"It's been an institution in the Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal music scenes for decades, but Steve's Music will soon be shutting down almost all of its stores. On Saturday, the chain announced it was liquidating inventory at all five of its locations. According to its Ottawa manager, the plan is to close every store save for the one on rue Sainte-Catherine in Montreal."
"Frederic Laforge was also in the Catherine Street store looking for an electric guitar. He said he's been shopping at Steve's Music for 25 years and was upset by the impending closures. "The world of artists is already difficult, and we're removing more support to them," Laforge said. "So then, who wins is the big guys, the bigger store who gets all the business. And those medium, small guys are struggling.""
Steve's Music will liquidate inventory and close almost all of its five stores, retaining only the rue Sainte-Catherine Montreal location. Longtime Ottawa manager Dan Sauve said he is at peace and had seen market trends and the writing on the wall. Customers and musicians flocked to the Ottawa outlet after the announcement, expressing concern about reduced local options and damage to the music community. Frederic Laforge warned that closures benefit large retailers and weaken small and medium stores. Company founder Steve Kirman opened the first store in Old Montreal in 1965. The Ottawa outlet moved from ByWard Market to Centretown amid rising crime, and the chain plans to shift chiefly to online retail.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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