Macclesfield indie facing closure

Long-standing Macclesfield independent Margin Music, has admitted it may not not be around for much longer.

The shop has been open for 30 years, but owner Mary Kirkpatrick fears rising costs and declining footfall on the high street, which has seen a lot of shops already close, has created a unsustainable situation for the business. 

She told The Macclesfield Express: “Obviously the internet has made things very difficult for many high-street shops, and this combined with the decline of Macclesfield town centre has seriously reduced footfall. Daily it seems shops become empty and almost the only thing that can afford to replace them is the charity shops which now abound. Sadly this does not make an attractive environment for people to visit and the memory of a bustling market town is long gone except for the last Sunday of the month.

“We are fighting hard to survive but every year sales go down and overheads up, eventually that is unsustainable.”

The shop originally opened in 1986, selling records and tapes before expanding to sell instruments and hire PA and lighting equipment. In 1997 it switched its focus solely on instruments.

Kirkpatrick added: “I like to think that almost every musical home in Macclesfield has an instrument or piece of equipment bought from Margins. But as a music teacher I find it very sad that a town the size of Macclesfield may end up without a music shop where once there were three.

“When I opened a tiny record shop, little did I think that 30 years on we would still be trading.

“Things have become increasingly difficult more recently, however, and unfortunately a 31st birthday does not look very likely at this point. It is really important that people in Macclesfield support their independent shops. Once they’re gone it’s too late.”