Canadian Music Trade - December / January 2020 | Page 23

ecosystem is that they can now also offer
Starbucks catering to clients of the onsite
240-capacity Cosmopolitan Music Hall,
which itself helps to bring a wider potential
customer base into the store. “A lot of what
we do is meant to get people through the
door, and there’s kind of a ripple effect
from there,” Hebert reinforces.
Another example of an initiative that
appeals to a new customer segment while
also strengthening existing aspects of the
business was the decision to start selling
vinyl records a few years back.
“That’s an interesting one,” Hebert
shares. “We’re selling dozens, if not hun-
dreds of turntables every year, but I don’t
even know where else you can go to buy
a vinyl record in our area, so it made a
lot of sense.”
Wisely, they’ve folded the vinyl sales
into their print music department, which
not only puts significantly more people
in front of those products, but also offers a
unique synergy: why just buy Led Zeppelin
III on vinyl when you can also grab the offi-
cial tab book and learn while you listen?
“It draws all sorts of new people into
the store, and draws all kinds of people
to the website, which is great because it
complements the print department and,
really, everything else we do. It’s been very
successful for us.”
Whether it’s a live venue, vinyl records, or a
hot bowl of vegetable soup, there’s no short-
age of ways to complement your MI sales
with adjacent businesses or services – ones
that will boost your bottom line, bring new
people to your door, and complement your
existing offerings.
Mark Hebert, Cosmo Music, Richmond Hill, ON
if something might not add revenue from a
quantitative perspective, if it will improve the
customer experience, we’ll move forward.”
There’s no shortage of things to have
passed that test over the last decade-plus. In
addition to its various MI departments –
from guitars, drums, brass and woodwinds,
and the like to pro audio, print music, and
more – Cosmo boasts an expansive instru-
ment rental program serving individuals
and schools in its surrounding area, a music
school catering to over 2,400 students each
week, a live event space that hosts everything
from clinics to corporate events, and in late
2018, became the only musical instrument
store in the world to have an official Star-
bucks location on its premises.
“That was a brand play,” Hebert discloses
about Starbucks @ Cosmo, which replaced
an existing café in the store’s massive atrium
space. “Being associated with the Starbucks
brand is a good thing for us, and elevates
our own brand while letting us offer our
customers a fantastic experience.”
As with the previous café, the goal is to
make the store something of a community
hub, and the onsite Starbucks can simulta-
neously encourage customers to stay in the
store longer and give parents and spouses
somewhere comfortable to hang out during
lessons or shopping. And then there’s the
added benefit of simply bringing new faces
through the door.
“While it’s more for the people that are
already coming here, there are definitely
customers that have come in because they
see us on the map of Starbucks locations, or
maybe they’re on a drive and they wander
in after seeing us from the highway, and
then we think we’ve got enough to engage
their curiosity when they come through the
doors,” offers Hebert.
Another benefit to the wider Cosmo
Mark Hebert (left) accepts NAMM’s Dealer of the
Year Award at Summer NAMM 2019
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of
Canadian Music Trade.
Flying Vs & Vinyl
Check out our From the Floor interview with Chris Nylen of
Faders Music in Brandon, MB, discussing the benefits they’ve
enjoyed since Faders started selling vinyl records alongside their
MI offerings a few years back. Find it in the October/November
2017 issue at www.canadianmusictrade.com/online, and check
out our other back issues while you’re there!
CANADIAN MUSIC TRADE
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