HARD TO FIND RETAIL
guitar outlets in the centre of what is the UK’s second largest city,” he points out. “Don’t forget that historically Birmingham has harboured a larger amount of guitar stores than it does now. If you can have five big dealers on just a single street in London, surely Birmingham as a city can’t be seen as an exception to that rule? “Not too long ago Birmingham was the key destination for the guitar enthusiast, with the biggest and best offering of guitar stores outside of London. Our addition to the guitar market in Birmingham will only bolster the city’s appeal to the guitar buying public.
“Further to that, we do things differently.
We’re a dynamic machine, serving the market in a unique way and our mail order operation also feeds our store by way of stock, so our onsite stock holdings have got to be one of the best in the country, let alone the city.” Point duly taken. Another strength of Hard
Hard To Find has just completed a major expansion and refit of its Birmingham store
and musicians, so it was a perfectly logical step to offer the full package as a ‘one stop shop,’” says O’Callaghan. “Couple that with the recruitment of experts in new fields, the acquisition of accounts with new brands, support from existing suppliers and ultimately customer demand and the decision wasn’t a difficult one to make.” Now that the
decision has been made and the plans put into practice, the Hard To Find team seem more than satisfied with the ways things are going since this new chapter in the shop’s story got underway. “The success we had with the primary
users, from which we’re still receiving positive feedback now.” Hard To Find has undoubtedly followed an
unusual approach with this new development though. Adding a high tech area to a shop has become increasingly common with retailers looking to ‘move with the times’, particularly among those wanting to appeal to a wider variety of customers as possible. What we don’t often hear about however, are
dealers that do the opposite and open a guitar department within a predominantly ‘techie’ store, which is what Hard To Find has done here. Store manager Jamie O’Callaghan saw bringing in a more traditional MI section as an important piece of the puzzle and one that will make it more complete. “Certain aspects of our model, such as PA and lighting meant we were already servicing bands
“
To Find that was touched upon earlier in this article – and one that many other dealers could take note of – is the way it strives to be as up to date with the current trends as possible. Although there are plenty of ‘old school’ guitar shops around the country that get by perfectly well using a traditional approach, there are also a number of retailers that haven’t quite grasped the fact we’re more than a decade into the 21st Century, and that times have changed. According to the store manager, frequently
This is a long term
project. We see areas we want to enhance and
we’ll keep improving to make sure we stay fresh.
launch of the hi-tech floor last year gave us great confidence. “Relaunching and improving that area, along
with introducing a dedicated guitar department, helped us further improve our status and appeal to that market,” adds Black. “Our database of registered customers is increasing by the day and we’re simply seeing new faces and serving new people.” So far so good then, but there is one other aspect of this revamp that at first seems a little odd. Opening a new guitar section is all well and good in a town or city that is lacking in that department. But Birmingham is surely not one of these, with the likes of Fair Deal Music, PMT, Digital Village and several others already giving locals plenty of choice in that particular field? O’Callaghan is quick to disagree. “Quite honestly there’s room for more, and we believe there is a demand for further choice. Including ourselves, there are only five
analysing the market has been one of the key reasons why Hard To Find has gone from one bloke in a bedroom to a major attraction for anyone with even a moderate interest in music technology. “We’re always keeping an eye on the ball, following the market – at times dictating to the market – and more importantly, being profit led so we can achieve what we set out to do,” states O’Callaghan. Now that this stage has been completed, OCallaghan wants to
make it clear that there is no sign of them taking their foot off the gas – and that there is still work to be done before true satisfaction can be felt. “We’re not here for the short term, this is a long term project with serious intent. Even as this phase is drawing to a close, we see areas that we want to enhance and we’ll keep improving to make sure we’re always fresh and up to date,” concludes O’Callaghan. And that’s the fundamental point right there.
It’s that form or organisation – providing the technology and gadgetry favoured by so many musicians and ensuring they’re supplied with the very latest gear – that has got Hard To Find where it is today. It might not apply to everyone, but if more
retailers followed this lead by regularly keeping an eye on what the current ‘in-thing’ is, it could be the spark that’s needed to take them to that next level as well. HARD TO FIND: 0121 687 7777
miPRO JUNE 2011 71
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