Record Store Day Shops Day 43 - Vinyl Store Jr - Canterbury

Vinyl Store Jr

20 Castle Street, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2QJ
01227 456907
vinylstorejr.co.uk; contact@vinylstorejr.co.uk; @Vinylstore-Jr
Tuesday-Saturday 9.30am-5.30pm   Sunday 11am-4pm  Closed Monday
Established 2016
Stock: Vinyl

 

Vinyl Store Jr has a distinct focus on the new and exciting, with new releases, limited editions and wilfully obscure psychedelia from places as far flung as Russia, Scandinavia and South America. Owner Nick Pygott had wanted to run a record shop all his life but was diverted by other work opportunities such as selling wine, working for charity and running a castle - as well as less arduous pursuits such as sitting in beer gardens and going to festivals. During his time selling wine, his customers included David Gray, Morcheeba, Turin Brakes, and Engelbert Humperdinck. 

Nick stocks only vinyl and reasons that it is not so much a purist decision as a pragmatic one. Vinyl is a “growth sector”, as they say in business.  He couldn’t afford to duplicate stock by selling everything in more than one format, so he is sticking with vinyl “because it sounds better, it looks better, and it feels better. And it’s just cooler.”

Following a recent chat with Nick where I asked him was, he pleased he had opened a record shop and was the experience what he thought it would be? He sent me this very in-depth reply that sums up better than any feature how much work is involved in setting up your own shop.

 “I had taken voluntary redundancy and was recently separated, so I was at a bit of a crossroads in life. I’d forever dreamt of running my own record shop and somehow the timing seemed right: the “vinyl resurgence” was in full swing and Canterbury seemed to be crying out for a small independent. I found an ideal shop (small, cheapish, supportive landlord) and got it all up and running quickly. I’d been in retail pretty much all my working life, so I kind of knew what I was doing. 

 The idea initially was that it would be an all-new, all-vinyl indie shop (indie, alternative, with a bit of classic rock, electronica, hip-hop etc). My first ever customer was the former lead singer of Wang Chung, who bought an Aphex Twin LP, and I immediately knew I was going to enjoy this! The first year was good in terms of building awareness and growing the business. We had local heroes Syd Arthur for an instore appearance on our second weekend and were packed. 

Instores became a regular occurrence. We actively supported the local music scene. Our first Record Store Day went very well (with thanks to all the other shops for their advice). The funny thing is that you open a record shop because you think you know loads about music, but in fact you quickly learn how little you know: customers introduce you to something new daily, so it was a fantastic journey of discovery! I had to educate myself in jazz, which had become an unexpected specialism of the shop.

 It quickly became apparent that there simply isn’t that much profit in exclusively selling new vinyl. The cost prices are high, and you can’t really shop around as the labels tend to monopolistic). You don’t necessarily need to be the cheapest as people in general will happily understand if you are maybe a quid dearer than Amazon to support a friendly independent, but you do still need to be broadly competitive. “Indies Exclusives” are helpful as they give us a point of difference.

 After year one there were two major realisations. You must sell a lot of records to make any money. My budgeting had been optimistic, and I had to reassess things. Secondly, a large amount of my stock was based on credit. So, debt was increasing, which was certainly not what I had planned.

 I had initially been wary of selling second-hand. But one of the great things about the independent record sector is how lovely and genuinely supportive other shops are, happy to share their knowledge and experience to others. This was a real revelation, as in my previous job colleagues were often unwilling to share vital information with the person sitting next to them! So, I sought advice from shops that did sell second-hand both successfully and reputably.

 In January 2018 (after some initial experimental dabbling), the shop went fully half new and half second-hand. The shop worked better almost immediately on several levels. second-hand is simply more profitable, even if you pay a fair price and sell at a reasonable price. Plus, it makes the range much more diverse and eclectic, as you never know what is going to turn up!

 The main issue in the second year was clearing the credit with suppliers, which meant that I couldn’t get in new releases or fulfil customer orders, which was incredibly painful, and really prevented the business from growing. Fortunately, our customers are genuinely lovely, and have been amazingly understanding and supportive.

 But even the “difficult second year” had its highlights: We had Slaves in for a live acoustic instore appearance, which was probably 2018’s high point, and was a really special moment for all the 45 people we could cram into the shop!

We are now into our third trading year, and it’s pretty much stabilised. It’s never easy but it is the best job I’ve ever had. The upside is obvious: being in a shop all day, surrounded by records, listening to whatever you want, talking to lovely customers, and constantly discovering amazing new music. The downside is the realisation that I’ll probably never get rich doing this, but I don’t really care if I continue to enjoy it!

Over 220 independent record shops featured in The Vinyl Revival and the Shops That Made it Happen

Available at your local record shop or online at http://smarturl.it/vinylrevival

Look out for the film based on the book. The Vinyl Revival'  which is released on Record Store Day  April 13th. The film comes free with the album The Vinyl Revival. Only available in independent record shops on RSD


Check out the trailer

https://youtu.be/dDYrd0N2cIA