“It’s become impossible to operate sustainably as a predominantly brick and mortar musical instrument retailer in the UK”: Scotland’s Kenny’s Music is the latest guitar shop chain to close its doors – despite strong sales figures

It has been another grim week for the music retail sector as Scottish guitar store chain Kenny’s Music has closed its doors for good, with its managing director offering a bleak outlook for the sector, arguing that is now “impossible” to operate as a brick-and-mortar gear retailer in the UK.

Kenny’s Music operated stores in Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dunfermline, and sold gear online. Its store in Dunfermline had only reopened in 2022. It was no analog holdout either; its ground game on social media was strong. Check out the Kenny’s Music Instagram page; they knew how to market gear.

The closure of Kenny’s Music is part of a dismal trend that is observable on both sides of the Atlantic.

In 2024, one of the great icons of musical instrument retail in the US, Sam Ash, closed its doors for good, initially shuttering 18 of its 44 locations, before closing them all entirely. Sam Ash had been welcoming customers for a century. How many players bought their first electric guitar there? It was later bought by Mexican retail firm Gonher Music for $15.2 million and operates entirely online.

This year, in the UK, PMT (Play Music Today), was placed into administration in June, with 11 stores, its website, and warehouse all shuttered, GAK, a Brighton institution since opening its doors in 1992, went bust in April. Its assets and stock were picked up by Gear4Music for estimated £2.4 million ($3.26 million).

Now Kenny’s Music. And the irony is that its 2025 sales figures have been their best ever, with MD Alex Martin telling The Courier that its transition to selling secondhand stock also proving a success. The problem is not the sales; it’s the costs retailers face. Their margins have disappeared.

“Costs – particularly wages and online marketing costs – have risen so sharply that even record sales can’t offset them,” says Martin.

Martin says the stats speak for themselves. A quarter of music retail space has been lost this year alone. He tells The Courier that worse is to come.

“The reality is that it’s become impossible to operate sustainably as a predominantly brick and mortar musical instrument retailer in the UK in 2025,” says Martin.

It’s the same story we heard when PMT went bust. Rick Harrison, the managing director at Interpath and joint administrator, said the economic conditions were affecting retailers across the board.

“It’s been a tough few years for specialist music equipment retailers who have battled headwinds including rising costs, dwindling margins, and the rising cost of living affecting consumer behavior,” he said.

The malaise is not confined to the UK. In April, Dutch gear retailer Bax Music filed for bankruptcy. Gear sales may well move fully online but at what cost?

The guitar store experience – much improved over the years, more welcoming – is a rite of passage, part of guitar culture. And it is still in demand. The sales data bears that out. But if the costs are prohibitively high, the margins squeezed further, Martin could be right. The brick-and-mortar store could be lost.