rather than allow the few Hastings that were still profitable to continue operating, Hilco and Gordon Brothers opted to liquidate the entire company and closed all remaining stores by the end of October 2016.

One fan of the Hastings franchise, Mason Morgan, stated on an online video he contacted the Calendar Holding LLC to find out what they plan to do with the stores.