PRODUCT
“ That ’ s always the most difficult thing – trying to predict six months in advance what we will need for the fall . It ’ s kind of a crapshoot every year , wondering if [ certain music programs ] are going to continue . You never know exactly what ’ s happening ,” says Nori Wentworth over at Wentworth Music in Kelowna , BC . “ I go into preparation by looking into the previous year , getting into the elementary schools , and finding where they ’ re going to go in the following year to get into the new instruments . We have a school liaison that will go over and drop off brochures and , whenever possible , just touch base with the classroom as a whole or at the very least the teachers there .”
He says that while , realistically , only around 10 per cent of teachers will get back to them due to their own inability to predict exactly which instruments or styles of music their students may be interested in come the fall , the very least he and his staff can do is to get some brochures in their hands to keep the store top-of-mind .
But it ’ s within the walls of Wentworth Music where most of the work and planning takes place .
“ Inside the store , it ’ s just making sure we have enough product and doing training with our staff here during the summer to remind them how to do rental contracts and that sort of thing , just so everything goes smoothly in September ,” says Wentworth .
Due to the uncertainty and the constantly changing atmosphere within the music industry – and , as is sadly often the case , with music education in public schools – Wentworth says it ’ s an unending challenge trying to determine which instruments , accessories , and books he should be stocking up on .
“ We ’ ve attempted to pull inventory back and put it into different areas , but with the music industry , it is absolutely impossible to predict what instrument seems to be selling the most during certain periods of the year . It used to be traditionally that it increased and we ’ d sell a ton of instruments during the summer and nothing really the rest of the year . Now , it ’ s just , you never know .”
Theresa Zabiaka , the owner of Dauphin
Music & Electronics in Dauphin , MB , finds herself in a similar predicament as Wentworth , though adds that some of the uncertainty extends backwards into the supply chain .
“ We always make sure we do our ordering in July so we are ready to go for end of August , beginning of September . You never know with inventory just what ’ s going to be available when you need it , so we make sure we do our ordering early so that we ’ re good to go for the fall ,” she says .
With her and her current staff having worked in this industry for as long as they have , she says they all pretty well know the drill in terms of getting the store prepared and delivering quality customer service .
She adds that they also do some outreach to teachers in the area on certain things , though like Wentworth , notes that in many cases , the teachers are as uncertain as they are about what certain students might be after .
“ With the music books , we do [ some outreach ]. We talk to the teachers so we know what to stock in that department . But for the guitar teachers , I think they just tell the students what they require and they leave it up to the student to decide what and where they want to purchase .”
Zabiaka also says that Dauphin Music & Electronics has a popular band instrument rental program they offer to schools and students in the area , and so having efficient systems in place to make the rental process smooth and swift is critical .
Of course , the fall doesn ’ t just mean students are headed back to school ; in many cases , they ’ re also headed back into private lessons after the summer off , and of course , those lessons are often offered by music stores themselves .
Connor Riczu , the manager of Guitarworks ’ Crowfoot NW store – one of the chain ’ s four in Calgary – says the first thing he does before the school year commences is take stock of which teachers will be coming back from the previous year and then consider how to ensure they ’ re totally taken care of .
“ In terms of getting teachers ready , usually what we ’ ll do is ask them what they ’ ll need over the course of the year , which is mainly just books , paper , and stuff like that . We will usually order books throughout the summer so we can get them ready for what
Nori Wentworth of Wentworth Music , Kelowna , BC
Connor Riczu of Guitarworks , Calgary , AB
the teachers need for over the year .”
As for planting some seeds in the lesson room for future sales , Riczu adds : “ A lot of times , with certain teachers , what they ’ ll do is search for a certain sound and then potentially demo some of the pedals and gear we have in the lesson room to the students . That way we can kind of gear them towards both effects pedals and traditional amps .”
Another approach Riczu and Guitarworks take to help them stand out from other local music stores and lesson programs is , every year , he and his staff plan an end-ofthe-year recital for those students and parents that are interested in taking part .
“ Usually we ’ ll start planning a recital for the end of the year , so throughout the year , we can start asking parents if they want to take part in the recital . Usually it ’ s held in store , but this year I do believe we ’ re going to have way more students than last year , so we ’ re probably going to do it at a community centre .”
24 • CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE