Dub Vendor. (Store Of The Week).

"After the reggae boom of the late Seventies and early Eighties had died down, we looked to start broadening our base and range. Although the reggae seven-inch single is still, and always will be, our foundation we had to reflect the wider community of black urban music. We've continued with the same philosophy regarding vinyl for DJs in that we aim to be first on the street with new titles, with rap now as well as reggae.

In many ways this is still a new market for us but we have really strong people working in our shops. These are local guys who are also DJing so they are able to advise on buying and ensure that we stay out in front when it comes to rap and R&B. With the refit we've been able to expand the urban music side of things. Funnily enough, this music has become the new pop so it's pretty novel for us to be selling so many CDs. That said, we're not aiming at putting in too many genres--we're looking for depth in what we have.

Our real strength lies in reggae and as a business we've always looked to being sure of staying true to that. It's no surprise that supermarkets have been taking over the market for the past 25 years and that's why true knowledge counts because it can't be bought off a shelf. Only specialist shops can give you the depth of knowledge and service that people want. Although competition is hard you have to work harder for your margins. We have to look to the US and Canada to get hold of new acts upfront of everyone else and to hunt down obscure stock. We're always looking for other retailers and distributors to partner up with.

There's always a bit of a risk involved in expanding and we want to be seen as staying true to our roots. That said there are a lot of links between Jamaica and the New York hip-hop scene. Busta Rhymes and Sean Paul have been two of our biggest sellers ever. Last winter we sold more than 3,000 copies of Sean Paul's Gimme ...