In the mid 1990s, the MARS superstores were opening at a fast and frantic pace, causing some independent dealers to close up or seriously change their business plan. Not Kenny Stanton. His reaction when a MARS opened up right next to his store?
He went toe-to-toe with the big box by immediately buying two more locations. And today, it’s his operation that is celebrating its 65th Anniversary.
“When it’s your livelihood, your family business, you have to fight for it,” he says. “What else can you do? You have to fight for what you love to do. It was a tough five years [competing against MARS], and we had to adapt.”
Today, Ken Stanton Music has five locations serving the greater Atlanta area, and the full-line store deals in everything MI-related except acoustic pianos. Kenny bought the store from his parents in 1992. Ken Stanton passed in 2007, and Kenny’s mother Jane, who also worked at the store, just passed in November of this year. Now the third generation, represented by Kenny’s son Zack, is moving up and poised to put its mark on the operation.
Ken Stanton Senior was a band director with an intense passion for music, and founded the store in 1949 to serve the six area schools (who, it turned out, had no music programs at the time). Stanton realized he had to create the “market” himself, so he met with school leaders convincing them it should and could be done, beginning with himself serving as band director to every school. As more music programs sprouted under his direction, other directors took his place and he was able to focus full-time on the retail operation.
The store itself started in a 10-foot by 20-foot space in the back of a Marietta Square drug store. Fast forward to 2002, when Ken Stanton Music built their state-of-the-art 17,500-square-foot store, which includes 15 lesson rooms, a repair shop, offices, and a warehouse. Over 150 teachers provide over 1,000 lessons a week.
As for Kenny, he started working in his dad’s store when he was 11, helping out however he could and doing minor repair work on instruments. He went on to pursue his own interests and ended up in Florida working construction, but in 1985 he decided to return to the family business.
The younger Stanton was a rock drummer, so when he returned to the family business, he expanded their combo business. “At that time, Ken Stanton Music did not have a single ‘name’ combo line and depended on third- and fourth-tiered products,” says Scott Cameron, GM. A big, well-known combo shop in Atlanta was dominant, but “year by year, Kenny scratched out business through sheer sales willpower and the help of a great sales crew. One by one, he got lines and now we’re one of the strongest music dealers in this area, both in band and orchestra and in combo.”
“He is a great person and a loyal friend, but more importantly, he has a fight in him that is undeniable,” remarks Sharon Hennessey of The Music People. “That, combined with his passion for our industry, is part of the ‘secret sauce’ behind the successful history of Ken Stanton Music.” She adds that his ability to keep and retain good, loyal employees long term is another part of that “secret sauce.”
“As for building customer loyalty, Ken Stanton Music leads in that department. Their customers value the in-store experience [the company provides] on so many different levels. He takes tremendous care to ensure his stores are fully stocked, and a lot of effort is put into making the customer’s visit a great shopping experience. His creative, out-of-the-box thinking has his business getting stronger and more focused.”
Product Mix
MMR: The store was founded on serving the band and orchestra segment – is that still a big part of your operation?
Kenny Stanton: It is. We have a nice repair shop at the Marietta location, and we have three road reps visiting schools serving many band and orchestra programs. In some ways it’s the part of the business that hasn’t changed that much – it’s still about visiting band directors and having a good, competitive rental program.
What are your primary lines there?
Yamaha and Jupiter. And we’re also an Accent dealer and sell Cannonball instruments too.
And strings?
We have our proprietary line of violins, Torellis, which we’ve offered for the past15 years. We also carry Yamaha strings as well.
Tell us about the combo part of Ken Stanton’s Music.
When I got here [in 1985], it was really tough because all the good lines were tied up. I started in drum sales, and I would buy used drums and fix them up and sell them. But gradually over time, we picked up the lines. Today we have Tama, DW, Crush, Pearl, Mapex, and Ludwig. Electronic-wise we have Roland and Yamaha, and we just picked up Kat recently and are doing pretty well with that.
And how is your guitar selection?
We have Fender, Gibson, Paul Reed Smith, Ibanez, ESP, EVH, and Gretsch, electric-wise. Now, while we stock a lot of electrics and do pretty well with them, like everyone else will tell you, acoustics are much stronger right now. For acoustics we have Taylor, Martin, Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, Takamine, and Yamaha.
Are you doing well in the high end?
I think we’re selling a fair amount of high-end instruments, though it seems to me that people with discretionary income are holding onto it more than they were a few months ago.
We are selective. We have a $15,000 DW kit, and some nice high-end Gibson, Fender, and Taylor. And we just brought in Mesa Boogie amps. We have some high-end Orange amps.
The high-end merchandise is important because it shows our customers that this is the place to buy everything. And it helps you sell the middle and the low end as well. In band instruments, we carry [Yamaha’s] Custom Z saxophones and Xeno trumpets.
Good People
You have a staff of 65 employees – what’s the secret in attracting and maintaining good people?
It’s important, because if you don’t have good people, it’s hard to separate yourself from online-sellers. We’re always looking for good people. We’re continually searching out for those who will enjoy working in music retail.
We use a Predictive Index assessment, which is kind of a personality survey that helps you put the right person into the right job. Applicants do it online, and it’s helpful. You don’t want to put people in the wrong position. I call the person the “peg” and the job the “hole.” You don’t want to try to fit the square peg in the round hole!
You’ve got a sophisticated website set up for selling – tell us about that.
It’s taken several years to get where we are now and it’s a work in progress. We’ve been working with a local marketing company to help us set it up, and we’re constantly trying to make it better. We definitely do okay with providing information – people can see what we carry before they come in the store; but we can always do more sales with it.
What’s your marketing strategy and how has it changed over the years?
This was the first year we’ve not been on radio at Christmas. Otherwise, we do our holiday mailer every year, and we do email blasts.
How are you feeling about the store’s 65th anniversary, and the future?
I’m excited about my son being here, and excited about all of us working to keep this thing going for many more years.
I don’t really know about the future… though we’ll always be a brick and mortar company. It’s funny, everybody is so focused on online sales, but I still believe people like to go to stores, see and touch the merchandise, and deal with people, especially in our line of retail.
Times change, and people sing the blues about the old days, but you have to adapt. I still love this business. I’ve been doing it all my life and can’t imagine doing anything else.
