Over the last week or so, we've been seeing more and more of your faces popping past the windows. With the recently announced June 15th date in mind, the one question that seems to be resonating with you all is... "when are you opening again?"
If you don't want to read this full update, here is the headline; Although we really miss you, we have no plans to re-open the Drift shop imminently.
The website remains very much in business and your brisk and regular shopping has been a fantastic support over the last few months. It's been a game changer. We have revamped the way the website handles Click & Collect (read more) and we're very happy for you to use that service and come and pick up your musical wares at the door. Re-opening the physical door for browsing racks, hanging out and coffee remains very much firmly in our sights, but the benefit of being an independent business is that we can speak to you honestly and candidly from the perspective of the people who will be making the decisions.
Logistics aside, it is our position as of June 2020 that it would not be wise and it would not be safe for us to open again yet. We are not epidemiologists, neither are we prophets and we are certainly not doomsayers, but we do find ourselves again in the position of being the decision makers with regards to the best interests of our shop, our customers and our families. In early March the UK government did not categorically make the decision to close small 'non-essential' retail businesses whilst it was evidently clear that the rate of infection was spreading like wildfire. We made the decision to close the door ourselves because it was the right thing to do. Conversely, we're now assured that on 15th June it will be safe for us to open our doors again, but we have little to no faith that these decisions are solely based on safety and wellbeing. Whether you agree with us or not, as people with young families and relatives that we are shielding, we simply do not feel that it is suitable to open again to the general public in the way we were before. Record Shops are a place of high contact.
We have begun work to change the layout of the shop so that we can safely invite you (in some capacity) back into the shop, but there are some really tricky elements that we need to navigate first. It is worth noting that we'll have a new shop front door, but this wont be fitted until July at the earliest so this gives you some hint at timelines. We're really excited to reinvigorate the space and think about what the core function of 'the record shop' should and can be. We'll be back and we'll be energised, but we wanted to give you all an honest update about how we're feeling and confirm that we do not foresee an open door in the short term.
We're here and there is much to be excited about. Keep shopping online and keep in touch, we do miss you all very much.
