Gear4Music in tune with growth through Europe

Gear4Music.com’s managing director Andrew Wass is confident of creating jobs and achieving growth in Europe at a time when consumers are feeling the pinch.

Four months after securing £3.4m of equity investment from Key Capital Partners (KCP), the online retailer of musical instruments and music-related equipment has completed the first stage of its European expansion.

The business has launched 17 websites to serve European markets, including Germany, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Poland and Portugal. Websites for Cyprus, Finland, Greece and Slovakia will be launched soon.

KCP invested in York-based Gear4Music.com to enable it to expand in the UK and Europe. The company has traded well since KCP’s investment, and so far this year, it has achieved a 20 per cent increase in like-for-like sales, having recorded revenues of £10.2m in the financial year to February 28, 2012.

Gear4Music.com plans to increase its staff numbers from 43 to 50 this month.

Mr Wass said yesterday: “Up until now, around five per cent of our revenue has come from Europe.

“I would like to increase that figure to 20 per cent in a couple of years. In the longer term, we would like the European business to be a similar size to the UK business.

“We have a really good line of our own brand of products that are price competitive at a time when consumers are determined to get a good deal.

“In the next 18 months we hope to hire another 10 staff in Yorkshire. This year we will be hiring up to 20 additional staff for the Christmas period, up from 15 last year.”

The company has grown sales by developing its range of products, including Black Knight guitars, and Minster pianos. It has recently launched a range of bass guitar amplifiers under its new RedSub brand.

Mark Buttler, a director at KCP, who sits on the board of Gear4Music.com, said: “Developing Gear4Music.com’s presence in Europe has been a priority for us since we completed the investment.”