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Banks Musicroom receives major refit 254 year-old retailer makes changes to its set-up to create the ‘complete music store’


BANKS MUSICROOM, based in York city centre has recently been given an extensive refit. The 254 year-old outlet, renamed after becoming the retail chain’s flagship store, features three floors packed with instruments from a variety of MI sectors.


The updated piano room on the lower floor offers a variety of instruments from the leading brands in this category and there is also a dedicated classical guitar room, a hugely extended drum and electric guitar department and an upgraded woodwind and brass section. “The aim of the refit was to create a


one-stop shop for musicians – all instruments, all genres, all levels,” said Andrew Nixon, store manager. “It is important for people to feel


comfortable and relaxed here, which is why we have focused on zoning areas and creating a natural flow to the store.” An Education Resource Centre is another addition – a new initiative to help and support teachers of music in their role of nurturing young talent. The store’s vast selection of sheet music is one of the other areas of business that


has made Banks so well known throughout the UK. “Banks has always been promoted as the complete music store but we felt like we were letting down some of our customers, particularly with regards to guitars and music technology, home


recording and synthesisers, etc,” said Banks Musicroom’s Sam Galloway. “We haven't had to sacrifice any of our existing services to make these changes. We genuinely have everything for the music lover under one roof.” BANKS MUSICROOM: 01904 658836


Free entry for trade members at Guitar Nation NEC 2011


THE ORGANISER of Guitar Nation NEC has announced that the guitar trade will be given free entry into the event on May 7th and 8th next year. The show marks an opportunity to


sample some of the latest products launched at NAMM and Musikmesse. This inaugural event follows the success of the recent Guitar Nation London event, and will see the return of a show such as this to the Midlands. “We are overwhelmed with how Guitar Nation NEC has been received by the industry and couldn’t have predicted the take-up of space we have got since launching the floor plan,” said Clive Morton, event director of Guitar Nation NEC. “We are not turning Guitar Nation into a trade show but giving extra value to the exhibitors and giving retailers an opportunity to see all the latest product.” MUSIC NATION: 01572 757775


INDIE PROFILE Dave Bamford sees building close relationships with other indies and careful product selection as the key reasons behind its consistent growth


Who is the present owner? My wife and I own the company.


When was the store established? We opened four years ago and moved to our current premises just over a year ago.


How many employees do you have? Me, my wife, Mum, Dad and Saturday staff


What are your best selling lines? Fender, Takamine, Ibanez and Roland, as well as Stagg accessories.


How is business compared to last year? We are maintaining our consistent 30 per cent year-on-year growth.


How do you market the shop? Through a variety of traditional methods, but primarily via our existing customer base.


How do you compete with online competition? By offering clear genuine advantages. We are careful with our buying and display what we believe to be a great range of products, with consistent price coverage up to about £3,000. By teaming up with a


few other local independents we are able to increase our buying power and source special orders together; lots of back scratching really helps regain some of the competitive advantages the big-spending competitors have.


What are your biggest strengths? Being independent with single ownership. Decisions can be made quickly, ideas implemented immediately and problems sorted efficiently. Winning an MIA award last year also offered us great strength in the local market as well as extra credibility in the industry – we were delighted to win this after being shortlisted the year before. Practically all the other nominees


represented industry giants who eclipse us in profile, so it was a great achievement – I was even sat on Lee Anderton’s table.


How do you ensure a good level of service? Every customer is treated respectfully, honestly and is given the time they deserve. We also have a good knowledge of the products we sell. It’s not rocket science, but we make sure that we give ourselves every chance of making the sale.


What is the one product you would love to stock in your store? If I could choose only one product to retail it would be a Fender Mexican Standard Stratocaster.


How can the industry do more to support retail? Manufacturers and distributors could offer more support, transparency and focus when dealing with smaller independents. Large failures in MI retail have occurred in recent years and will continue to do so, yet the focus is still firmly placed on ensuring this sector of the industry gets the most support and ‘hidden-extras’. Each time a failure happens we see the staggering losses incurred by these suppliers and these are ultimately paid for by the rest of us lower-risk retailers. If a supplier loses £300,000 and operates on a 30 per cent margin, then they have to turn around £1 million extra just to get back to square one – simple – and yet the money keeps getting pumped in. We pay all our bills early, maintain our profiles comprehensively and offer genuine added value to our products, yet we are not considered important enough to be taken seriously by many of the larger players.


FACT BOX Address: 66 Market Street, Wigan, WN1 1HX Phone: 01942 665834 Owner: Dave Bamford Established: 2006 72 miPRO JANUARY 2011 WWW.MI-PRO.CO.UK


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