Regional Victoria's Bendigo Records Announces Its Closure

Victorian record store Bendigo Records has announced that it has ceased operations, with director and co-owner Sam Edmonds sharing the news with supporters.

Word of trouble at the regional Victorian store emerged in early June when a post to its socials alerted followers that “due to some things beyond our control we are gonna be closed for a bit.”

Over the weekend, on July 20th, a longer post was shared to socials in which it which it was noted that “we’ve unfortunately had to close the Bendigo Records doors, permanently.”

Addressing customers who had not yet received orders paid-for orders, the post explained that while a “definitive answer” could not be given currently, there was still a lot of work to do in regard to finalising the store’s back-end operations.

“This may take a while, but we appreciate your patience during what has been a very emotional and difficult time for all involved,” the post read.

More recently, however, Edmonds took to social media to give further context as to the situation at hand, offering a lengthy written explanation on Facebook, and sharing a video in which he explained details further.

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A post shared by Bendigo Records (@bendigo_records)

Edmonds claimed that it was discovered a year ago that his "business partner had embezzled money from the business and run up substantial debt,” leading to attempts by himself and other members of the Bendigo Records team – Micah and Jahmiele – to help save the business.

“We just really struggled,” he explained. “We're a luxury item retailer and less and less people were coming through. The cost of records was outstripping inflation, and things were really tough.

“Our Christmas was down about 70%, our Record Store Day was down even more, and it was getting to the point where legally we couldn't trade anymore.

“I'll be honest, I've been avoiding talking to you guys because it's really sad,” Edmonds continued. “We worked really, really hard and we tried to do something, and you guys helped us for a bit, and now it doesn't exist anymore, and that sucks.”

As Edmonds continued, he apologised to those who were still owed gift cards and goods, explaining that while Bendigo Records was doing the best they can, the difficulties of a business closing meant there’s little that they could do.

However, he also urged customers to get in contact with their financial institutions to check on chargeback policies, and to get in touch with Consumer Affairs Victoria given that the situation had been “taken out of our hands.”

“I'm really sorry and I'll be honest, I haven't been as communicative with you guys as I should have been because it's sad and it's embarrassing and, you tried really hard to do something and things were stacked against you,” Edmonds concluded.

“And if it was just late stage capitalism, that's one thing, but to also have somebody that you were really close with contribute as well… that sucked.”

Bendigo Records first opened their doors in 2021, with its Hargreaves Mall location providing an opportunity for regional music fans to purchase records and also attend instore events and concerts.