An Unusual Match

What do music and sports have in common?

For one, they are both hobbies that we can pursue. But even then, these two areas do not seem to complement one another. Audio equipment are probably a better complement to musical instruments, as are sports apparel to sporting gear.

Moreover, music and sports each contain a wide spectrum of products on their own. Most shops specializing in either music or sports strive to be a one-stop shop, and even they face difficulties offering all the products their customers seek.

This is perhaps why it is very uncommon to come across a shop that carries products from these two vastly different areas. Despite all these odds, Ranking has been able to find its place as a retailer of both sport and music goods, packing all its offerings into a four-unit floor space in Bras Basah Complex.

Starting off in 1980 as a sports shop, Ranking was the pioneer batch of tenants to set up its business in Bras Basah Complex. Even in its early days, although Ranking was branded as a sports shop, it was already carrying a musical product – guitar strings. How did this marriage of sports and music occur, well, you would soon find out!

Over the years, as business took off, Ranking grew its range of musical products to include more musical instruments and accessories. Ranking did not neglect its range of sporting goods either, constantly updating its products to provide customers with the latest offerings. By the 1990s, Ranking’s sales of musical products had surpassed that of sporting goods.

With the expansion of its product offerings, Ranking also required more space to display and showcase its products.

Fortunately for its customers, in sync with this was the expansion of its physical shopfront from one unit to four units. As a first-time customer walking into Ranking, I sure was impressed with how they were able to efficiently use the shelf space to maximize the range of products showcased. The assortment and variety of products literally blew me away.

When I had the opportunity to speak with Ms Tan, the Sales Manager, I could not help but bring up my burning question: Why the union between music and sports?

As it turns outs, Ranking is not only involved in its retail business, but also draws a portion of its income as a distributor and wholesaler. A significant market to which they export to is Indonesia, and over there, their partners sell both musical instruments and sports equipment together. To satisfy their needs, Ranking decided to venture into musical products themselves and ever since rolling out musical products in Ranking’s own store, they have never looked back. Customers do indeed make purchases for sporting and music together, and are more than happy that they can do so in a single location.

Every shop has its niche, and for Ranking, its strength lies in providing a wide variety of products, at affordable prices. They do not carry top-of the line products, but instead goods that cater to beginners and enthusiasts. In addition, it certainly helps that they are the local distributors for certain brands, such as DW Drums, as this would allow customers like myself to purchase these goods at the best prices.

Every shop has its niche, and for Ranking, its strength lies in providing a wide variety of products, at affordable prices, with majority of its offerings catering to beginners and enthusiasts. In addition, it certainly helps that they are also local distributors for major brands, such as DW Drums and Godin Guitars, as this would allow musicians to purchase these goods at the best prices.

So, regardless if you are in search of musical accessories or sporting equipment, Ranking is definitely worth a visit. After all, it is one of the few places in Singapore where you can find this eclectic mix!