lieves the “secret sauce” this season will be giving customers more flexibility at the point of purchase. A&G has spent the summer developing financing options with its banking partners, giving the store additional tools to deploy during Q4. The store is also extending its own financing model to existing customers who are ready to move beyond a rental or student-level instrument. “We’re leveraging our relationships with our banks and do some famous cash type financing for our customers on pro models, and then we’re going to doing in-house financing for our current customers who maybe have a rental or student instrument and want to step up to that intermediate instrument,” Christie said. “We’re going to finance that for them in the same way as we do a rental.” A&G wants to meet customers and their shopping habits where they’re at this holiday season and to make it more acces- sible for parents to alleviate any financial strain. The store already has experience with subscription-style models through its rental business, and Christie sees an opportunity to extend that concept to in- strument care and consumables. “We’re focused on making a good in- strument attainable through attainable payments, which is where our customers are right now,” Christie said. “Costs are going up on everything. A creative way for us to combat that for our customers is offering holiday specials on the consum- able stuff that is getting more expensive for these parents, and put it on a recur- ring purchase situation. A lot of folks, including us, do subscription plans with our rentals.” For example, the store can offer a trum- pet package structured as a subscription. Customers pay a monthly fee and receive consumable products on a recurring basis. Once a quarter, they receive a certificate that can be used toward covered instru- ment repair. Several times throughout the year, larger step-up purchases can be incorporated into the plan based on the player’s progression. The model is designed to address both the immediate financial needs of families and the longer-term relationship between the retailer and its customers. “This accomplishes a lot in terms of meeting our customers where their needs are right now financially, but also hopefully for the recurring business, if it works out, they get used to being on that plan, and we’ll just continue to offer it.” MI
Robert Christie
A&G Central Music is leveraging financing, subscription-style packages to help families manage rising costs while investing in quality instruments.
A &G Central Music in Troy, Michi- gan, is shaking things up this holiday season by launching a new sales promo by extending its finance model. The retailer has experimented successfully with promotions in the past, including a “trade-in, trade-up” program designed to help customers who initially purchased inexpensive instruments online make the jump to higher-quality gear. Under the promotion, customers could bring in an entry-level instrument they had purchased elsewhere online and receive the full retail price they paid as credit toward a new, higher-quality instrument. “That was really successful because people
were realizing that the $80 clarinet isn’t even worth the $80 they paid for it, but they can get that full $80 back to step up,” said Robert Christie, company president. This year, however, the retailer is taking a different approach as it prepares for an uncertain holiday selling season. “It’s hard to say what Christmas is going to be like this year, but most of the forecasts say that flat to potentially one point to two points up, one point to two points down is what they’re looking at,” Christie said. REIMAGINING HOLIDAY SHOPPING With that in mind, Christie said he be-
40 I MUSIC INC. I OCTOBER 2026
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