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15th Annual Independent Retailer Roundtable
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THE MUSIC & SOUND RETAILER’S 15TH ANNUAL INDEPENDENT RETAILER ROUNDTABLE
By Brian Berk
For the first time in two years, our Independent Retailer Roundtable returns. For our 15th edition of this September issue staple, we hosted a Zoom video call to conduct the interview, as opposed to an in-person get-together at Summer NAMM. Joining us this time are representatives from two California retailers, Lana Negrete, owner of Santa Monica Music Center in Santa Monica, Calif., and Robin Sassi and Kimberly Deverell of San Marcos, Calif.-based San Diego Music Studio. We asked them what good things are happening right now in the MI industry, what can be improved upon, how they got through the COVID-19 pandemic, plus much more.
The Music & Sound Retailer: Let’s start with what you are seeing in the MI industry or at your store that is positive right now.
Lana Negrete: The newfound passion for learning an instrument is something that came out of the pandemic. We saw an increase in piano and ukulele sales, but especially guitar sales. That is something that has changed that is really awesome. More people are interested in learning. Secondary to that is, because of the pandemic and having to do things online, we have been able to capture an audience that is a lot broader and wider than just within our ZIP code. We now have clients out of the state and out of the country taking lessons with us. That is something really cool I have been happy with.
Robin Sassi: To go along with what Lana was saying, we had a lot of changes. One of the great things is, we have new revenue streams in areas we were not expecting. Also, a lot of our vendors are handling things a little differently. We still blame things on COVID, but everything is starting to come together. We are learning how to reshape our business. It is almost like we have been given another chance to start from scratch, because we feel like we are building from the beginning. We have the knowledge, capital and inventory. We get to grow in a way we should have grown in the first place.
The Retailer: Ecommerce was mentioned. How has that changed for you? Did you have an ecommerce presence before? Did you have to create an ecommerce option during the pandemic?
Kimberly Deverell and Robin Sassi
Tommy Lee with Lana Negrete
Negrete with Raelyn Nelson at Summer NAMM
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Negrete: We did not have an online presence in terms of managing inventory and people being able to buy online [before the pandemic]. But we quickly changed so that you can rent and reserve instruments online. We still want to provide a personal experience where customers can come, touch the instruments and try them out. We do not have a desire to be a place where you pick something out and we ship it to you. But we did add the ability to reserve the product online and the ability to view our inventory. That was a big deal because it was something we talked about forever. The pandemic forced us to take action and do something about it.
Sassi: We have always had an online and ecommerce presence. So, there was nothing new for us. Honestly, as a small brick-and-mortar retailer, it is really hard to compete with the big-box virtual stores that are online.
Kimberly Deverell: I would say there are two online retailers that take up about 40 percent of the market. There is no way we can compete with that, so we have to offer what we offer and do our best.
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Sassi: But we are creative online locally. We have done ecommerce beyond California, but with the pandemic, we learned to have a stronger presence locally online and to be responsive to people getting in touch with us personally. People do not want to talk to us on the phone anymore. They rarely contact us by email either. It is all by text. We have learned how to communicate with customers that way. That has been new and different. It is easier, but also addicting, and I am now on my phone late at night answering questions about mandolins. It’s great, but it can also be difficult for a business owner. It is difficult to put the phone down. I get texts at 10:30 at night and I take care of it.
Deverell: It is one less thing you need to do the next day.
Sassi: Right. People like that they are reaching a real person. A customer came in the store the other day and bought a bunch of stuff. I said, “Hey, I was talking to you late last night in Spanish.” I said, “How was my Spanish?”
Negrete: Podium brought that to the table for us. I think we were one of the first music retailers that signed up for [Podium’s service]. We were looking for a way to answer questions, and Podium was one of the best things to happen to us. It was so neat to see them at the Summer NAMM show. I did not expect them to be there. I am on Podium all the time. My kids tell me to get off my phone, but I will tell them there is somebody asking about lessons or a clarinet. I have referred Podium to other retailers also.
The Retailer: Tell us your thoughts about the Summer NAMM Show. It appeared that a lot of buyers were there. Absent were the very large manufacturers, but plenty of smaller companies exhibited, who may have gotten more time in the “spotlight.” Was it a concern for you that major manufacturers were not there, or were you happy you can spend time with other companies?
Negrete: This year was my first Summer NAMM, so I have no point of reference, except for people telling me the show was smaller than before. For me, I did not think I missed out because big companies were not there. I did take notice of it, and I was looking forward to spending time with some of the companies that we carry, but I think it was neat to see other companies. When you are at the big show [The NAMM Show], you go in saying you will have time to look at other things, but your day gets eaten up, and you do not get to [those other things]. Summer NAMM was a way to look at products we never car-
ried, brands we never heard of. We got to have one-on-one conversations with what seemed to be a lot of owners, as opposed to just reps. That was really neat for me, but again, I have no point of reference.
Deverell: I thought it was a really cool opportunity for small companies to get their voice and products out there. There were lots of owners we probably otherwise would not have had the opportunity to meet, so I think the big guys really missed out on an opportunity. Summer NAMM does not have as many buyers as Winter NAMM, but it had so many more than it usually does. I do not know how many more, but I do know way more buyers attended the summer show than usual.
Sassi: I talked to a few manufacturers and vendors. The smaller ones told me it was their best show ever. Either big vendors were not there, or they were, but the booth was really scaled down, which made it less distracting for the smaller players. These companies are filling the void and doing a great a job. I saw things I thought I might have missed.
Deverell: I do want to note that part of the audience was the NASMD [National Association of School Music Dealers] crowd that does not normally go to Summer NAMM. RPMDA [Retail Print Music Dealers Association] was there too. That brought in more people. I talked to several manufacturers that had a really good show that had never been to Summer NAMM before or had not exhibited in a couple of years because they did not feel like there was enough ROI [return on investment]. They got a lot business out of Summer NAMM.
Negrete: There were a lot of owners [of stores] talking to owners [of companies].
Sassi: Some of the largest players that did attend did not really “bring it.” We did stop by as a courtesy, but what are we going to see there if there is nothing [interesting on display]?
Deverell: There was also a new thing this year called a Networking Pass for manufacturers that were not going to have a big booth. So, you were still able to chat with those people on the side. I thought that was really interesting.
Negrete: If you are not used to going to these shows, it is our industry’s version of a science fair [laughs]. I am stealing that (continued on page 50)
