Business Matters
By Michael Raine www . canadianmusictrade . com
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A LOOK BACK & AHEAD WITH
THE REIGNING NAMM DEALER OF THE YEAR
annual Top 100
NAMM ’ s Dealer Awards is just one of many , many things that were thrown into flux by the pandemic this year . Typically held during Summer NAMM , when that event was cancelled , the association announced that it would instead hold the awards during The 2021 NAMM Show . Of course , that show is also not happening in its typical form , but the awards will still be held virtually during Believe in Music Week . With that , we thought it was a good time to catch up Mark Hebert , the president and CEO of Cosmo Music , which is the reigning NAMM Dealer of the Year . The Richmond Hill , ON-based MI superstore was more than deserving of the top prize last year . The colossal store is a music lover ’ s paradise , and with its CosmoFest music festival and gear expo , the Cosmo School of Music , and other initiatives , it ’ s a wonderful Canadian ambassador for our industry .
CMT : First off , how has Cosmo Music been managing with all the challenges of the last nine months ?
Mark Hebert : We ’ re managing very well . Early on in the process we formed a COVID-19 task force with a bunch of key individuals in our organization . So , we were quite ahead of the curve when everything went down . I think we were one of the first businesses to close up the retail store and we had planned in advance to zone off many sections of the building in order to protect different areas . We knew that if the whole retail part of the store had to close , we wanted to make sure our warehouse was protected for e-commerce sales and shipments . So , that was one of the primary reasons we zoned the store off and basically had zero interactions between divisions of the operation .
Cosmo Music ’ s Mark Hebert getting the 2019 NAMM Dealer of the Year award
CMT : To look back to less complicated times , what do you remember about being named the 2019 Dealer of the Year and was it a surprise ?
Hebert : [ laughs ] It was an extreme surprise ! In fact , we ’ d been travelling with our family on a cross-country RV tour … and Nashville was the last destination until we made the haul home .
So , we went into the awards evening and I knew our marketing team had submitted a plan in three different categories , one of which I believe was for CosmoFest . So , I was thinking we could win for marketing or events , like one of the other smaller categories , and we didn ’ t win in any of those smaller categories . So , I was a little bit bummed and thought that was the end of the night ; for us , at least . Then they threw the nominations up on the screen [ for Dealer of the Year ] and I look at my wife , like “ What ?!” I saw our name and was beside myself . I wasn ’ t prepared at all ! I wasn ’ t dressed properly to go up on stage – I had no idea . And I am not good at public speaking , either , so it was a little bit nerve-wracking , to say the least .
Actually , I only went that evening with my wife , April , but I realized later that one of the NAMM executives who we ’ d be speaking with earlier was asking these weird questions , like , “ Are you taking your kids and your mother-in-law to the awards ceremony ?” I was like , “ No , no , it ’ s too late for them and they don ’ t want go to a fancy dinner .” She was like , “ Oh , you should really take them and they ’ d really enjoy themselves .” You know , she was really pushing us to take the kids and mother-in-law and we didn ’ t read into that at all [ laughs ].
CMT : Do you know what set you apart to make NAMM choose Cosmo Music as the Dealer of the Year ?
Hebert : You know , that ’ s a good question . I wish I knew the answer , because I like to think that we ’ re humble enough to not think that there is much that sets us apart from any of the other fantastic music stores across the U . S . and Canada .
PHOTO : GETTY IMAGES FOR NAMM
28 CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE