OCTAVE RETAIL
Russell Kelly (above, left) tell his assistant, Theo Ridgeway, that he has the best job in the world
Octave began as a piano and organ specialist, but has diversified over the last 25 years
without much hesitation. But I’ve never really asked for anything, so that could be why,” claims Kelly. “The competition has been running in three local newspapers and took place on both Saturday February 5th and 12th, where the 25th person to enter the shop received a top prize.” Another probable reason why Octave has
managed to establish such a close relationship with suppliers is that it has decided to limit the number it deals with. Some dealers will agree with this method, whereas others will aim to create as much choice as possible for the customer by going with a wider variety of distributors than normal. As far as Octave is concerned, fewer suppliers means less paperwork, time saved, more chance of building up a rapport with the disties and arguably more clutter-free displays. For a shop that started with just four suppliers (Yamaha, Stentor, FCN Music and Music Sales), this was perhaps to be expected, although, of course, this was not unusual back in the 1980s. As well as staying on the best possible terms with the suppliers, Kelly also sees building friendships with the local people as another priority, something that is often essential in order for smaller independent dealerships to
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survive. While talking to MI Pro, an elderly lady entered the shop for the sole purpose of letting the owner know that she was happy with the purchase she had made earlier. “Don’t worry, I didn’t set that up because I knew you were coming!” jokes Kelly. Although it is the only MI retailer in Dunstable and is situated on a High Street location that many shops of a similar size would love to inhabit, it’s still easy to take your finger off the pulse within the local community, which can lead to locals ‘forgetting’ you and go off in search of alternatives, like the dreaded Internet. Speaking of which, surely this is an area of the business that Kelly can manage to have a good old moan about?
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ONLINE OPPORTUNITIES “There’s no doubt you’ve got to be more on the ball these days, but I actually think that the internet has helped my business. I’m always on the lookout for new products and it has made it so much easier to do this,” Kelly explains. “Strangely enough, earplugs have been selling really well at the moment and I came across those online.” Perhaps not, then.
2011 is going to be tough for all of us, but we’ve seen off recessions before.
Awareness of competition and dealing with it positively is another commendable quality of Octave’s approach to business. Instead of trying to compete directly or ignore other shops in the region, Kelly will, for example, direct a customer seeking a high-end guitar to Coda Music in Milton Keynes, confident that its owner would do the same, should a visitor be on the look out for an entry-level model.
What’s more,
running a shop of a limited size means that selecting exactly the right
product categories and lines is even more crucial. It really is quite impressive to see a relatively small store filled with instruments from the majority of the major sectors, and yet you don’t feel as though you’re going to destroy a display every time you move due to the lack of space. Some might feel that to succeed in a
business, being a nice guy will not get you very far, but it seems to have been one of the underlying factors behind Kelly’s success. As you would expect by now, he is also a source of optimism for the future, despite some believing that this year could turn out to be a more challenging one than first thought. “2011 is going to be tough for all of us, but the important thing is we’ve done it before and have already seen off two or three recessions,” adds Kelly. “The after-Christmas period has gone well
for us and at the moment we’re just looking to drive forward during these notoriously slow months.” Octave Music is a perfect example of a typical UK general MI retailer, but it is also one that many could learn from. The next time a big date of some significance approaches, don’t just let it pass by without acting on it. Celebrating an occasion like 25 years in business isn’t just an achievement, it’s an opportunity to drive more people into the shop and potentially add to the customer base. There are so many original ways of getting
through a troublesome period like this, but Octave Music seems to have the right idea, which is why you shouldn’t be surprised if the March 2036 of MI Pro features a piece on its 50th anniversary.
miPRO MARCH 2011 75
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