April, 2013 - Music & Sound Retailer

SHINE A LIGHTTHIS GRANDMA’SNO LITTLE OLD LADYBy Michelle LoebGrandma’s Music & Sound is currently the largestmusic store in the state of New Mexico—in termsof both square footage and sales—but that wasn’talways the case. Thirty years ago, when Micky Pattenfirst moved to Albuquerque, he barely intendedto open a music store in the first place.“No one was hiring,” recalled Patten, a workingmusician who had been employed by a music storein Michigan and who’d figured that’s what he woulddo in New Mexico, as well. “So, two weeks later, Idecided to open a music store of my own,” he said.Before he knew it, Patten was the sole employeeof a 1,500-square-foot store in the foothills of theSandia Mountains. Even though Patten played bassprofessionally, Grandma’s Music & Sound was notprimarily a guitar shop. “No good guitar lines wereavailable to me at that time because I didn’t havecredit,” said Patten, who instead focused on recordingequipment, keyboards and MIDI products frombrands like Roland, Ensoniq, Sequential Circuits,Emu Systems and TASCAM.“That was the technology of the ’80s. That’s whatwas popular back then,” Patten continued, addingthat he had a working knowledge of pro audioequipment through some experience in the recordingstudio and at the studio at his college. “No onein our area was addressing that market adequately.”Two months after opening his store, Patten wasable to get a line of credit for his business and, in1989, added a guitar and drum department to thestore, with Fender as the first major guitar line. Theearly struggles in getting to that point “taught mean important lesson about how fast you need to sellyour merchandise in order to pay the bills,” saidPatten. “I learned how to get good product linesand make relationships, not just with manufacturersbut also with people like your CPA, your lawyerand your computer guy.”One relationship in particular that Patten forgedthat first year in business has helped to carryGrandma’s Music & Sound to the top of the market.“In the first year, I hired Brad Clement, and weran the store together for four years,” said Patten.“Then, when his brother Ryan moved here fromCalifornia, we hired him and he was great. He outsoldboth of us and he grew to have quite a following.He’s still with us 26 years later, and he’s nowthe Store Manager.”Today, Ryan Clement runs the store alongsidePatten’s wife, Patty, who runs the office and mostof the operations; Patten is more of the “visionary,”looking at the bigger picture. It’s a business thathas grown exponentially, to say the least, in theGrandma’s Music & Sound9310 Coors NWAlbuquerque, NM 87114(800) 444-5252www.grandmas.comMon-Fri 10am to 6:30pmSat 10am to 6pmSun 12pm to 5pmMicky Patten, OwnerMicky Pattenlast 30 years. Grandma’s Music & Sound currentlyhas 20 employees—down from a peak of 27 (the totalwas pared down through attrition during the mostrecent recession)—all working in a 15,000-squarefootcustom building. The store’s four departmentsPatty Patten and Ryan Clementare guitars, drums, keyboards and pro audio, whichremains the top performer. Plus, it boasts a climate-controlled acoustic room, a stage, aprivate room in which five teachers give lessons to 150 students and a service departmentwith three technicians and a Service Manager.“Most stores don’t have that anymore, because service departments usually aren’tprofitable, but we don’t care,” said Patten. “That’s the kind of store I would want to goto as a player. I want not only to buy my equipment there, but also to have them fix it. Ieven use our service department on my own gear.”The idea of operating a store he’d like to go to as a player is a key part of the successthat has allowed Grandma’s Music & Sound to outlast eight of the 10 stores that were inthe market when Patten first opened the doors.“I remember back to when I was a player: What I wanted was somewhere where Icould get a good deal and where there were people who would take care of me,” saidPatten, who describes his store as a “mini NAMM show with the latest stuff.”To that end, Patten makes sure to train his staff not only to serve the customers well,but also to listen to what they have to say. “We have a knowledgeable staff that respectsour customers’ knowledge because, often, they know more than our staff does,” saidPatten. “It’s such an expansive field now and our customers have done research ourstaff has not. Our customers want to be acknowledged for having expertise, and that’ssomething the Internet can’t do,” he continued. “There are some forums and things likethat online, but it can’t beat interacting with a live salesperson. And that discussion isoften what will lead customers to their next purchase.”Although mostly retired now, Patten still works hard to make sure his store remainsdynamic and interesting for its customers. “Almost every year, there is new equipmentthat comes out. So, we have to get the old stuff out and follow the new trends. I’m notgoing to lie,” he said, “we are often wrong. Even with basses…I’m a bass player, butwhat I like doesn’t always translate to what other people like.”“You do the best you can,” Patten continued, “and hope that we stay an exciting musicstore and a store you’d want to shop at.”38 APRIL 2013