Lucky Fret in Shoreditch AWOL?

hermannkymn

 On my recent couple of visits in the new year I've found the shutters down at my relatively local Lucky Fret shop at Shoreditch High St. Looks like even the website is down now.

Anyone else notices this/have any idea what's going on with them? Nice guys working there - hope its nothing serious. 

Belated happy new year to all.

Whitecat

Website is dead... doesn’t bode well...

earwighoney

hermannkymn said:

 On my recent couple of visits in the new year I've found the shutters down at my relatively local Lucky Fret shop at Shoreditch High St. Looks like even the website is down now.

Anyone else notices this/have any idea what's going on with them? Nice guys working there - hope its nothing serious. 

Belated happy new year to all.

Send them a message on FB?

https://www.facebook.com/luckyfretmusicco/

chris78

I went around October time and they were open then. Downstairs was shut but no issue opening it up. I quite like the place and the guys there are knowledgeable. It’d be a shame if it’s folded as there are very few stores in london

Jono111

According to Google it is only open on Sundays 11-5

Strat54

On Insta....
luckyfret *Announcement*
I’m very sad to have to announce that after 6 years of trading, Lucky Fret has had to close its doors for good. It’s been one hell of a ride! Met some amazing people, made some great friends and played some of the best gear on the planet! I wanted to personally thank all of our customers and everyone who has supported us over the years. I also wanted to say a special thank you to everyone who has been part of our team - you’re all awesome, I’ve got some great memories, and it was a pleasure working with you! I like to think Lucky Fret made a really positive impact on the community and the industry as a whole. I’m really proud of what we achieved together, and I’ll miss it a lot. .
Onwards and upwards! Stay posted, I’m sure there will be exciting new things to come...

fretfinder

I looked at their website occasionally whenever they sent me a ‘sale on now’ email. Their ‘reduced’ prices of Fender CS guitars brought them down to about the same price as other dealers were selling them for anyway. Their vintage prices were eye-watering I recall - no doubt they’d do deals but why not just advertise more realistic prices in the first place? I’m sure that would have got more people through the door. I appreciate they would’ve had high rent/rates in London but in a very price-sensitive market if you’re not competitive you’ll fail.

barnstorm

"Their 'reduced' prices… brought them down to about the same prices as other dealers were selling them for anyway.'

Never visited Lucky Fret, but I always wonder about this problem when I pop into a small shop. Do they not pay enough attention to know when a particular model is being blown out by all the big boys, or can they just not afford to sell at anything less than full price, even if that ultimately proves self-defeating?

I did a year abroad when I was at university (many years ago now) and spent a month living above a bloke who sold and repaired pianos. He had a pretty good life. Made me think for a bit that I'd like to go into MI retail, but it seems hopeless now unless you're a massive box-shifter or one of very few established 'destination' stores.

thebreeze

fretfinder said:

I looked at their website occasionally whenever they sent me a ‘sale on now’ email. Their ‘reduced’ prices of Fender CS guitars brought them down to about the same price as other dealers were selling them for anyway. Their vintage prices were eye-watering I recall - no doubt they’d do deals but why not just advertise more realistic prices in the first place? I’m sure that would have got more people through the door. I appreciate they would’ve had high rent/rates in London but in a very price-sensitive market if you’re not competitive you’ll fail.

It's got to be because they were based in Shoreditch surely? Must be uber expensive to have a shop round there.  My sense was they were trying to capture "the City" market as much as anything - "got my bonus, I'll buy a nice guitar" kind of thing.

Whitecat

The North American Guitar tried Shoreditch for a while too, didn’t they? But they gave up and moved almost entirely out of London...

TeleMaster

Whitecat said:

The North American Guitar tried Shoreditch for a while too, didn’t they? But they gave up and moved almost entirely out of London...

My mate worked for them. Didn't speak highly of them at all. 

DB1

Who did he work for? Lucky Fret or TNAG? 

JD50

I was in Lucky Fret a couple of months ago, they were my nearest guitar shop.

I'd pop in to buy strings now and again & always popped downstairs to look at the vintage stuff. The last time I went the vintage section was almost empty & they told me CITIES had made it difficult for them to import export.... perhaps that's what did for them... cant see how they can compete on new stuff with the big box shifters.

Hydra19

It was my local shop while at work, as I work in Shoreditch and I went in there often on my lunch breaks. Always nice people there, but I didn't see them doing much business. They had a few vintage high-priced guitars, and there was always something to see downstairs. It also served me well to try out guitars. What I had also noticed in the last few months was that half of the shop started selling coffee! I walked in and asked what it was about and I got the impression half of the space was sold to the coffee making business as that whole half of the shop had any instruments removed. I wondered who thought this was I good idea, but I guess they had to do it. 
I have been going by there daily to see if it had reponed, but I guess now I know it never will. Oh well, another one bites the dust

soma1975

Probably figured 'you love overpriced shit? Then you'll LOVE our coffee'. 

TeleMaster

DB1 said:

Who did he work for? Lucky Fret or TNAG? 

North American. 

brooom

Is there any place in Shoreditch that doesn't sell coffee... I think everyone there is a barista of some sort.

idiotwindow

brooom said:

Is there any place in Shoreditch that doesn't sell coffee..

Starbucks.

Hydra19

The worst thing about it is that put out two tiny chairs and a tiny table right next to the shop entrance so you can sit and enjoy your coffee, while having people push by you because the sidewalk is too narrow for 2 people to walk by each other, let alone someone sipping their coffee alone in their thoughts. You add all the construction noise and the occasional junkie, it really makes no sense to have a coffee there.

jellyroll

Is this the shop that used to be called something like Vintage Guitar Boutique?

Benjamino22

Yeah, it used to be VGB.  It's a shame, the guy who ran it, Steve, always seemed like a very nice bloke and was always very accommodating with me.  It was handy to have a guitar shop nearby for random stuff and they had a good pedal range (Chase Bliss, Death by Audio etc).

Agreed on the sales, the reductions were always a bit feeble - no proper bargains to be had.

NAG was further north, a beautiful space up past Old Street on the canal but was appointment only.  I went once to check out something but booking an appointment always felt like more of a commitment to buy than just being able to stop by.  Their range wasn't any more high end than somewhere like Coda and certainly not as extensive - on the electric side of things anyway.  I have not ventured to their new out of town space.

I went to Coda the other week and was left to play in peace with some super high end stuff.  No pressure, no hassle, just space to play and think.  I am consistently impressed by those guys and if I have something to buy, I try and buy it there first.