Welsh veteran Cranes closing its doors

Veteran Welsh music shop Cranes is to become the latest UK MI store to close after more than 30 years in the business.

The shop, based in Swansea’s St David’s Shopping Centre, has been trading since 1987 but will soon close its doors for good. It also means the whole firm, which was established in Cardiff in 1851, will cease trading.

Lee Jones, the manager of the Swansea store, also worked at the Cardiff branch which closed a few years ago, called it “the end of an era”.

He said: “It’s hard to put your finger on what exactly it is but retail is down all over and instruments are available online so it starts to get into price wars. We’ve always had the shadow of the building being torn down [as part of regeneration plans] and there’s been less and less footfall so it’s hard to stock the gear that people ask for so it slowly starts to slow down.

“It’s been different with just Swansea left as the one in Cardiff closed a couple of years ago. There’s not as much footfall as Cardiff so it’s been a struggle. It’s the end of an era for Cranes.”

“For our regular, loyal customers it’s not just a shop, it’s a social thing as people like to come in here and absorb the atmosphere.

“We’ve had really loyal customers over the years but the majority of people are buying online and we can’t compete. We’ve got a huge tuition school here too so we’re going to try and keep that going and find a new premises. It’s a real shame as there are no other businesses like us in Swansea.”