Investment case

Gear4music is well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities available within its markets, due to barriers to entry and our unique competitive advantages:

• We are an agile, predominantly online retailer, and have a well-recognised brand
• We are the UK’s largest retailer of musical instruments and music equipment
• Our bespoke e-commerce platform provides a high degree of operational flexibility and scalability which the Directors believe cannot easily be replicated
• A strong own-brand offering has been developed over 20 years, and has established a reputation for ‘good’ and ‘better’ quality products at affordable prices, whilst providing enhanced margin opportunities.
• We have developed long-term relationships with the major branded musical instrument and music equipment manufacturers, placing us in a strong position during a period of retailer consolidation
• We have proven and scalable distribution capabilities
• The Directors and senior management have an intimate knowledge of the musical instrument and music equipment market

Track record of success – long term revenue and market share growth

• UK revenues trebled since FY16, from £26.0m to £82.1m in FY23
• European growth validates strategy and improving proposition
• Email database of 1.65m registered users, with 0.86m active customers

Bespoke and proprietary e-commerce platform delivers competitive advantage

• End-to-end solution encompassing all aspects of trading operations
• 84 in-house software developers providing cost-effective development
• Currently supports 21 websites, 15 languages and 9 currencies
• Ability to rapidly respond to changing customer behaviours and expectations
• Capability to expand into new territories and markets
• Capacity to handle significantly increased volumes and website traffic
• Additional functionality in continuous development

Specialist knowledge facilitates strong relationships with customers and suppliers

• Strong, committed and experienced management team
• Employees with in-depth specialist knowledge
• Expertise means Gear4music is trusted by major musical instrument and music equipment brands
• Offers a wide range of choice to customers and provides specialist advice during and after the sales process

Well-developed product ranges

• Over 64,200 products from over 1,130 brands
• Reputation for quality and value for money
• Over 4,900 own-brand SKUs, developed over a 20-year period
• Enhanced margin opportunities as volumes increase

Efficient logistics systems

• Operates from six modern facilities with a combined 370,000 square feet footprint
• The most appropriate courier delivery services are automatically selected from more than 38,800 permutations depending on the weight, size, value and destination of the goods being purchased