RETAIL Retailers respond to Bruce Millers seeks buyer
store theft increase Richard Chollerton of Richards Guitars and PMT’s Simon Gilson react to latest crime reports
WITH THE MIA reporting an increase in criminal activity within music shops, retailers have come forward to offer their thoughts on the escalating problem. The trade body confirmed “higher than normal levels of shop theft” in the wake of a robbery at Manchester’s Johnny Roadhouse store recently. With the number of similar incidents
seemingly on the rise, Richard Chollerton from Richard’s Guitars has called for retailers to help each other out more, and put forward the idea of an online database of known thieves and stolen instruments. “If there are pictures of criminals, there needs to be some way of spreading them around,” said Chollerton. “There is also appalling apathy in the industry, along with no networking or inter-connectivity. It doesn’t help when there’s very little communication between dealers and a general reluctance to help one another.” It also appears that some of the latest heists have been carried out by highly
organised crooks and even the most financially secure stores are being hit, including retail chain PMT. "We've lost more in the last two months than in the previous 20 years. Some of it is drug/recession related crime but a lot of it is targeted criminal activity,” added PMT’s Simon Gilson. “It's not just us. There's obviously a
bunch of organised criminals going round hitting different companies both with credit card scams and thefts from shops."
ABERDEEN-BASED retailer Bruce Millers, founded in 1990, is looking to find a buyer for the Union Street store. Director Charles Miller, grandson of
the store's founder, says the MI side of the business is in good shape, but other parts of the business, which include a pub, coffee shop and A/V department, are under pressure. "We are losing money, we have to be honest about that," said Miller. "If we can't find a buyer for the whole business,
we would look at selling parts separately." The music department stocks guitars,
amps, drums, brass, woodwind, keyboards and pianos. "The music side of the business is a
golden opportunity for someone," added Miller. Any interested parties should contact
the store's other director Scott Johnston on the number below. BRUCE MILLERS: 01224 577211
INDIE PROFILE Nottingham Drum and Guitar Centre’s David Fletcher tells us why something should be done to prevent ‘price slashers’ and those that ‘give stuff away’...
Who are the present owners? David Fletcher and Andrew Cammiss.
When was the store established? 1999. We were both drummers and drum teachers who saw the need for a good drum store in Nottingham. The store grew very quickly and we added a guitar department a few years later.
How many employees do you have? Andy and myself, plus three sales people.
What are your best selling brands? Mapex drums, Fender guitars and basses, Ibanez guitars and Pearl drums/percussion.
How is business compared to last year? Pretty much the same. Despite all the doom and gloom that the media keeps pushing, our takings haven’t really dropped and people still seem to be buying instruments.
How do you market the shop? We work closely with a number of local drum and guitar teachers, which is a great way of reaching out to new players. We are also very active in the world of marching bands and do a lot of
advertising and trade stalls at key events and competitions.
Our best marketing tool though is our
website, which provides plenty of product information as well as giving people a feel for our store. We get a lot of people coming through the door now who have been on our site, seen the item they want, and then come in to try it out.
How do you compete with online competition? The whole internet pricing situation has reached ridiculous levels. Those selling amps at eight per cent mark-up really are beyond belief. Why give stuff away? We keep our prices as competitive as we can within reason, and hopefully offer our customers a great service. They can come into a large, clean and well-stocked store, try gear out before committing to buy, and take advantage of our knowledge and experience.
What are your biggest strengths? A very large, city centre based showroom with plenty of stock and choice for drummers, guitarists and bass players. Customers might save a fiver by buying online from the other end of the country,
but we offer them advice in choosing the right instrument, and a good after sales service.
What is the one product you couldn't live without? Fender guitars.
How can the industry do more to support retail? Firstly, stop supplying internet only
‘dealers’. Most suppliers are good with this now, but we still get asked to price match online prices from stores that have no retail premises. I’d like to see a harder line taken with
the ‘price slashing’ stores, who just mess up the industry for the rest of us. But I think the way that many suppliers are onto this now and offering retro discounts to those who sell at a proper price is encouraging.
FACT BOX Address: Cranbrook Street, Hockley, Nottingham, NG1 1ES Phone: 0115 841 4148 Web:
www.nottinghamdrumcentre.com Email:
info@drumandstrum.co.uk 68 miPRO JUNE 2011
MI-PRO.CO.UK
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