AshK
Hamilton’s The Listening Post has opened a new store inside Auckland’s Real Groovy music store. It’s an interesting location – theoretically Real Groovy is filled with people who are seriously into music and somewhat uniquely for Auckland, with people who are into vinyl.
So the combination of record store and hi-fi/AV store should be a perfect match. I have to say that the right hand side of Real Groovy (as you walk in) is looking better than it has in a while, there’s the new Listening Post section, more clothes and boots than I recall seeing in a while, along with a small cafe (which needs some seating).
The Listening Post has only been open since just before Christmas and at this stage of play, the stock covers cash and carry items such as headphones and table radios along with a fair amount of Bose gear, a couple of Pro-Ject turntables and some Cambridge Audio and Jamo stereo components with a Wadia iTransport on display as well. There are expansion plans in the wings and more stock should be coming in over the next few months including more turntables and vinyl components.
It’s a brave move and I for one hope it succeeds. There’s a fair amount of negative sentiment out there aimed at Real Groovy for bad service, lousy store layout and low stock levels. Maybe this is the start of the turn-around?
