END OF AN ERA AS MUSIC SHOP SHUTS
BUT OWNER IS STILL AIMING TO KEEP THE BUSINESS’S NAME ALIVE
FOULDS music shop in Derby city centre has closed its doors for good after more than a century in the city.
The store had been run by the Foulds family until late last year, when its owner, James Foulds, sold the business to Millers Music, the oldest independent music shop in Cambridge.
A notice in the window of Foulds reads: “It is with a heavy heart that our time at Foulds music has come to an end and our showroom is now closed for business. Whilst this is bye for now, it’s not bye forever and we still intend to still keep the Foulds Music name alive in the future.
“For over a century, we have helped inspire people to let music into their lives. However, the needs of the modern musician have changed thanks to a combination of Covid and digital advancements, driving down the cost of instruments and making music more accessible than ever [and] the need for physical music stores is declining.
“We are incredibly thankful for everyone who has supported us over the years and found joy in the instruments acquired through Foulds Music.”
Simon Pollard, managing director of Millers Music, said: “We gave it nine months after we acquired the business but what we found was that more customers were prepared to travel further for a bigger range of pianos and we never got the level of inquiries in Derby city centre that we would have sustained the store, unfortunately.
“Foulds was still quite reliant on its sheet music business which served the local music community.
“It’s not necessarily the best way to learn [piano], selling books, it is actually recommending books, online learning, teachers that can help, apps that can help and I think you have got to evolve your business for what customers want today.”
Simon explained that the microchip shortage in Japan also had a significant impact on the business’s ability to stock electric pianos.
The shortage has impacted businesses all over the world creating devastating disruption to supply chains of a plethora of electrical goods including cars, dishwashers, and even the famous PS5.
Millers Music also explained on their website back in March that the rush to get goods into the UK before Brexit at the end of 2020 meant that “almost every industry experienced issues with ports that were over capacity, ships couldn’t dock, and a massive backlog of goods was then created.”
This coincided with what Millers Music described as the “yearly high” in piano sales just after Christmas. National lockdowns and a spike in people taking up an instrument as a hobby during the Covid-19 pandemic has also driven up demand for musical instruments which exacerbated Millers Music’s problems getting new stock to the Iron Gate showroom. Despite Foulds closing on Iron Gate, Foulds Guitars in the Strand Arcade is still in business, having separated from the original store when Millers Music took over the business in December 2020.
Foulds Guitars remains open and will take on services such as woodwind repair from the Iron Gate store.
Foulds began trading in Nottingham in 1893, at a shop in Chapel Bar, before setting up shop in Derby city centre in 1908. The store was one of the oldest businesses within Derby’s Cathedral Quarter.
James Foulds, who announced his retirement from the business in 2018, is the great-grandson of the founder of the business, Charles Foulds.
Millers Music still operates its showroom in Cambridge and Cookes Pianos in Norwich.
For over a century, we have helped inspire people to let music into their lives. Foulds