Dawsons Music on song as festive sales hit new high
DAWSONS, the long-established North West musical instrument retailer, has reported its best ever festive trading results.
The Warrington-based chain, which was founded in the town in 1898, now has 12 stores, most in the North West and Yorkshire, along with internet mail order and education divisions, recorded the strongest ever November and December in its history.
The group, owned by the Cheshire-based Briggs family, also broke its previous records for weekly and individual day sales, while its web division continued to demonstrate significant growth.
Sales in November and December were 20% up on the same period in 2012, with the company selling more than 1,000 pianos, 1,000 guitars each week, and more than 10,000 plectrums in December alone.
Online sales continues to grow and now represent a significant proportion of the overall business. Visits from mobile phones and tablets doubled this Christmas, accounting for almost half of all online traffic.
Managing director Mark Taylor said: “These fantastic results prove that the British appetite for learning and playing music is higher than ever.
“We’re now looking forward to further growth and the realisation of some exciting plans in 2014 as we continue to expand our store portfolio.”
In its most recent financial filings for the year to the end of May, the company, which has around 100 staff, reported an 8.8% increase in annual sales to £16.1m.
Dawsons has stores in Manchester, Altrincham, Warrington, Chester, Stockport Bangor, Leeds and Huddersfield. Further afield there are also shops in Reading, Basingstoke and Belfast.
