Over the last ten years, Dave Bonsall's brick & mortar magic shop, PropDog, rapidly grew to become one of the staple magic retailers in the UK. However, at the start of July, the shop closed its doors for the final time. As this is the end of an era, let's look at how a shop as beloved as PropDog could end up winding down and why it's not all doom and gloom.
It doesn't seem so long ago when PropDog was in its prime: the shop had regular live streams on Facebook and YouTube, boasted some of the biggest stands at conventions, produced numerous bespoke products, and stocked the latest and greatest in the world of magic.
In many ways, PropDog was riding such a high that you could never have imagined their iconic shop in Hounslow, London, would eventually close up shop. But in a lengthy Facebook post, Dave explained how operating PropDog became extremely costly.
Some of the challenges the shop faced, aside from competing with other online magic stores, included: having multiple members of staff to pay, the landlord increasing the rent, the pound devaluing against the dollar, customs duties, and Brexit. Classic Brexit. By the sound of things, it got to a point where it was costing more to run the shop than it should've done.
Most magic retailers stock products from wholesalers, the big one being Murphy's Magic, based in the USA. The impact of Brexit, cost of living and other factors have meant that for UK-based shops, the prices have skyrocketed, hurting in-person shops.
