The Queen Margaret Union shop has won an exclusive performance by a top Indy band in a competition in the New Musical Express. The Futureheads with QMU shop staff © James Porteous

The Futureheads - a four-piece, post-punk revival band from Sunderland - performed a short acoustic set especially for shop staff and a crowd of Glasgow University students on Tuesday 2 December.

Retailers across the UK competed to see who could boost sales of the music magazine and staff at the QMU shop won the competition with sales figures up by over 70%.

Shop staff, Celeste Francis, Caroline Dalrymple, Grace Mellis, Sandra Cook, Cathy Denholm, Siobhan Callus and Karla Fitzpatrick devised a highly successful internal marketing campaign including pasting pictures of popular bands around the Union to advertise the magazine; raffle tickets and a prize draw with every issue, masks of pop stars for shop staff and a ‘free air guitar’ with every NME sold.

Shop Manager Caroline Dalrymple said: "It was such a cool prize, we were absolutely determined to win it!" The Futureheads perform at QMU © James Porteous

Chris Potter, Circulation Manager at the NME said: “Indie for Indies is a national competition for small independent retailers with a special prize of hosting a gig in their store.  The winners were chosen based on sales performance and also on evidence of support for the NME in store.  The staff at the QMU shop were the clear winners showing innovation and enthusiasm that was above and beyond our expectations.  They are deserved winners and we hope the staff and students enjoy the gig after all their hard work.”

The QMU shop, which sells newspapers, magazines, stationery and other student essentials, is open from 8am until 6.30pm during term time.

Further information:
Martin Shannon, Media Relations Officer
Tel: 0141 330 8593 Email: m.shannon@admin.gla.ac.uk

First published: 2 December 2008

<< December