Parkgate guitar shop closure due to 'Brexit and Amazon'

A GUITAR shop owner has blamed his decision to close on Brexit and increased competition from online retailer Amazon.

DL Guitars and Accessories Ltd, on Mangham Road, Parkgate, will close its doors on August 31.

Owner David Lombardi said an increasing number of his suppliers were choosing to sell directly through Amazon.

He said Amazon sold products at “stupidly low prices, to the detriment of bricks-and-mortar stores”, and were able to “corner the market” as the sole retailer and “dictate the price to suppliers”.

DL Music Tuition Ltd, which is based next door to the shop, will continue to operate as normal and tuition classes will be unaffected by the store’s closure.

Mr Lombardi (32), of Rawmarsh, said that since the Brexit referendum in June 2016 his supply costs had risen by more than 20 per cent.

He said this was due to a prolonged devaluation of the pound against the US dollar, which had driven up import costs.

“This, coupled with Amazon driving prices down, has created a perfect storm,” he said.

“We cannot increase prices as we would not be competitive and we cannot match Amazon as we would make a loss.

“We are entering a period of uncertainty with retail as Amazon ramps up.”

Mr Lombardi said he had stopped selling his products on Amazon.

“What Amazon wants is to go to the supplier direct and sell it so much cheaper — it prices you out of the market,” he said.

Mr Lombardi said more music shops would shut in the long term and Amazon would be able to dictate the price to consumers.

He predicted that, in around one to two years’ time, the price of instruments would start to rise.

“It’s probably a sign of the times,” he said.

“Retail is changing dramatically.”

Two full-time employees will lose their jobs when DL Guitars closes.

“It’s a really difficult decision and sitting people down and telling them there’s no job for them is not nice,” he said.

Mr Lombardi said he wanted to thank customers and staff who had made it “a great place to shop”.

 

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