<\/p>\n
Scottish musical instrument retailer Kenny\u2019s Music has ceased trading, the firm confirms in a new communication with its supplier partners.<\/p>\n
The company \u2013 which ran an online store, as well as brick-and-mortar stores in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dunfermline and formerly Dundee \u2013 reveals its intention to move into Creditors\u2019 Voluntary Liquidation (CVL), \u201cdespite our strongest sales ever in recent years\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rapidly rising cost base across both stores and e-commerce, combined with continued pressure on margins, has made it impossible for us to operate sustainably within the traditional music retail model,\u201d writes Alex Marten, Managing Director at Kenny\u2019s Music. \u201cContinuing to trade would not have been responsible.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough this chapter is ending, I remain committed to the MI industry and hope to contribute again in future in a way that better reflects the changing needs of musicians and suppliers alike. In the meantime, I will do everything I reasonably can to assist you and the proposed liquidator through this process.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the time of writing, the Kenny\u2019s Music online store is offline<\/a>, with a short message which reads: \u201cOur online store is currently unavailable.\u201d<\/p>\n Kenny\u2019s Music is just the latest in a string of musical instrument retailer closures in recent years.<\/p>\n In the last five years alone, we\u2019ve witnessed Guitar Center enter and exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection \u2013 which allows a struggling business a chance to reorganise their finances while continuing to operate \u2013 and legendary US music chain Sam Ash file for bankruptcy and close all its stores<\/a>.<\/p>\n The picture in the UK hasn\u2019t been pretty either: now Kenny\u2019s Music, but this year also saw the closure of iconic Brighton-based retailer GAK<\/a>, and the collapse of large UK chain PMT in summer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Bax Music \u2013 one of Europe\u2019s largest online music retailers, with six physical stores across the Netherlands and Belgium \u2013 was declared bankrupt earlier this year<\/a> after struggling with financial woes exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, and subsequently by a fire in 2023 which damaged a number of instruments at a facility in Goes in the southwestern Netherlands.<\/p>\n The industry doesn\u2019t look healthy right now, especially looking only at these high-profile closures. But it\u2019s not been all bad news.<\/p>\n Following the rapid spate of closures and the understandable crisis of confidence in customers, Andertons Music Co main man Lee Anderton<\/a> reached out to us in June to offer his thoughts on the changing nature of the industry and how retailers can continue to thrive in a rapidly changing economic environment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been getting all sorts of comments coming through with orders saying, \u2018Please confirm that you\u2019ve definitely sent this today, because I\u2019m a bit nervous that you\u2019re gonna go bust tomorrow as well\u2019,\u201d Anderton revealed.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s really important, I think, that we put some balance back into the debate. Because the underlying guitar business is actually pretty resilient\u2026 you don\u2019t have to worry about the good retailers.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderton also touched on the devastating impact of the Covid pandemic on music retailers: \u201cYou just couldn\u2019t have thrown a worse curveball, to a business with a large number of retail stores.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then I think, honestly, it\u2019s never recovered. I think Covid accelerated customers\u2019 propensity to shop online, and probably accelerated what was going to happen anyway over a 10- or 15-year period, into a two-year period.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderton did acknowledge the difficulty brick-and-mortar stores have in competing with online retail: \u201cIf I add up the number of guitar amp and pedal products that you could order today on the Andertons website \u2013 I\u2019m not even counting strings and cables, just guitars, amps and pedals \u2013 there are 14,000 different products. And 10,000 of them are in stock! How on earth is your average bricks and mortar store gonna get close to that? It\u2019s financially not possible to have that kind of operation in every major city.\u201d<\/p>\n But he said where physical stores will always have the edge over online retail is in providing a top-tier experience for in-person customers.<\/p>\n \u201cI do still think that the greatest experience that you can have in retail is in an amazing bricks and mortar store,\u201d he said. \u201cDoesn\u2019t matter what you want to buy, a really amazing store with amazing demonstration facilities, and a vibe, and a great sales person and great after-sales service\u2026 if that can happen, it\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n \u201cBut when in reality did you last experience that? It\u2019s so hard to consistently achieve that experience. I certainly think that part of the reason Andertons has never opened a second store is that it\u2019s hard enough trying to do it most of the time in one store, yeah, trying to do it most of the time let you know, let alone all the time in 15 stores.\u201d<\/p>\n Andertons isn\u2019t the only European music retailer continuing to thrive. Last year, we took a trip to Treppendorf, Germany to get an inside look at Thomann\u2019s monumental operation<\/a>.<\/p>\n The brand\u2019s headquarters sits in a town populated by only a couple hundred people, but serves hundreds of thousands of customers daily; it operates out of Europe\u2019s largest warehouse, with 120,000 square metres of floor space, and shipping over 100,000 items every single day.<\/p>\n