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Analysis September 2025: The plight of music shops

2025-08-29T08:27:52.523

Millers 1 cr Millers Music

The rise in online shopping has hit bricks-and-mortar retailers hard. What can instrument and sheet music shops do to entice customers back into the city centre? By Peter Somerford

The pressures faced by high-street musical instrument and equipment shops have been laid bare in recent months with several high-profile closures. In the UK, Brighton’s GAK filed for insolvency in April and retail chain PMT (Play Music Today) went into administration in June, leading to the closure of its eleven shops across England and Wales. In each case, the company’s stock and its website were sold to the major online retailer Gear4music…

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