Dundee has no shortage of buskers and musicians, so it comes as no surprise that Kenny’s Music is still going strong 16 years after opening.
The shop was opened in 2008 by Kenny Graham. It has been a one-stop shop for musical instruments ever since.
The company is now owned by Alex Marten who took it over after Kenny retired in 2022.
Dundee was the first location and the company has expanded to Dunfermline, Aberdeen and Glasgow.
The city centre shop has endured while many other businesses have been forced to close. Its location on Castle Street means many locals walk by daily.
But what makes the shop retain success in an ever-changing high street?
Kenny’s Music continuing instrument retail in Dundee
Someone who has been with the shop from the beginning is manager Drew Innes.
Drew, originally from Fife, moved to Dundee for the job at Kenny’s Music and has been one of the core members of the business.
“I’ve been the manager since it first became Kenny’s Music, so since June 2008. I was one of the founder members of the company,” Drew said.
“The company kind of came about off the back of the demise of Sound Control.
“Sound Control was a company that ran for many years and they had stores UK-wide. And unfortunately they were a casualty of the 2008 housing market crash along with many other businesses.
“Kenny’s Music was born from that. I’ve been here the whole time and I love the city and I have no plans to go anywhere.”
The shop specialises in modern musical instruments and accessories.
Alex Marten, who is the owner of the company added: “The store stocks more big brands than any other retailer anywhere nearby. We’ve got Fender guitars, Gibson guitars and Yamaha pianos you won’t see elsewhere.
“We’re also focusing more on pre-owned musical instruments. Partly because of the environmental considerations, but it also means we’ve got a wider range of instruments for people to view when they come in. And we can offer better prices.”
Kenny’s Music involved in nurturing local talent
One aspect the shop takes pride in is how welcoming and inclusive it is to the local community.
The store looks to get involved with the musical community in any way it can.
Drew said: “We recently sponsored a piano festival at Dundee High School. So we took some pianos up for the kids to try. We’ve also been judges at Battle of the Bands competitions.”
“In modern times, social media is a big thing as well. In Dundee, we have a thing called the ‘Perpetual Open Mic’. We have a small stage area set up at the front of the shop and anyone can just come in, grab a guitar and get up on stage.
The shop then records the performances and promotes the musicians upcoming gigs, music and social media pages on their Facebook and Instagram.
Alex added: “It’s all about supporting the musicians that support us. We want to be a central hub for the music community in Dundee. We respect that people support us by buying from us and we will repay the favour by supporting them.
“And what I always thought, before I even ran the company, was Kenny’s Music Dundee was such a friendly bunch of people. Everyone feels really welcome here.”
Kenny’s Music have also partnered with Music Collective Scotland. This is an organisation that provides music lessons to young people. They currently rent the third floor of the shop for classes.
Alex added: “I think music is all about community, so as a music store we’ve got to be right in the middle of that community.
“I think its really important because they’re the future musicians in Scotland.”
More support needed for businesses in the centre
Like many businesses in Dundee, Kenny’s Music has experienced the downsides of retail.
The current cost-of-living crisis means the business is seeing more competition with online shopping.
Drew said: “There’s fewer people coming into the city as it is, and the introduction of the Low Emission Zone means that it might be difficult for people to visit.
“A lot of the items we sell are quite heavy. They’re quite big and quite bulky, not the sort of thing that you can take on the bus.” he joked.
Coupled with declining footfall, Alex believes the shop would benefit from support.
Alex said: “I think it’s really important to keep business rates low for independent businesses like ours so we can compete against online retail, which is obviously our main competition.
“Our focus is on in-store, local business because musicians and beginners want to be able to touch, play and hear their instruments.
“I think the local council should be trying to minimise the costs of running a business in Dundee City Centre.”
He added: “We want to keep doing what we do and keep bringing people into the city. What we offer is so much more than you can get on a website.
“We really welcome and encourage people to come in and try out the instruments, or just hang out.”
Dundee Matters
The Courier recently launched an initiative called Dundee Matters, which aims to find solutions to the city’s problems.
We will be hosting a summit at our city centre office in May, where a panel will explore issues facing our high streets at an event full of people invested in the future of Dundee.
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