Recently, I made one of my regular trips to my local music store. It was a typical occurrence and while I was selecting some material for the upcoming fall semester, the owner casually mentioned that he may close the print-music part of his business. The reason? Online competition.
Online business is big business. Who can argue of having the convenience of having items sent right to your home, often with little or no delivery charge is a great thing? Wait by the mailbox, and presto!
But that encounter with my local merchant realigned my thinking. This store has been around since 1989 and now they are thinking of closing a substantial portion of their business. For me, this would not be good.
Why? Because sometimes I've needed an item or two for my studio right away; not tomorrow and sometimes not even in a few hours from now. Right away. And who is there for me? My retailer who is often quietly working behind-the-scenes, a smile on their face, ready to bail me out of my predicament in moment's notice. And all it took was a 10 minute trip from my home to their business.
There are somethings that stores just don't seem to carry anymore. As a movie buff, I still buy re-mastered versions of old movies and that's something my local retailer doesn't carry anymore. In this case, it's online to the rescue!
But for regular business items, it's back to the brick-and-mortar establishment! The last thing I want to see is a “for lease” sign in the vacant location where a music store used to be.
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