PMT

[bass_dinger]

2 hours ago, jazzyvee said:

Just found out this from a non musical friend.

https://www.thebusinessdesk.com/yorkshire/news/2140154-musical-instrument-retailer-closes-stores-blaming-shrinking-margins/

 

 

From that helpful link, we see the following:

 

"Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators concluded a knock-down sale of £2.4 million worth of stock and “certain intangible assets including websites, trademarks, and commercial data,” for £1.2 million to York-based Gear4music, which said it is not acquiring any part of PMT’s trading business, nor any other assets or liabilities, and has no current plans to use the PMT trading name."

 

So, Gear4Music has purchased the PMT stock.

[Gank Bass]

17 hours ago, Machines said:

Firstly my sympathies are with any affected staff.

 

However unfortunately I feel it was fairly predictable. I felt their stock was very mainstream and they became box shifters with very little USP.

 

I have fond memories of the old Birmingham store and spent a lot of money there in the 2000s. Unfortunately this is a sign of the times, stores need a specialty and just trying to undercut other retailers is a race to the bottom.

I stopped using my local one after they took all the prices off for some reason and replaced with qr codes. I asked one of the guys how much a pedal cost and he sarcastically said "why, don't you have a phone?" 

 

If you're in Nottingham, just go to Music Inn! Service is second to none

[Machines]

14 minutes ago, Gank Bass said:

I stopped using my local one after they took all the prices off for some reason and replaced with qr codes. I asked one of the guys how much a pedal cost and he sarcastically said "why, don't you have a phone?"

 

The logic behind this was to avoid printing off new label cards every few days, as prices are subject to regular change when price matching with online stores.

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, bass_dinger said:

 

From that helpful link, we see the following:

 

"Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators concluded a knock-down sale of £2.4 million worth of stock and “certain intangible assets including websites, trademarks, and commercial data,” for £1.2 million to York-based Gear4music, which said it is not acquiring any part of PMT’s trading business, nor any other assets or liabilities, and has no current plans to use the PMT trading name."

 

So, Gear4Music has purchased the PMT stock.

Massive logical nightmare sorting that all out.

 

 

[Huge Hands]

Didn't Gear4Music hoover up all the GAK stock too?

 

I know they are probably getting it all at a bargain price but wonder if they will be able to shift it all!

[Dad3353]

38 minutes ago, Machines said:

The logic behind this was to avoid printing off new label cards every few days, as prices are subject to regular change when price matching with online stores.

 

This is done using LCD labels, updated from a hand-held controller. No need for printing, these days. 

 

[Machines]

3 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

 

This is done using LCD labels, updated from a hand-held controller. No need for printing, these days. 

 

I am unsure of the costs of such a system, especially integrating with a guitar hangar ?

[Dad3353]

4 minutes ago, Machines said:

I am unsure of the costs of such a system, especially integrating with a guitar hangar ?

 

Probably less expensive than printing labels, over time. The smart-phone labels need printing, too. If small superettes use LCD, I presume it's not too onerous (I could be wrong...). There are dozens of formats, for the display of most item prices, whatever the commerce.  

[neepheid]

19 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

 

This is done using LCD labels, updated from a hand-held controller. No need for printing, these days. 

 

 

76 cents for 1.5 litres of Coke Zero?  How old is this picture?

[Lfalex v1.1]

48 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

76 cents for 1.5 litres of Coke Zero?  How old is this picture?

 

French,  too by the looks. They love an eSEL. Britain has been much slower to adopt them. 

[Dad3353]

55 minutes ago, neepheid said:

76 cents for 1.5 litres of Coke Zero?  How old is this picture?

 

S'been a long time since I last saw printed price tags. 

[Stub Mandrel]

5 hours ago, Gank Bass said:

I stopped using my local one after they took all the prices off for some reason and replaced with qr codes. I asked one of the guys how much a pedal cost and he sarcastically said "why, don't you have a phone?" 

 

If you're in Nottingham, just go to Music Inn! Service is second to none

 

And they had to stop after Trading Standards reminded them it was illegal.

[AndyTravis]

Ah well.

 

It’s been on the cards for a good while.

 

I haven’t been in the trade for a massive 11 years.

 

But there was always a rumble towards the 2010’s - us or them, etc.

 

I’ve said all of this before - but unless you have a USP, it’s a race to the bottom.

 

Crap margins, massive overheads and having to pay people who knew what they were on about a decent living wage…

 

Fender and Gibson are retailing from their own sites.

 

Pointless really - the days of drooling over Les Paul’s or Precision basses on a Saturday Morning…on the whole…seem to be pretty numbered.

 

We live in a world where the next generation of guitar and bass buyers are buying online and deciding online.

 

Best wishes to all affected. It’s shite when these things happen.

 

I do think Andertons seem to have the podcast come shop approach pretty much nailed on.

 

I notice BD are doing the same type of thing.

 

Normans and Chicago Music Exchange have been doing it well for years in the US.

 

I tried to get my lot (Dawsons) into social media early doors - but in typical fashion, they got someone totally disconnected from the punters to do it…so it flopped…

 

After I left, there were various ham fisted attempts - too little too late

 

 

[Mornats]

This is sad news. I live in Bristol but I'm from Northumberland so I've frequented the Bristol and Newcastle stores a fair bit and I've spent thousands in both. Jack from Bristol and Gareth from Newcastle both recognised me and made me feel right at home and were helpful but let me get on with trying stuff without hassle. I'd favour buying from PMT over ordering online and the guys always gave me a good deal. 

 

Popping in to have a look and a chat (and hopefully buy something if finances allowed) was a proper nice treat for me and will be sorely missed. Newcastle also lost the iconic J. G. Windows store which was a shame as it's been there for many, many years. My very first bass was bought there 34 years ago (Aria Pro II ZZB Deluxe, used one for my 16th birthday).

 

I'm heading back to Newcastle for a few days next after not being up there for a year or so and a trip to Windows and PMT were going to be a highlight so that sucks that both have gone.

[KingPrawn]

I dont imagine theres a music retailer that isnt struggling, given the global uncertainy following DT tarrifs. The majority or gear is made in countries he's targeted and with the variety of import/export charges it must be almost impossible to predict cash flow and consumer habits. On top of that we have the cost of everyday living basics increasing, which is impacting on consumers desicions to make a purcahse. A sign of the times for sure.

[Richard R]

https://guitar.com/news/industry-news/pmt-placed-into-administration/

 

Another news link. PMT in Brum were generally OK, the bass players were always helpful, and we've bought a bit over the years. Sad times for the staff.

Still have Guitar Guitar and Fair Deal Music in town (plus Hobgoblin for those times when 19 strings just aren't enough.)

[Cornwall Steve]

Blimey, two more of the on line and retail store giants closed down. Another sign of the times 😔 Many of us will have had memories of browsing or buying gear from their stores, I'm sure.

[Terry M.]

On 12/06/2025 at 11:23, Gank Bass said:

If you're in Nottingham, just go to Music Inn! Service is second to none

Unfortunately this wasn't my experience when I was up there in November just gone. I would definitely try again though when I'm next in Nottingham.

[Greg Edwards69]

It's sad, but it's been on the card since the original owners sold up and cashed in.  My local was the OG Pmt in Southend.  I went there a bit, but I was never a fan and felt dirty doing do. Something bout the way they ran the business felt off, and their face-to-face customer service left something to be desired. Not to mention some of the horror stories I'd heard about their guitar setups.

 

I used to quite like their original tiny shop, but they got too big too quickly IMHO as the "professional" bit in their moniker went out the window and successfully put their local rivals out of business by targeting the budget end of the market. Eventually, they simply didn't stock the things I was interested in and wanted to try.

 

When they sold the business, the original owners retained the Southend building itself and charged the new owners an extortionate amount for rent. So the new management simply closed the store. It surprised me, but to be honest I don't miss it.  There's other local shops I miss more - such as Honky Tonk - who PMT effectively put out of business.

[Buddster]

It's sad to see any music shop go under. When ever I'm in a new town, I look up where the shops are just to have a nose,and still remember being a young'un and the excitement of looking round at all the instruments. 

But, to be honest, I'm a bit fed up of going in to look a shops basses to find the genetic line up of a couple of Fender player series, maybe a Cort or an Ibanez or 2. None of them anything like setup so no point trying one. Meanwhile, there's racks of different guitars on the wall. 

The old PMT at least had a separate room of basses to look at. The new one had about 8, with nothing worth looking at. 

[nekomatic]

On 12/06/2025 at 13:30, Lfalex v1.1 said:

 

French,  too by the looks. They love an eSEL. Britain has been much slower to adopt them. 

Aldi use what look like little e-paper displays, so the display doesn’t even need a battery - they must have some sort of programmer to plug it into then it just sits there showing what it was programmed to forever, or until reprogrammed. If you multiply the number of Aldi stores by a few hundred labels per store, they probably got a fairly good price per unit on them, and no longer have to pay for paper labels and printing.