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Beloved family-run US retailer to shut down all stores after 100 years
An iconic family-run chain of music stores has been forced to shut down all of its shops after exactly 100 years.
Sam Ash, which opened its first store in Brooklyn in 1924, announced it would soon be closing all forty-two of its locations in a statement.
All of the chain's stores, which span New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Ohio, will close by the end of July.
Sam Ash has supplied guitars, pianos, keyboards, drums to countless amateur and professional musicans.
The remaining stock is being sold off cheaply to clear stock, bosses said.
'It is with a heavy heart that we announce that all Sam Ash Music store locations will begin store closing sales,' a statement from the Ash family read.
'Thank you for allowing us to serve musicians like you for 100 years. With much love and deep gratitude' it added.
Iconic family-run music business Sam Ash is set to close all 42 of its stores
The Ash family said closures were inevitable due to online shopping
It's main rival over the years was Guitar Center, which now has more than 300 shops.
But Derek Ash, who has continued his great-grandparents legacy, told the New York Times the stores ultimately could no longer compete with online retail.
'A lot of this has been the move to online shopping,' Ash, the company's chief marketing officer told the Times.
'There are so many choices, and to maintain a store with that much selection is very difficult.'
Musicians expressed their sadness that the stores were to close and recalled their fond memories of visiting over the years.
Two-time Emmy Award-winning composer Michael Whalen told the Times he used to frequent the Sam Ash location on West 48th Street in Manhattan in the 1990s.
'Since the pandemic, you go around the city and you're constantly remarking at all these things that have closed,' Whalen told the publication.
'This feels like that sort of denouement. The city is changing so much and a lot of people accuse Manhattan of being a place only for superrich people.
'I can see that because the places that made it feel like a community are going away' he added.
Sam Ash settled in New York City in 1907 after immigrating from Austria
His wife, Rose, pawned her engagement ring to come up with the $400 down payment needed to open the first Sam Ash store
Many musicians expressed their sadness that the stores were to close and recalled their fond memories of visiting over the years
Rock guitarist and Billy Idol collaborator Steve Stevens also lamented the closures.
'Even though it was a corporate, multicity store, it still had kind of a mom-and-pop feel to it,' Stevens told the Times.
'It was always the place I hung out at 48th Street in Manhattan. It just seemed like family.'
Sam Ash settled in New York City in 1907 after immigrating from Austria, aged ten.
He first worked in the garment industry and played violin at weddings but soon became determined to open up a music store.
His wife, Rose, pawned her engagement ring to come up with the $400 down payment needed to open the first Sam Ash store.
Over the decades the business grew but in alter years was continually battling practices such as 'showrooming', where customers come into stores to try out instruments but then buy the instrument online elsewhere.
Many other retailers have closed stores in the wake of online shopping's domination.
In the week ending April 26, retailers announced they would close 169 stores across the country.
Stores included included Express, Outfox Hospitality, Shop 'n Save, Urban Outfitters and Walmart.
Physical stores in shopping malls, strip malls, downtown centers and on main street in towns have been under threat from online retail and changing tastes.
'Year to date, in 2024, major US retailers have announced 7.4 percent fewer openings and 12.3 percent more closures compared to the same time last year,' read a Coresight Research report on the closures.