ONE of the UK’s biggest music chains has pulled its entire website offline and shut for “maintenance”.
The abrupt move, which took place on March 25, has sparked fears the iconic business may close for good.
GAK, which stands for Guitar, Amp and Keyboard, is a musical instrument and equipment retailer, operating in three Brighton stores and online.
It has been staple of the music scene since its inception in 1992 – and usually operates seven days a week.
So the sudden – and unannounced – closure came as a shock to locals, who quickly began speculating online.
One customer, who had ordered a guitar online, was stunned to receive an email saying that the business was not currently trading, according to The Argus.
It reportedly stated: “Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances the shop is closed and we’re unable to do any trading for the time being.”
Neighbouring shops “expressed confusion” about the turn of events – which also saw listings pulled from the website.
Meanwhile, a “permanently closed” sign also popped up on Google Maps – despite its social media channels remaining active.
Music buffs were further perplexed by a fast sale request that went up on the Business Sale Report marketplace, which appeared to match GAK’s description.
The company for sale was described as a musical instrument retailer and supplier in southeast England, with a turnover of £20,364,000
The statement added: “An exciting opportunity to acquire one of the UK’s largest and most trusted musical instrument retailers.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Why are shops closing stores? ” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6353582364112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]“Offers are invited from serious buyers. Initial offers are to be submitted by 5pm on Friday 28th March 2025, with best and final offers to be submitted by 5pm on Monday 31 March 2025.”
GAK was founded by as a humble market stall by enthusiast Gary Marshall.
It later became one of the first British retailers to run a mail-order service – before also expanding to online sales in 2002.
The company was acquired by co-managing directors Ian Stephens and Max McKellar in 2021 – who hoped to further grow its online presence.
They told The Argus at the time: “While GAK and the music industry have encountered and overcome challenges in recent years, we are now perfectly placed to take advantage of both short and long-term opportunities.”
The news comes after WHSmith confirmed plans to sell all its remaining highstreet stores in a £76 million deal.
The 232 year-old British business has agreed to offload the 500 branches to Modella Capital – which will eventually rebrand them as TGJones.
WHSmith has been slowly shifting away from its shops in town centres and shopping outlets at it turns its focus to its more lucrative travel brand.
Chief Carl Cowling said: “We have a highly successful Travel business, operating in fast growing markets in 32 countries and we are constantly innovating to deliver strong returns and meet our customers’ and partners’ needs.
“Our Travel business currently accounts for around 75% of the Group’s revenue and 85% of its trading profit.”
[boxout headline=”RETAIL PAIN IN 2025″ intro=”The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.”]Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
