Marbecks

By The Auckland Psychogeographer

The odyssey of Marbecks record shop is an unlikely story of small business survival via an ethos of persistent customer service, even in the flashy chain store heart of Auckland’s Queen Street.

Founded in 1934 by pianists Alfred and Eileen Marbeck in a music industry dominated by sheet music and wax cylinders, the store survived the Great Depression and flourished with the advent of the 78-rpm format. They expanded their Queen’s Arcade site over the years, growing the business in tune with popular music – and famously with what remains New Zealand’s largest classical music section - eventually expanding to a two-storey location at 164 Queen Street in 1997.

Following the Auckland power crisis in 1998, Marbecks contracted to their original base, with Queen’s Arcade housing four speciality units (classical, pop, DVD and sale). Grandson of the original owners, Roger Marbeck, also spearheaded one of New Zealand’s first forays into e-commerce around this time, a canny investment and in addition to their highly-regarded mail-order service.

Around 2007 the business was sold, with Roger moving into wholesale distribution for classical music labels – but couldn’t stay away long, buying the business back in 2013, and consolidating the store footprint to one main headquarters. It remains a fourth generation family business, thanks to Roger’s son Logan Marbeck operating the e-commerce business.

Image Credit: Marbecks Record Store

33 1/3 rpm by Hamish Allan