In the Spotlight: Musikk Miljø
The beautiful city of Bergen, in Norway, is home to established music retailer, Musikk Miljø – stocking an extensive range of John Packer Musical Instruments and Rath Trombones.
The established family business has been serving customers for decades. Watch the video to hear from Tone-Reneé Bjørkhaug Gjendemsjø, and read below to hear from her husband Morten, who is also heavily involved with the business.
Tell me a little bit about the background of the company, in terms of its heritage and how it’s evolved to where it is today.
MG: Musikk-Miljø was established by Haakon Per Bjørkhaug in 1987 after a long career within the music industry. He worked in Tonika for 23 years before deciding to start his own store in Bergen city centre.
Haakon wanted the store to feel like a second home, where the staff and customers would feel welcome. As the years went on the store became more popular and the business flourished. The store became a place where customers could choose from a large variety of brass instruments, wind instruments, percussion, string instruments, guitars, and a large selection of sheet music for all instruments and voices.
In addition, the incredible selection of accessories to all these instruments supplied to us from all over the world made for a store that had something for all customers stopping by.
Haakon’s children, Tone-Renee and Tom, worked beside their father for many years and were both certain they wanted to follow in his footsteps. They keep their dad’s legacy alive and continue to grow the business step by step, as their father did.
Who is your customer base?
MG: Our largest customer group is definitely the bands in Norway, with a big proportion being school bands. We have a very close relationships with the Bergen Philharmonic and Stavanger Symphony orchestras.
Since there’s such a big selection of instruments, accessories and sheet music, we also have close relations with beginners to teachers, conductors, parents and professional musicians.
How long have you stocked John Packer Musical Instruments?
MG: We’ve stocked JP since the early 2000s. We received a phone call from John Packer Musical Instruments, asking if we wanted to come look at the instruments. We receive a lot of these sorts of calls but we were open minded so we asked if we could get some instruments sent to the store. We, of course, wanted to test them but also have professionals come in and see if they liked them. The instruments were found to be of good quality; we wanted an alternative to students who wanted good instruments for a cheaper price we decided to give JP a chance. Since then, the quality has become better and better, and the customer base has grown.
What are your best-sellers?
MG: In quantity the products we sell the most are cornets and alto [tenor] horns, but also baritones.
How would you describe the value of John Packer products?
MG: JP instruments are of very good value for the money and we’ve seen that the customer base trusts the instruments – that tells its own story.
Please describe your experience with John Packer Musical Instruments.
MG: Our experience with JP has been remarkable. The follow-up is great, and if we ever have questions or concerns, we get quick and helpful responses.
We have visited John Packer Musical Instruments in England and the factory in Tianjin and we were welcomed with open arms and bright smiles. JP has also visited us multiple times, which has helped us grow the relationship further. The company always listens to our experiences with the instruments just get better and better, which is incredible to see.
Find Musikk Miljø in Bergen city centre. It is walking distance to concert halls, music schools, the Grieg Academy and the theatre: Håkonsgaten 24, 5015 Bergen.
Go to: musikk-miljo.no for more information.