Business name: Beacock Music and Education Center.
Owners: Gayle Beacock and Russ Beacock.
Address: 1420 S.E. 163rd Ave.
What the business does: Gayle Beacock and her brother, Russ Beacock, own a full-line retail music store selling band and orchestra instruments, guitars, drums, sound equipment, sheet music and all musical accessories such as stands, tuners, strings and drum sticks. They specialize in band and orchestra school rentals. They also have a music education center upstairs where 35 teachers teach more than 1,000 students per week. Beacock’s has a fully staffed repair shop for all instruments, including guitar, Gayle Beacock said.
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How has the economy affected your business: She said the education business and the rental business were unaffected — in fact grew — the past few years. The company faced a few new challenges in 2009, with fewer consumers approved for financing, and with customers who were more hesitant to buy higher-priced instruments for themselves, Beacock said. Sales to parents of instruments for their kids remained strong. 2010 has been a record year for sales to date and they stocked heavily for the Christmas season.
Greatest challenge: Convincing the local market that the store’s prices are competitive with “the world,” Beacock said. The store checks online every day to be sure its products are priced appropriately.
