Oldest record store Spillers reopens

Iconic Cardiff independent record store Spillers will tomorrow begin the next chapter in its celebrated history. After upping sticks from its home of over 60 years in The Hayes at the end of June, the oldest record store in the world is poised to reopen in its airy new base, nestled inside the nearby Morgan Arcade. Flying in the face of a flagging music industry, Spillers has endured an uncertain future for several years, chiefly thanks to rising rent prices and the surrounding city centre's radical redevelopment. Yet the business has steadfastly weathered a tough economical climate and downloading-precipitated physical record sales nosedives. The fresh start extends beyond a shift in immediate surroundings: sisters Ashli and Grace Todd are now pushing Spillers forward. Their father, Nick, chose the relocation as a fitting juncture to hand control of the business down a generation, after 24 years as owner and employee for a further 11. Injecting comparatively youthful vim – the siblings are 27 and 31 respectively – Spillers is in good hands on the evidence of the quick tour we take around their Morgan Arcade work in progress. An airier base camp bathed in natural light, the main ground floor space sparkles with greater modernity than its predecessor. With plans, upstairs, for a mezzanine browsing area – or vinyl perusing landing, as they have jokingly labelled it – intimate charms that cemented a place in South Wales record buyers' hearts remain. "It's all coming together," says manager, Ashli. "Moving was a 24/7 job for two weeks solid. It's really nice to be so close to the old premises, but The Hayes has developed beyond all recognition and it wasn't 'us' at all, opposite a high street and top-end designer shopping. It would have been difficult to make the changes that we want within the shadow of that premises. "For starters I want to assert the things we do well and refine those. A physical record shop really has to be the antithesis of your one-stop click online, a shop where you want to lose three hours of your life. It doesn't have to just be about buying a record. It should be a comfortable space, a happy environment, where people can look through magazines or check out gig listings. And recommendations are a really big part. You build a relationship with customers. We get to know what they want and then we can say 'Hey, we think you'll like this, have a listen'. That enthusiasm has kept us where we are for so long." The Morgan Arcade move is, strictly speaking, temporary, with a view to permanency if the venture reaps dividends – "We haven't signed into a full-term lease," Ashli qualifies – but the store's famous lineage seems secure for the foreseeable future. "I've always acknowledged that if Spillers is the oldest record shop in the world, it's not going to close down right now," she states. "There is no way I would let that happen. It's how I felt five years ago when our future looked uncertain and it's how I feel now. "If you start getting bogged down in all the scaremongers about what's happening in the industry you wouldn't do it. But Spillers has everything going for it. At those nagging 'Am I crazy doing this?' moments, every time I've seen somebody with a Spillers T-shirt or bag and it's been like a little sign. My personal view is that more independent record shops are closing down then, really, we've got a bigger share of the market. I don't think it's all doom and gloom, especially with the customers we have." Super Furry Animals' favourite artist Pete Fowler has designed a brand new Spillers T-shirt to coincide with the reopening. For the latest news on Spillers' reopening, follow them on Twitter @spillersrecords . Today's guest blogger, Adam Kennedy, is a freelance journalist living in Cardiff, and has contributed to publications including the Guardian, BBC Music, Kerrang! and Welsh men's magazine RedHanded.