Selling the latest kit with old-school style

Tuesday 27 August 2019

If you ask someone which businesses have been killed by online retailing, selling CDs and games won’t be far from their lips...But one local shop known for its vast vinyl collection is proving that bucking the trend is possible.

Seedee Jon’s success was recognised earlier this year, when it was named as MCV Magazine’s Independent Retailer of the Year, at a ceremony recognised as the ‘BAFTAs’ of the gaming industry.

For the store’s owner, John Holley, the top award was recognition for years of perseverance in a highly competitive sector, which has seen him bounce back from really tough times. 

Express went to meet him… 

John Holley apologises for seeing to a work matter before we sit down. The game ‘Days Gone’ has just arrived in the Island. In fact, such is John’s dedication to his work that he has just been to the Airport to collect it himself.

Pictured: "I'm devoted to my job."

Days Gone is a Triple-A title. In film terms, you would call it a blockbuster. Once he has brought the boxes into the shop, he can relax, knowing that the customers who have ordered it can have it on the day of its release.

“I’m devoted to my job,” he says. “Customer service is a big thing for me. I like to serve a customer the way that I would like to be served.”

He also prides himself on being an independent retailer. In March he was named MCV Magazine’s Independent Retailer of the Year at what is considered to be the BAFTAs of the gaming industry.

“I have been nominated before by the games companies that I deal with. This year the editor of the magazine said I should come to London for the awards ceremony, but he couldn't tell me why. I was there with the big boys like Amazon, PC World and Currys. I was blown away. All of the hard work finally paid off.”

He was overwhelmed by the response on the night and since, with members of the public congratulating him.

“It’s work, work, work and when you get recognised for something like this, it’s fantastic.”

Although John is enjoying the success of his shop in Halkett Place, it hasn't always been this way. “There have been times when I’ve been clinging on by my fingertips,” he says.

Pictured: Seedee Jons recently won a gaming industry 'BAFTA'.

In 2014 Seedee Jons moved into town from the Powerhouse on Queen’s Road.

“To be honest, I was teetering on the brink of closing down. My lease was up and I had to decide what to do. I moved into town and, luckily for me, HMV and Blockbuster, and later British Home Stores, closed down so all my major competition disappeared.

“Obviously everybody is competing with online companies but if you've got a shop that people like to come in, like old-school retailing, you will survive.”

He knew it was a good location, with the Central Market and Halkett Place area being reinvigorated, but the shop had been empty for three-and-a-half years. He negotiated on the rent, got rid of the pink interior, and invested heavily in the refit.

“I must admit, it was a gamble, from being on the brink, to investing more than I could afford on the shop fit. I could see that in the first three months that this was the right position. Anyone driving through town has to see my shop window, so it’s perfect.”

Diversity is also key to surviving in business, he says. “It’s what I told Highlands College business studies students recently. The main word for me in my business is diversity. If you continue doing something and the market changes, if you don't change with it, you won’t survive.

“When I moved, I decided to try to make the shop look funky and different and I decided I needed to sell other things. I made it my passion to go out and source things that nobody else was selling in Jersey.”

Pictured: "I decided to try and make the shop look funky and different."

John attends the Spring Fair trade show in Birmingham every year to meet suppliers. “I walk for miles! I work hard at it and meet some of the smaller independent people who are bringing in some really funky stuff and I make sure they are not dealing with anyone else in Jersey.”

His favourite item at the moment, a monkey astronaut, is sitting in the window.

“The great thing about the companies that I deal with, is when you sign up for them, you have to agree not to sell any of their products online. They don’t like dealing with the likes of Amazon who want to sell it a lot cheaper. You won’t be able to find these things online.”

In fact, he has pointed out some alternative film posters on the wall, which he sourced from Vietnam while on holiday.

“I bought some posters in Hoi An and when I got back to my hotel I saw the email address on the back, got in touch, and despite a lot of difficulty with the language, met them in Saigon and did the order that day.”

He bought three large suitcases from the nearby Chinese market and filled them up. And he has since placed about four orders with them.

Pictured: "You won't be able to find these things online."

Born and brought up in Middlesbrough, John got his first job in a job centre. “I hated it,” he said. “There was so much unemployment there that in 1980 I decided to come to Jersey on my own. At one point I sent a letter to my mother telling her that I had been asked out to a party, but I only had 20 pence left in my pocket.” 

He worked at clothing shop Rock Island for a year before working with Don Le Flem at Lady Jane Records and helping set up the Compact Disc Centre where he learned everything about the business.

In 1993 he felt ready to set up on his own and that’s when Seedee Jons began. “Our first shop was in Colomberie,” he said. “I set up on £5,000 in an old card shop, and I began by putting the CDs in the old card racks.”

Obviously in those days his core business was selling CDs. Today, 70% of what he sells is computer games, and yet he feels that if he sold only games, he wouldn't survive.

He also sells DVDs and vinyl, which has been seeing quite a comeback.

“I sell probably eight LPs to every CD now. CDs were 100% of the business when I first opened up and now it’s five per cent of the business. Vinyl is probably about 15%. It’s come back massively.

“I started tentatively and built it up. This year was our second year of taking part in Record Store Day, which proved to be a huge success. On Saturday 20 April I had queues outside the shop. It’s a special day to celebrate independent record stores and the record companies produce limited editions of albums or picture discs exclusively for record shops. It’s a great day for someone who wants to find something different.”

Pictured: "This year was our second year of taking part in Record Store Day... I had queues outside the shop."

Despite the changes, the Seedee Jons brand has stood the test of time. John says it is a matter of luck that when they were designing the logo 26 years ago, they decided that ‘Seedee’ looked better than ‘CD’ and ‘Jon’ simply looked better without the H that John has in his name.

His partner of 35 years, Joanne Preston, is a graphic artist and creates the company’s logos and marketing. Along with artist Lisa Macdonald, she is behind the Molly Mac brand.

John and Joanne live in Grouville, in an old farmhouse which they are “still renovating after 17 years”, with their two children, Stan (18) and Elsie (13), and a cockapoo called Beryl.

“I love retro things,” John admits. “We both decided that we wanted old-fashioned names. Stan is a nod to Joanne’s father’s name but also a nod to Coronation Street with Stan Ogden and Elsie Tanner.”

He clearly loves what he does in his working day. Stock arrives every single day, with new releases every week of CDs, DVDs and games. “It’s an ever-changing business where you have to be really on the ball. You have to know everything. Customers expect to have the latest release in the shop.”

His favourite part is the music which has always been his passion. “It keeps me young. That, and running around, keeps me fit. I live and breathe the business. I just thrive on it.”

The shop is open from 09:00 17:30 but he will open up if he is already there after the school run, even if it is an hour early. “I hate being up in the office above the shop. I always want to be face-to-face with customers.”

Pictured: "It's an ever-changing business where you have to be really on the ball. You have to know everything."

Is he a gamer himself? There’s a laugh in his voice. “No. If I have spare time, you’ll find me walking the dog, gardening, or cooking – I have done five courses on cooking curries from different parts of the world.”

John employs just four staff, one of whom, manager and games buyer Christian Le Cornu, has been with him 18 years. He is proud that his staff turnover is minimal. When he did have a vacancy recently, he got more than 280 applicants for it. He adds that he is asked all the time if he has any Saturday jobs going. “If I was a kid, I’d love to work here!” he smiles.

“Some people have asked if I’d expand into Guernsey, but I can’t be in two places at once. This is my business, they expect me to be here. The only expansion I would like is to have a pop-up shop in the lead-up to Christmas but I have never found the right site. Anyway, I’m busy enough as it is and I’m quite happy with the way it’s going.”

This article first appeared in Connect magazine, which you can read by clicking here.