Retail & Consumer Services

Gear4music (Holdings) plc

  • Market Cap (£m) 21.8
  • Listing AIM

Analysts

Company Description

Gear4music (G4M) is the leading UK online retailer of musical instruments and music equipment. Based in York, it has also established operating bases in Sweden and Germany to spearhead its expansion into Europe. It operates more than 20 localised country websites in 15 languages with nine currencies and can ship its products to 190 countries. G4M's product offer, based on long-term supplier relationships, extends to over 60,000 lines, including its highly profitable own-brand ranges. Operating a low-cost model, with further efficiency gains targeted, G4M is profitable from the first customer transaction, achieving a 250% gross margin return on its marketing investment in new customer acquisition. With many staff members playing or producing music, G4M can rightfully describe itself as 'a business for musicians run by musicians'.

Investment Summary

G4M has built a flexible, scalable, low-cost business model, including a European distribution infrastructure and local buying capabilities, which also helps to mitigate Brexit and supply chain risks. G4M benefits from several barriers to entry. The most significant of these - and a source of sustainable competitive advantage - is its proprietary and bespoke end-to-end e-commerce platform, developed and continuously enhanced over a 15-year period. G4M has significant growth potential from market share expansion, both in the UK and mainland Europe, in a highly fragmented product market undergoing a structural shift into the online channel. The company's primary growth drivers are international expansion, product range extension, continued e-commerce platform investment and further enhancement of digital marketing and content.

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Company Management Team

  • Andrew Wass

    Chief Executive Officer

    Andrew has over 25 years’ business management experience, having founded Gear4music Limited (then called Soundpro Limited) in 1995. In 1998 he began selling IT systems for the audio recording market before launching ‘Gear4music’ in 2003. Since then, Andrew has retained overall responsibility for driving the Group’s growth. Between 1992 and 1998, Andrew set up and ran his own recording studio business, having studied Popular Music and Sound Recording at the University of Salford. Andrew is a keen pianist.

  • Chris Scott

    Chief Financial Officer

    Before joining Gear4music in October 2012, Chris was the Finance Director at Officers Club, overseeing the sale of the business to Blue Inc. Chris joined the audit team of KPMG LLP in Leeds in 1997, qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2000 and went on to spend nine further years in their advisory practice including a year on secondment at Barclays Bank. He holds an Executive Masters in Business Administration.

Key Dates

Apr 2020
23rd
Q4 TU
Actual
Jun 2020
23rd
Finals
Actual
Jul 2020
23rd
Q1 TU
Actual
Sep 2020
1st
AGM
Actual
Oct 2020
22nd
Q2 TU
Actual
Nov 2020
17th
Interims
Actual
Jan 2021
14th
Q3 TU
Actual
Feb 2021
25th
Q4 TU
Actual
Apr 2021
22nd
Q4 TU
Actual
Jun 2021
22nd
Finals
Actual
Jul 2021
23rd
Q1 TU
Estimate
Sep 2021
9th
AGM
Actual
Oct 2021
13th
Q2 TU
Actual
Nov 2021
16th
Interims
Actual
Jan 2022
20th
Q3 TU
Actual
Apr 2022
21st
Q4 TU
Actual
Jun 2022
22nd
Finals
Actual
Sep 2022
9th
Q1 TU
Actual
Oct 2022
20th
Q2 TU
Actual
Nov 2022
15th
Interims
Actual
Jan 2023
19th
Q3 TU
Actual
Apr 2023
6th
Q4 TU
Actual
Jun 2023
21st
Finals
Estimate
Sep 2023
9th
Q1 TU
Estimate
Oct 2023
20th
Q2 TU
Estimate
Nov 2023
15th
Interims
Estimate
Apr 2024
6th
Q4 TU
Estimate