Musical Maverick (Andy's Records)

Member Name: stoffy

Product:	Andy's Records
Date:	24/07/01 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: generally less busy, competitive prices, good customer service

Disadvantages: perhaps less choice, less frequent sales

Andy's Record's is a rare example of how humble beginnings can create a nationwide success story. Andy's was initially set up as a market stall by a man called Andy Gray in 1960's Bury St Edmunds (a small, and very boring market town). The success led to Gray setting up his first shop, before a whole host of them quickly opened up in East Anglia. By the 1990's, it's stores had spread all over the south of England.

The store sells the usuals: CD's, Videos and also the good old cassette. It also benefits from being less busy than many music shops than many chain stores, which means that you can browse at your convenience without having to keep moving aside to let pushchairs go by...

In terms of deco, it's less crammed than some of its rivals, and this gives it a much more relaxed and quality air to it. For example, instead of the Virgin radio DJ promoting the latest singles of the week to death (are they ever able to play a record without using the adjectives 'fantastic' or 'brilliant'?), Andy's usually just plays an album without commentary, so you can listen at your own ease. There are also quite a number of listening posts in the average store.

Unlike the bigger stores such as HMV, Our Price and Virgin, Andy's stocks many fewer titles, and as a consequence, their sales and promotions are on a much lesser scale. Such sales usually consist of 3 for £20 offers or similar. Recently, however, the prices of CD's has seemingly been cut, and many top price titles can now be purchased for around £10 - much cheaper than some of the other stores. It also has an excellent bargain bin, which don't seem to be as frequent nowadays in some of the bigger stores. Essential for finding Lolly's back catalogue... If you are fortunate enough to live in West Suffolk, you may be able to go to the occassional Yard Sale at their headquarters, where very old back catalogue material is s
old at rock bottom prices (e.g. £20 for 10 CD albums). However, it's been a few years since I have seen this happen.

Whilst the slightly limited choice in some smaller branches may by frustrating for the avid record collector, but they do represent a real alternative to the bigger stores.

It manages to maintain the friendly customer service element of the independent store, but with a greater chance of finding (or being able to order) what you want at a resonable price. Therefore, rather than going to the bustling megastores, it is well worth venturing down to your local branch of Andy's Records if you want to be able to take your time over looking for new music.

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