The three music stores owned by Michel Bouchard, located on Bouffard Street in downtown Bordeaux, will be closing their doors in three months. A heartbreaking decision for regular customers.
A new chapter begins in downtown Bordeaux. The 3 music shops on Bouffard Street – Prima Cordes, Musicalire, and Bouff’Art music, which sell musical instruments, accessories, and sheet music, will close at the end of June. After 40 years, their owner, Michel Brochard, is retiring, not without emotion. Thanks to him, the street is known as “the music street,” an institution for knowledgeable Bordeaux residents.
Several reasons are driving the owner towards retirement. “The company has changed, people’s behavior as well: with online shopping, the relationship with customers has become more distant,” explains Michel Brochard. For him, an instrument should be “touched, felt” before purchase, but the competition from online platforms offering better prices is reducing potential buyers from his store.
But some loyal customers remain. “I bought my first guitars here, then my trumpets,” recalls Olivier, 39, with 20 years of musical experience. Like him, several clients regularly visit the store owner “out of pure nostalgia.” However, no one currently plans to take over the three businesses.
A segment can be heard on ICI Gironde.
