Discover the fascinating rise and fall of Our Price Records, a once-thriving music retailer. Explore its innovative strategies that attracted young audiences and supported indie labels. Hear personal stories from former employees about the brand's community impact. Delve into challenges it faced during technological shifts and competition from larger chains. The discussion also considers potential revivals for brick-and-mortar music shops in the age of vinyl resurgence, emphasizing the need for passionate leadership and unique customer experiences.
Our Price Records thrived in the 1980s by addressing an untapped market with affordable music sales and strong customer engagement.
The chain's decline stemmed from mismanagement post-acquisition and failure to adapt to digital music trends, leading to its disappearance.
Deep dives
The Rise of Our Price Records
Our Price Records became a significant player in the UK music retail scene when it opened its first store in 1971, initially launched as the Tape Revolution. The founders, Gary Nesbitt and Michael Isaacs, identified an untapped market while searching for a cassette, leading them to establish a chain that focused on affordable music sales. By capitalizing on the rising popularity of cassettes and vinyl, they undercut competitors by offering lower prices and emphasizing volume sales, which resonated with the youth of the time. Their commitment to customer engagement and knowledgeable staff helped create a loyal customer base, setting Our Price apart from mainstream retailers.
Challenges and Ownership Changes
The acquisition of Our Price by WH Smith marked a pivotal point, introducing management changes that diluted the original vision of the founders. As the ownership transitioned, decision-making was taken out of the founders' hands, leading to significant shifts in store branding and operations that disrupted the established customer rapport. The strategy to rebrand and diversify into home entertainment, including VHS and CDs, aimed to compete with larger stores but strained the core music offering that had originally defined Our Price's success. These changes coincided with the emergence of supermarkets offering discounted music, further eroding Our Price's market position.
Decline and Reinvention of the Brand
By the early 2000s, Our Price faced substantial operational challenges, culminating in the sale of its last stores and a complete absence from the high street. The brand, once a household name for music enthusiasts, struggled to adapt to the fast-evolving digital landscape shaped by online music consumption and the rise of streaming services. However, the name Our Price has seen a resurgence in the digital age, re-emerging as an online retailer appealing to those who cherish physical music formats like vinyl. The new owners aim to leverage the nostalgic connection consumers have with the brand while adapting to contemporary shopping preferences, potentially exploring franchise models and diversified entertainment experiences in future.
Our Price Records was one of Britain's biggest music retailers offering cut-price albums at over 300 local high street stores. So, why did the chain disappear even before the internet transformed the music industry?
The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, and the entrepreneur, Sam White, examine the retailer's fortunes.
How did it manage to become so successful? And why did it end up 'toast'?
The pair are joined by expert guests including:
-Neil Boote - former commercial director at Virgin Our Price
-Phil Cokell - former marketing director at Chrysalis Records
-Alison Warner who worked at Our Price Records in the 1980s
Produced by Jon Douglas. Toast is a BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds.
You can email the programme at toast@bbc.co.uk
Feel free to suggest topics which could be covered in future episodes.
Sliced Bread returns for a new batch of investigations in December, where Greg Foot investigates so-called wonder products to find out whether they really are the best thing since sliced bread. In the meantime, Toast is available in the Sliced Bread feed on BBC Sounds
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