 Logo used from 2020-2021 | |
| Dawsons Music Co. / Dawsons | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Founded | 1898 (original) 2023 (relaunch) |
| Founder | John Dawson |
| Defunct | December 2021 |
| Products | Musical instruments and consumer audio equipment |
| Owner | Vista Musical Instruments |
| Website | dawsons |
Dawsons Music & Sound, often referred to as Dawsons or Dawsons Music, was a musical instrument and consumer audio retailer with headquarters based in Haydock, Merseyside, UK.
Dawsons Music was established in 1898 in Warrington by John Dawson, a piano tuner, who opened the shop to cater for growing demand from people wanting to buy new instruments.[ citation needed ]
The company was owned by CH & JA Dawson Ltd until 1980, when it was purchased by Thomas David Briggs MBE. In 2010, Mr Briggs was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, responsible for a range of civic duties in the Cheshire region. Thereafter in 2011, Mark Taylor was appointed as Dawsons' new managing director. His appointment made him only the fifth managing director in the company's 115-year history.[ citation needed ]
In 2014, Dawsons announced its trading results over the 2013 Christmas period were the strongest in its history, [1] and it became one of the first retailers in the UK to report how sales from mobile devices were quickly catching up with sales from traditional online sources. [2]
In November 2018, the Briggs family sold all interest in Dawsons Music to turn-around specialist SKG Capital. [3]
In March 2019 Dawsons announced that they will close their Warrington store, ending its 121-year retail presence in the town [4] and also its Altrincham and Huddersfield outlets. [5]
September 2019 saw announcements by Dawsons Music with regards to the termination of their recently promoted CEO, Mark Taylor, [6] and also the sale of their Sankey Street head office and subsequent relocation to Centre Park. [7] As well as the new headquarters the company revealed an updated logo and their ambitious plans for the future. [8]
On 20 April 2020, the board of Dawsons Music filed a Notice Of Intent to appoint Administrators (NOI), and KPMG was later appointed financial control of the business as it entered administration. [9]
On 20 May 2020, it was announced that a new buyer for the business had been found and the company now trades under the name Dawson Music & Sound Ltd. [10] In July 2020 the company moved into a new head office and warehouse location in Haydock, Merseyside.
Due to challenging trading conditions, including the Covid pandemic, reduced high street footfall and increased online competition, Dawsons entered administration again on 1st September 2021, with all stores closing as a result. [11] The company ceased trading and was officially dissolved 1st December 2022.
In June 2023 the company was acquired by Vista Musical Instruments based in Singapore. [12] [13] Vista Musical Instruments which is owned by the parent company of NME and in July 2023 it was announced that NME would relaunch its print issue which would be able to be purchased in August through Dawsons. [14]
Dawsons' Manchester store was one of many United Kingdom city centre locations hit by the 2011 England riots. Thousands of pounds worth of musical instruments and equipment was stolen, and the store was heavily damaged. [15]
In 2004, Dawsons began working with Farida Guitars as the sole UK distributor. Through its association with Dawsons, Farida established relationships with artists like Frank Turner, Bombay Bicycle Club and The Vaccines, creating limited edition 'signature' guitars for each artist. [16]
Newton-le-Willows is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, Merseyside, England. The population at the 2021 census was 24,642. Newton-le-Willows is on the eastern edge of St Helens, south of Wigan and north of Warrington.
Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebranded under its current name with an emphasis on consumer electronics in 1983.
Ian George Brown is an English singer and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead singer and the only continuous member of the alternative rock band the Stone Roses from their formation in 1983. Following the band's initial split in 1996, he began a solo career, releasing seven studio albums, a greatest hits compilation, a remix album, an 11-disc box set titled Collection, and 19 singles. He returned to singing for the Stone Roses in 2011, although this did not spell the end of his solo endeavours, releasing First World Problems through Virgin/EMI Records on 25 October 2018.
Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland, and is still operating as a franchise in seven Middle East countries. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish department store chain Magasin du Nord. In its final years, its headquarters were within the premises of its flagship store in Oxford Street, London. The range of goods sold included middle-to-high-end clothing, beauty, household items, and furniture.
Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 11,416 Haydock's historic area covers the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook ward.
HMV is a music and entertainment retailer, founded in the United Kingdom in 1921. As of February 2024, it is currently operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan and Belgium, as well as having concessions at Toys "R" Us locations in Canada.
Beatport is an American electronic music-oriented online music store owned by LiveStyle. The company is based in Denver, Los Angeles, and Berlin. Beatport is oriented primarily towards DJs, selling full songs as well as resources that can be used for remixes. It also operates a specialized music streaming service oriented towards DJs.
Uncut is a monthly magazine based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections. A DVD magazine under the Uncut brand was published quarterly from 2005 to 2006. The magazine was acquired in 2019 by Singaporean music company BandLab Technologies, and was published by NME Networks from December 2021. to August 2023, when the brand was sold to Kelsey Media.
T. J. Hughes, registered and styled as TJ Hughes, is a British discount department store brand which first emerged in Liverpool in 1912.
A music store or musical instrument store is a retail business that sells musical instruments and related equipment and accessories. Some music stores sell additional services, such as music lessons, music instrument or equipment rental, or repair services.
The Range is a multi-channel retailer selling products in the home, garden, and leisure categories, with over 210 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Elderly Instruments is a musical instrument retailer in Lansing, Michigan, United States, with a reputation as a "megastore", a repair shop and a locus for folk music including bluegrass and "twang". Specializing in fretted instruments, including acoustic and electric guitars, banjos, mandolins, and ukuleles, Elderly maintains a selection of odd or rare instruments. Elderly is known as a premier repair shop for fretted instruments, as one of the larger vintage instrument dealers in the United States, and as a major dealer of Martin guitars in particular.
Sweetwater is an American musical instrument retailer. Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sweetwater is the largest online retailer of musical instruments and pro audio equipment in the United States.
Allans Music was a chain of music stores in Australia. It sold all categories of musical instruments, instrument accessories and sheet music. In 2010 it became Allans Billy Hyde, but collapsed in 2012. It collapsed again in 2018, but into voluntary administration. Shortly after, the Australian Taxation Office ordered the company to enter liquidation. The Billy Hyde Music brand was brought back to life in 2019 by the Dale Cleves Music Group and is now family owned again, and trading in South Australia and Victoria.
Sam Ash Music was founded in 1924, and is the largest family-owned chain of musical instrument stores in the United States, with 44 locations in 16 states. With corporate headquarters in Hicksville, New York, Sam Ash sells musical instruments, recording equipment, DJ and lighting equipment, and professional sound.
Warrington is an industrial town in the borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and until 1974, was part of Lancashire. It is 19 miles (31 km) east of Liverpool, and 18 miles (29 km) west of Manchester.
Farida Guitars is a Chinese musical instruments brand. Farida, launched in 2004, seems to be a copy of Marina guitars and is part of the Grand Reward Education & Entertainment (GREE) portfolio of brands. GREE was founded in 1995, and is based in Guangdong Province. It produces OEM instruments for a selection of other brands in its 120,000 sq. ft. factory. On average, it produces around 13,000 guitars per month.
The Book People Ltd was a UK online bookseller founded in 1988. It went into administration in 2019 and was formally dissolved in 2022.
Play Music Today, formerly known as Professional Music Technology and often shortened to PMT Online, PMT, or PMT Music, is a musical instrument retailer with stores across England and Wales. The warehouse, logistics, sales marketing and e-commerce teams are in Speke, Liverpool, with the original store located in Southend On Sea, UK. PMT's Birmingham location is the biggest music shop in the UK.
BandLab Technologies is a Singaporean company founded in 2015 that operates a social music platform, called BandLab, and also owns a variety of music-related brands, including Harmony and Heritage Guitars; Guitar.com, NME, Uncut and MusicTech.com media platforms; and Swee Lee musical instrument retailer and distributor.