Canadian Music Trade - December/January 2019 | Page 21

PRE-MOVE
“When I first made the decision to move, I
started making piles of things I needed to get
rid of,” Dudley recalls. While his first location
had a humble 800-sq.-ft. sales floor, he also
had a basement for storage and was renting a
larger warehouse space adjacent to the store.
Over time, both took on a substantial amount
of odds and ends – many of them relics from
past trade-ins – that Dudley was looking to
offload.
He began posting photos of old drum
hardware and accessories on social media
with “free to a good home” messaging and
people were regularly coming in to pick
through the piles. “Within a few weeks, I’d got-
ten rid of most of the things I would’ve had to
throw away, which was great,” he shares.
As usual, he also relied on social media to
generate sales, with a focus on clearance
items. In addition to helping reduce stock that
would have to be moved or discarded, it made
for a great opportunity to plant the seeds that
the store would be moving without making
any formal announcements.
The “official” announcement was posted
on Facebook on Nov. 17 th , 2017, and at that
point, the store was flooded with emails from
customers offering to help with the move.
Dudley put together a mailing list with all
40-50 volunteers to keep everyone abreast of
progress and tap the help when needed.
Despite the outpouring, he was still con-
sidering hiring professional movers. “But then
I realized I had all of these people offering
to help, including three or four that I knew I
could really lean on, so we decided to move
ahead with that,” he explains.
DAVE’S DRUM SHOP’S DAVE DUDLEY
HIRING MOVERS? KEEP THESE TIPS TOP-OF-MIND
The professionals at Vancouver’s Ferguson Moving and Storage have plenty of experience helping retail stores
relocate. Here are some general tips for storeowners and managers to keep in mind ahead of the move.
Check out the full article at www.fergusonmoving.com.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Thoroughly discuss moving rates.
Ask questions.
Plan for the unpredictable level of inventory to move.
Prepare for the move far in advance of the movers’ arrival.
Work to sell whatever inventory you can.
Ensure your inventory, furniture, and equipment is well protected for the move.
Over the subsequent weeks, in addition to the usual types
of posts showcasing products, Dudley would offer the
odd social media update on how the new space was pro-
gressing to generate interest but also as a reminder of the
impending change.
It’s worth noting that this process – beginning late
summer 2017 and culminating with the actual move in late
January 2018 – largely coincided with the holiday shopping
season. That resulted in an atypical approach to buying
inventory, with Dudley placing a number of small orders
instead of stocking up like usual. The goal was to only bring
in what he was confident would go right out. That had the
side benefit of informing his approach to holiday buying
this year and going forward, as 2017 ended up being his
best holiday season on record.
“December being what December is, and having not
loaded up on inventory, we were able to reduce [our stock]
quite a bit,” Dudley offers. By Christmas, they’d emptied the
rented warehouse space. Couple that with some additional
Boxing Week sales and, come January, they had a more
than manageable load of stock to pack up and move.
The move was planned for the very end of January, with Feb. 1 st chosen as the grand
opening date at the new store; however, the landlord at the new space had experienced some
delays in getting it ready around the holidays.
Contingency plans and built-in flexibility were made for such scenarios; however,
Dudley decided to go ahead with the move on Feb. 1 st – a Thursday – regardless.
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE
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