Gear4music.com
Gear4music.com is a York, UK based online retailer of MusicAL INSTRUMENTS and equipment. Andrew Wass founded Gear4music.com in 2003, having run The Submarine recording studio since 1992, also located in York.
As of December 2008, Gear4music.com has 85,000 registered customers, which includes both amateur and professional musicians from the UK and overseas . The company has over 5,600 products listed online and employs 40 staff.
History
Gear4music.com began as The Submarine recording studio. The studio was founded in February 1992. Three years later in November 1995 it became a limited company Submarine Music Limited. The studio was partly funded by the Arts Council. Several notable York based musicians have used the studio. These artists include: session musician Snake Davis, who has recorded with Ray Charles and Jamiroquai amongst others (http://www.snakedavis.com/); the nineties indie band Shed Seven; Miles Gilderdale of smooth jazz group Acoustic Alchemy (http://www.milesgilderdale.com).
Andrew Wass went on to found the company Red Submarine in order to supply specialist audio computers to The Submarine recording studio. Red Submarine began by solely supplying the studio, then expanded into educational and public supply. Manchester United football club was one of the first customers to buy from Red Submarine .
Education customers asked whether Red Submarine could also supply musical instruments. Andrew looked for ways of increasing the number of products the company could offer. As a result Gear4music.com was founded, with funding from an Angel investor, sourced through Business Link North Yorkshire , and a Department Of Trade and Industry loan . Online sales of musical instruments, equipment and computers followed. Gear4music.com retails both branded products, and own brand items .
Gear4music now employs 40 staff, with over 85,000 registered customers. In 2007 turnover was £4.3 million, and is expected this year to reach £6 million. Gear4music has achieved at least 35% growth in each of the last three years .
In 2004 Gear4music got through to the finals of the Department of Trade and Industry’s e-commerce awards, after winning the regional award in e-trading , . In 2007 the company won the Growth Business Category in the local York paper’s (The Press) business awards .
Merchant partnerships
In 2007 Gear4music.com opened a studio for Object Photography - a company specializing in 360 degree photography - at its York premises. Gear4music uses this software with the majority of its own brand instruments .
Operations
Headquarters
Gear4music’s headquarters are located on York Business Park, York. As of July 2008, the company has of warehousing space and an exhibition centre of that also contains offices .
Previous locations
After the establishment of the Red Submarine computer company, a small shop was opened on Heslington Road, York. As the business expanded they moved from these two premises into a unit on James Street, York, in 1998. In 2004 Gear4music moved to a larger warehouse on James Street, before moving to their first warehouse York Business Park in 2005.
Product lines
The first product line launched by Red Submarine was PC computers for music recording and production. The first product line released by Gear4music was electric guitars. Available product lines grew to include the majority of musical instruments and equipment; both own brand and branded products are available .
In October 2007 Gear4music launched its first range of premium products – White Horse Amplification . A further range of premium instruments was launched at the Music Learning Live conference in 2008 including Black Knight Guitars & Basses, White Horse Drums, Coppergate Brass, Rosedale Woodwind and Archer Strings .
Website
The Red Submarine site first went online in 1998, and the Gear4music site in 2003. As of October 2008 the Red Submarine website and domain www.sub.co.uk no longer exists, and has been amalgamated into one domain at www.gear4music.com.