Thinking of opening a guitar store. Am I insane?

jellyroll

You just need two things....a million quid's worth of stock and a good PR machine.

ICBM

crunchman said:

I really don't think there is money to be made in guitars at the moment.  From what I've read, even Fender are in financial trouble.

Fender are in trouble, but not directly because making guitars isn't profitable for them - it's because they borrowed too much money to buy up other companies... which they didn't need to. Symptomatic of what happens when a company loses sight of its core purpose and follows corporate objectives instead of simply running a business.

I agree that the possible fallout from the 'guitar collecting' generation is part of the problem too, especially as rock music made with guitars is overtaken by other forms of popular music made largely with software. There will come a point where the number of people collecting guitars falls, as well as the size of the collections, and then demand will shrink.

I certainly wouldn't bet my house on the future of the guitar market now.

Phil_aka_Pip

To answer the question in the OP: Yes you are!

xSkarloey

If it were me I'd be thinking of something along the lines of a multi-faceted business. As others have said the smaller shops that tick over are the ones that sell a variety of instruments, hire them out, provide tuition, repairs and so on.

I wonder whether you might have a chance if there's a specific USP that would prove sustainable. Thinking about it from my POV I'd certainly go out of my way to visit a shop with a decent lefty stock of new and used stuff.

I think the an important thing for guitar shop as well is having staff who know their stuff but who teat all customers with respect. We all know shops where the staff have an attitude and who lose custom as a result.

mike_l

not insane, more like, completely headfucked.

just look at how many have fallen by the wayside in the last few years, including a couple of previously well known/larger shops (Machinehead inc)

monofin

Mad as a box of frogs

spacecadet

OK, some good feedback (or negative depending etc). 

So let me give you this scenario...

New store opens up. It's an actual store with knowledgable people you can talk to and of course visit. The gear you want is there and at the same price as everywhere else. 

Whilst visiting the store you will be fed endless cups of whatever you want to drink and wife and kids can even retire to a dedicated wife and kids room, air conditioned and quiet complete with Jeremy Kyle and Lego etc. 

The same store offers rig building help from designing a particular rig from scratch to building/ wiring pedalboards to customising guitars to your needs. 

Gear hire will be available from amps, fx, PA.

The same store has a studio that can offer professional band photography.

The same store hires out instruments for kids or a great buyback deal on unwanted birthday/ Christmas presents. 

There will of course be a music school there which will be an existing one that has several branches in the UK as well as Europe. 

These are just some basics that are unquestionable and would have to be there. The other bit for me is creating this in the UK...

http://www.theguitarsanctuary.com/

Stevepage

I think todays popular music has something to do with it too. For the past 10 years, guitar based music has been bought and listened to by mainly guitar players, not the average person watching the tele or walking down the street.

Unfortunately music is more focused on the Nicki Minaj's, Taylor Swift's and fools on X Factor which are pushing the celebrity lifestyle, not the artistic/musical life of bands like Led Zep, Pink Floyd etc. So kids/teens aren't caring about being the next Slash/Rock God, they care about being famous because they're famous and pretty. Which of course has a knock on effect for the instrument manufacturers, the shops etc.

ICBM

spacecadet said:

So let me give you this scenario...

New store opens up. It's an actual store with knowledgable people you can talk to and of course visit. The gear you want is there and at the same price as everywhere else.

How will you achieve this without a colossal debt? The only way to get that much stock at those prices is to buy in bulk. Debt needs to be paid back, which is another drain on the profits. The big companies have not helped at all by constantly releasing new models, to the point where you would have to take probably 500 instruments just to have one each of every model in Fender's range alone - not including colour options.

And at the end of the day, no matter how much people say they shop for customer service, knowledgeable staff etc, the cold reality is that the vast majority shop by price alone, so if you can't match the box shifters you won't sell much.

Unless you can do the exact opposite, start *tiny* and only sell second hand and vintage gear while offering mostly non-sales services as well, don't even think about it.

You can't even make the traditional high profit margin on strings and picks now, because people just buy those online.

capo4th

spacecadet said:

OK, some good feedback (or negative depending etc). 

So let me give you this scenario...

New store opens up. It's an actual store with knowledgable people you can talk to and of course visit. The gear you want is there and at the same price as everywhere else. 

Whilst visiting the store you will be fed endless cups of whatever you want to drink and wife and kids can even retire to a dedicated wife and kids room, air conditioned and quiet complete with Jeremy Kyle and Lego etc. 

The same store offers rig building help from designing a particular rig from scratch to building/ wiring pedalboards to customising guitars to your needs. 

Gear hire will be available from amps, fx, PA.

The same store has a studio that can offer professional band photography.

The same store hires out instruments for kids or a great buyback deal on unwanted birthday/ Christmas presents. 

There will of course be a music school there which will be an existing one that has several branches in the UK as well as Europe. 

These are just some basics that are unquestionable and would have to be there. The other bit for me is creating this in the UK...

http://www.theguitarsanctuary.com/

sounds great can you open up near my house !

thumpingrug

spacecadet said:

OK, some good feedback (or negative depending etc). 

So let me give you this scenario...

New store opens up. It's an actual store with knowledgable people you can talk to and of course visit. The gear you want is there and at the same price as everywhere else. 

Whilst visiting the store you will be fed endless cups of whatever you want to drink and wife and kids can even retire to a dedicated wife and kids room, air conditioned and quiet complete with Jeremy Kyle and Lego etc. 

The same store offers rig building help from designing a particular rig from scratch to building/ wiring pedalboards to customising guitars to your needs. 

Gear hire will be available from amps, fx, PA.

The same store has a studio that can offer professional band photography.

The same store hires out instruments for kids or a great buyback deal on unwanted birthday/ Christmas presents. 

There will of course be a music school there which will be an existing one that has several branches in the UK as well as Europe. 

These are just some basics that are unquestionable and would have to be there. The other bit for me is creating this in the UK...

http://www.theguitarsanctuary.com/

Sounds a lot like Absolute Music in Poole.  They have a cafe, performance areas,  studios and a vast amount of mega warehouse space for their online operation. Staff are very knowledgeable, they will hire you gear and have techs on hand for any setup or repair work.  What you are suggesting.   Its been done.

PolarityMan

Is there a website like the opposite of kickstarter where I can bet on your failure?

EricTheWeary

That place in Texas looks great but that's serious money, indeed probably massively more costly to set up in the UK than it is in Texas. If you have that much money I should buy a house in the South of France and retire.

Axe_meister

I'd love to see a shop with a community around it. Maybe a coffee bar where people can talk crap about guitars, maybe some rehearsal rooms even a small stage area or maybe a link to a live music. pub.

capo4th

And some dancing girls....

Alnico

Open a Music Themed Diner with a small guitar shop in the back.

The Diner will (If done correctly) always make money and keep you afloat and the guitar shop will have a USP and (If done correctly) a community surrounding it. 

I always wanted to do this but never had the capital to start it up so i guess the idea is yours now.

Best of luck and when you open, can i have a job there please ?

ICBM

^ That's a good idea.

Like the Hard Rock Café, but with a point.

TheMarlin

My local guitar shop just closed down.  It had a great community of musicians around it, but most of them still bought guitars cheaper from the big box shifters. There is no loyalty, and it's a price war out there.

i'd be very careful.

Marlin

Danny1969

Here's a tip for you, make half the shop a cafe under your wife's name and half a guitar store under your name. Then you can both qualify for small business 100 % rate relief if your both under £6000 or less 

sweepy

A good mate has the ideal setup, Red Lion pub in Cropredy with a music shop in the back room , buy strings leads etc have a couple of pints then look lovingly at something shiny on the wall etc etc