Music shop Sound and Vision has been a South Street mainstay in Elgin town centre for more 40 years.
Generations of musicians bought their first instruments inside, queued for gig tickets outside and stepped through the door to pick up accessories.
Shopping in Elgin and across the world has changed beyond recognition since 1980 though.
The Press and Journal spoke to father and son Vic and Graham Flett, who own Sound and Vision together, to learn about the challenges and opportunities in Elgin town centre today, including:
- Why a town centre presence continues to be important, despite extra costs.
- The opportunities online shopping has brought for specialist retailers.
- Why “selfish” illegal parking is a big concern for traders.
- Worries continuing construction work on South Street is affecting till takings.
- The one big change Vic and Graham would make if starting Sound and Vision from scratch.
‘We wanted to be on Elgin High Street but couldn’t afford it’
Sound and Vision originally wasn’t in the town centre at all. It started life in 1980 selling DJ equipment and vinyl records on South College Street in a tiny unit which is now The Hairshop.
Vic and his friend David both had other jobs at the time and only opened Sound and Vision two nights a week and all day on Saturdays.
Two years later, they made the move to South Street in the town centre to grow the business.
Moving to the town centre was a priority, but they couldn’t afford their ideal High Street location due to an issue that continues today.
Vic, 74, said: “The High Street was where we wanted to be but it was way too expensive.
“I had worked for a company called Roadrunner Records which had a shop on the High Street so I knew how much the business rates were.
“I knew the costs would be prohibitive, they still are, so we started off in a small shop next door before moving where we are now in 1989.”
Despite the additional costs that come with a town centre presence, Vic is still adamant it’s the only place to be for local retailers.
He said: “Back when we started it was the only place to shop, there were no retail parks or online. You had to be in the town centre.
“A lot of the manufacturers we did business with wanted that High Street or town centre presence, they wouldn’t sell to you otherwise.
“Even today though I wouldn’t thinking about opening up in a warehouse or industrial estate.
“I don’t think it would work for us. People expect to see businesses like us in the town centre, I don’t think they would come to us on a retail park or industrial estate.”
Frustrations with illegal parking in Elgin town centre
Drivers flouting parking restrictions in Elgin town centre has been one of the biggest concerns in recent years.
Cars and vans parked on pavements, double yellow lines and in disabled and loading bays have been commonplace.
However, things could be changing with Moray Council now paying for police overtime to enforce the rules.
The initiative resulted in 79 fines being issued in just three days in early April, a staggering 61% of the total issued in the whole of 2023.
Addressing illegal parking on South Street has been a big concern for Vic in recent years.
He said: “We see cars sitting in loading bays all day as if it was normal. The loading bays are obviously there for deliveries.
“I’ve been through it all with the police in the past. I’ve called up, I’ve noted down number plates and reported them.
“The police have come down a few times. It’s good to see them doing something about it now. It must be frustrating for them, I’m sure they’d rather be doing other things.
“It’s just selfishness from the drivers, people can be lazy.”
Online shopping has opened Sound and Vision to the world
Sound and Vision doesn’t rely on seasonal trade, it has waves of customers that come and go through the front door through the year.
Sales of various musical instrument accessories are the main day-to-day business with big one-off sales, including electric pianos, providing a boost.
The firm has also diversified into fitting sound systems into buildings including village halls.
With footfall in the town centre being an unreliable gauge for the business, the specialist music retailer has found a new source of revenue online.
Graham said: “With the internet we’re now sending stuff all over the world.
“Just recently a guy from New Zealand has been in touch, we also send to the US and Canada regularly and also Europe, but less so after Brexit.
“It’s specific items that people are usually after, sometimes items that aren’t manufactured anymore so they’re harder to find.
“I was e-mailing someone from New York recently and they were talking as if we were just down the street. I don’t know if he knew where we are, but it’s good to still have that connection with people.
“We have listings on Reverb, which is a specialist music site a bit like Etsy. It’s a site just for musicians, there’s nothing else there, so it’s great for a specialist like us. We used to use eBay too, but it’s too expensive now.
“We’re lucky that we get a good number of people coming to us to trade in. A lot of it is in very good condition, which makes it attractive for people looking for some harder-to-find items.”
Worries about ongoing construction work on South Street
Roadworks have been a permanent fixture on South Street for nearly a year with no imminent end in sight.
Extensive renovation are already underway on the Crown Office building as well as the prominent Gordon & MacPhail corner building.
And a Moray Council-led project to refurbish the former Junners toy shop into smaller retail units with flats above is also planned.
Vic and Graham believe the long-term works are having a dramatic impact on South Street footfall but remain optimistic about the end results.
Graham said: “When you look down the street at the moment all you see is a lot of construction work and you think ‘That isn’t the way I want to go.’
“It also means that we’ve lost a lot of the parking up the side of the street for shoppers to stop and drop.
“We’ve already had it for a while and it looks like the works we’ve got at the moment might just run on into the Junners works, which is a worry.
“Don’t get me wrong though, if the Junners project comes through and there’s more retail in there then it can only be a good thing for the street.”
Vic added: “Poundland opening up soon will make a big difference to the High Street, just to have that corner open again.
“They’ve done a great job with the building too. It’ll put the rest of the building owner’s down the High Street to shame.”
What changes would Sound and Vision make if they started again?
After more than 40 years in business, Sound and Vision has survived countless changes in Elgin town centre and continues to be a go-destination for musicians.
Knowing what they know now though, would they do anything differently?
Without hesitation, Vic said: “We’d have a smaller shop.”
Vic revealed Sound and Vision currently has an annual business rates bill of £11,000, a fee he has repeatedly appealed and contested over the years with no success.
Graham added: “Yes, I think realistically it would need to be smaller. We’ve got the benefit her of a good shop space but all the storage space we have makes the rates ridiculous.
“When you look around the town you see properties filling up reasonably quickly, but it’s all the smaller properties that are under the rates threshold.
“You’re only really going to see the major chains opening up in the big units on the High Street now because they’re the only ones who can afford it.”
Vic said: “I think we’d still want to be in the town centre, or close to it though. It’s where people expect to find businesses like us.”
Graham added: “Yes, I think so. Being on an industrial estate wouldn’t work for us and the Edgar Road retail park units are vastly too big for us.”
Read more from Elgin town centre businesses
- Why Elgin High Street will always be the place to be for Little the Jewellers
- How Elgin family centre Fika turned venue where The Beatles played into natural home to fill untapped demand for children’s parties
- Catastrophic water leaks, major fires and historic boardroom deals: Timeline of 6 years of Poundland works in Elgin
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