Reliable Music Warehouse

It was in the late 80’s that Faizel Dajee established a small business that operated as a radio repair centre.  As time went by, Dajee began to sell cassettes as an addition to his service.  What Dajee started as a small business has grown phenomenally into a giant music retailer which is today known as the Reliable Music Warehouse.

By the look of things, Reliable Music Warehouse seems to be one of the most successful music retailers at the moment.  It has aggressively marketed to the masses and to this date, the retailer has spread its wings throughout the country.  To get an insight into what Reliable has done over the years to get to where it is, MIO got down to business with Reliable Music Warehouse founder, Faizel Dajee.

1. What do you think makes you standout from the rest of South Africa’s music retailers?

• We have been servicing the local black (African) market for the last 20 years.  We have always tried to give the consumers what product they want. And we have remained focussed on our clientele who have remained loyal to us.  We have also created an exciting atmosphere and vibe within our stores.  We also guarantee that all products sold within our stores are original products from legitimate suppliers.

2. What kind of music do you sell? You seem to be always in touch with what the SA market wants, how do you predict the kind of music that people can buy?

• We sell all genres of music but our focus is on kwaito, R & B, Jazz, Gospel and local traditional.  We buy all latest releases from the major suppliers and then let the consumer dictate what we sell in our stores.

3.  How fast and often do you get latest releases?

• Latest releases are made available to us on a daily basis.

4. How do you set prices for all the material you get?

• We have a formula for pricing from using the published price from the suppliers as a base.

5. What criteria do you apply to determine whether the material you are getting will move out of the shelves fast?

• We get valuable feedback from our retail stores as to what the consumer is looking for.  Occasionally we use gut feel and also by trial and error.

6.  What happens in a situation where certain products are not selling?

• Slow moving products are discounted.

7. When you started off, as a new retailer, how did you introduce yourself to the market?

• By advertising aggressively through the print media, radio and television we created an awareness of the Reliable brand. 

8. How do you work with recording labels, independent and major, in terms of getting the kind of music you want to sell?

• From time to time we make suppliers aware of what the consumers are requesting.  We sometimes request re-issuing of old catalogue which are unavailable.  We also help the suppliers with new compilations